In recent years, economic relations between Iran and Georgia have been improving. Georgian government removed the entrance visa for this country in 2015 which lead to a rapid growth in the tourism industry in this country.
In 2017, over 7 million people visited Georgia and over 3 million of those were tourists, a significant number being Iranian.
The volume of trade between Iran and Georgia reached 147 million dollars in 2017, and the share of Iranian exports was nearly 84 million dollars. Since Georgia previously offered permanent residency to those who invested in its real estate market, several Iranians purchased apartments and villas in Georgia.
Taadol newspaper quotes Maryam Soltani, a board-member of the Iran-Georgia Chamber of Commerce: “Last September, the laws for residency in Georgia changed and became much stricter for Iranians. The Georgian government noticed numerous registered Iranian companies with no financial activity or banking transfers. This led to the cancelation of many residency applications”.
Since several travel offices in Iran still advertise investment in real estate market in Georgia, Ms Soltani warns Iranians who wish to get a second passport or residency, about such illusions.
The Georgian government offers a number of incentives to investors including laws to establish an economic free zone, free trade with Turkey and Europe, no VAT on exports and fast registration of companies.
In order to provide transparency on the laws, provide consultation, and conduct market research; the Iran and Georgia Chamber of Commerce plans to establish representative offices in Tehran and Tbilisi. The Tehran office has already opened and the Tbilisi office is expected to open in the near future.
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