Georgia to tighten regulations for foreign students

New rules for foreign students in Georgia

Georgia‘s Interior Ministry has prepared another package of legislative amendments related to migration. The proposed changes will affect regulations governing foreign students studying in Georgia, residence permits issued for educational purposes, residence permits granted through marriage, and a range of other migration-related issues.

The initiative was registered at a meeting of the parliamentary bureau on Monday. Lawmakers decided to consider it under an accelerated procedure during the parliamentary session scheduled for 23 June 2026.

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The proposed amendments include the following measures:

● Additional admission requirements for foreign students applying to higher education and vocational institutions, including the submission of an international language certificate and/or passing a foreign language or Georgian language examination administered by the National Assessment and Examinations Centre (NAEC);

● The government will set a maximum quota for the admission of foreign students to educational institutions;

● Educational institutions will be required to enter information into a unified information system regarding a foreign student’s eligibility for enrolment, enrolment status, suspension, expulsion, reinstatement, transfer, completion of studies and other relevant data. The system will be accessible to relevant state authorities;

● Educational institutions will face administrative liability for violations of foreign student registration rules. Sanctions may include fines, restrictions on admitting foreign students, and the revocation of authorisation;

● A residence permit for study purposes will be granted to an adult only if he or she is enrolled in an accredited higher education or vocational institution;

● Grounds for terminating a foreign student’s right to stay in Georgia (through the cancellation of a residence permit) will also include failure to meet academic requirements, violations of employment conditions, or physical absence from Georgia for a period specified by law.

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According to official data, 44,400 foreign students are expected to be enrolled in Georgian higher education institutions at the start of the 2025–26 academic year. This represents an increase of nearly 20% compared with the previous year. The largest group consists of Indian citizens, numbering more than 16,000.

The largest groups by country are:

• India — 16,715 students;
• Israel — 2,173;
• Jordan — 2,165;
• Sudan — 1,546;
• United Kingdom — 1,134;
• Lebanon — 876;
• Nigeria — 594.

Approximately 91% of foreign students in Georgia are enrolled in medical programmes, most of them at private universities.

New rules for foreign students in Georgia