Georgia residence permit card collection, and why the card is not the permit

Why the distinction matters

Your legal position changes on the decision date. Your ability to show it to a landlord, a bank or a border officer changes when you have the plastic. People who assume the two are the same panic in the gap, or worse, treat the gap as a reason to stop counting their residence.

Georgia residence permit card collection: what to bring

• Your passport, the same one named in the application.
• The reference or application number from filing.
• A power of attorney if someone is collecting for you, which is allowed.

Check it before you leave the counter

Name spelling against the passport, the permit type, and above all the validity dates. A transcription error on a card is far easier to raise there and then than six months later, and the dates are what every renewal and every permanent residence count will be measured against.

If you are abroad when it is ready

Cards are not posted abroad. Either send a representative with a power of attorney or collect it on your next trip. There is no penalty for collecting late, but you cannot prove your status in the meantime, and you will need the card to do most ordinary things with it.