Resources for employers in Georgia
Resources for employers in Georgia
We use "refugees" to encompass forcibly displaced people with different legal statuses, such as refugees, subsidiary protection holders, temporary protection holders, asylum seekers, and other people needing international protection.
In cases where differentiating information relating to each status is essential (i.e. regarding the right to work), this is clearly indicated.
Why hire refugees and stateless people in Georgia?
Georgia hosts a small population of recognized refugees and asylum-seekers from Syria, Russia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc. The country received large numbers of Ukrainians after the outbreak of the Russian invasion in 2022, with many crossing from Russia into Georgia, taking advantage of the fact that Georgia is one of the few international locations they can enter without a valid international passport. Throughout 2022, almost 190,000 Ukrainians entered the country, out of whom 85% have transited onwards to other locations. As of mid-2025, 28,718 Ukrainians reside in Georgia.
Read the needs assessment report of refugees in Georgia
Georgian companies play a key role in the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees by opening their doors to forcibly displaced individuals and helping them become self-reliant and financially independent. In Georgia, tourism and other service sectors employ almost half of the workforce and contribute 80% of GDP. Many forcibly displaced individuals can find employment in these sectors, particularly in cities like Tbilisi and Batumi. Refugees and asylum-seekers can help make the Georgian economy more diverse, international, and resilient and contribute to the growth of key sectors.
Success stories of refugee employment in the private sector in Georgia.
Meet three refugees — Said Yusuf from Afghanistan, Alina Anisimova from Ukraine, and Moe Thin Kyu from Myanmar —who are all thriving in their new roles with Teleperformance Georgia, AgroHub and local restaurant Adjika. See how these businesses that believe in the power of a diverse workforce are benefitting from hiring refugees. Watch the video here.
How many refugees and stateless people are there in Georgia?
In 2025, Georgia hosted 30,000 refugees, primarily from Ukraine (28,718 individuals), with smaller groups from Syria (98), Iraq (87), Russia (125), Afghanistan (75), Yemen (61), etc. The country also hosts approximately 621 asylum-seekers, primarily from India (99), Iran (47), Türkiye (195), Ukraine (82), and Ukraine (102). As of mid-2025, there were approximately 481 recorded stateless people and people of undetermined nationality in Georgia.
Visit the Refugee Data Finder to learn more
How many of them are working?
The 2025 study of the NGO - Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) revealed high unemployment rates of Ukrainian refugees residing in Georgia and widespread reliance on humanitarian aid. Among respondents, 63% were unemployed. Among the employed respondents, 54% are employed part-time, while full-time workers make up to 23%. Considerable portion of the respondents work in low wage, labor-intensive sectors such as cleaning services (17%) hospitality (14%), and beauty (9%), while education (15%), IT (8%) and healthcare (8%) also employ a noteworthy share of displaced individuals. The most of these respondents require financial and transportation assistance.
What are the main challenges?
For refugees and stateless people, the principal problems faced in finding employment are the language barrier (54%), the high level of unemployment in the district (23%), and low salaries (23%). In addition, while refugees, asylum seekers and stateless people can access service jobs in sectors like tourism, they face extreme competition, and they may end up accepting seasonal or temporary work with insufficient remuneration. Despite multiple information campaigns and outreach efforts, stateless individuals are generally less informed about their rights and benefits, which can hinder their ability to seek and secure employment opportunities.
Read the 2023 report by UNHCR and World Vision: “Refugees from Ukraine in Georgia: Profiles, Intentions, and Needs."
Since 2017, the Ministry of Internally Displaced People from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia has been running programs for the local integration of people with international protection through an "Integration Center", including Georgian language courses that are also available for asylum-seekers and refugees. In addition, the Center offers civic education and history/basic law courses for refugees that also help them to prepare for the Georgian citizenship tests (once they qualify). UNHCR social partner World Vision Georgia provides complementary integration activities at their Multi-Service Center, including community outreach and engagement, trainings; Consultations on employment; Cultural, recreational and other socializing events; and Free access to a computer and internet.
| Status | Who it applies to | Right to work? |
| Asylum-seekers | Individuals who have applied for international protection in Georgia but still have not received a decision on their application. | Asylum-seekers have the right to work in Georgia. |
| Refugee status | Individuals who have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. | Refugees have the right to work in Georgia. |
| Humanitarian status | Individuals who do not qualify for refugee status but, due to real risk of serious harm, are unable to return to their country of origin because they would face capital punishment, torture or inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment due to international or internal armed conflict or mass violation of human rights. | Humanitarian status holders have the right to work in Georgia. |
| Ukrainian citizenship | Individuals who are citizens of Ukraine can stay in the territory of Georgia without a visa. | Citizens of Ukraine (who are outside the asylum system) have the right to work in Georgia; however, according to the recent changes to the law of Georgia on Labor Migration, they need to obtain work permits as of March 2026. Restrictions are not applicable to asylum seekers and persons with international protection. |
| Stateless person | A stateless person is someone who is not considered as a citizen by any country (whether recognized as such or not) | Recognized stateless people as well as applicants for statelessness status have the right to work |
For more information on the legal framework, see the UNHCR Help page.
Did you know?
Throughout 2025 UN Women has been actively supporting women self-reliance by organizing monthly exhibitions at “Bazar Orbeliani” where women entrepreneurs were presenting their hand made products. Regional Women's Entrepreneurship Expo has also been organized by the UN Women with the support of the Norwegian Government.
With effective cooperation and coordination, UNHCR managed to secure participation of refugee women in the given activities that significantly helped them to generate some income.
How do I connect with refugee and stateless talent?
Companies interested in hiring refugees may contact several NGOs that work with forcibly displaced communities and can make referrals to suitable candidates. These include World Vision Georgia, which offers Ukrainian refugees skill-building and retraining courses, job matching, and support with livelihoods through counselling; UNDP, which is working on enhancing income generation activities for refugees, with self-employment promotion and employment profiling cards for job seekers; Care Caucasus which has a unique program for supporting the economic recovery of Ukrainian refugees in Georgia; People in Need (PIN) which provides livelihoods support through online language classes, vocational training, business startup support, and capacity-building activities; and Action Against Hunger (AAH) which runs Social Adaptation and Inclusion Clubs for Ukrainian women in Tbilisi and Batumi to enhance the social and economic inclusion of participants by developing their personal, professional, and entrepreneurial competencies. With regards to employment of stateless people, companies can contact UNHCR.
What can I do to support refugee and stateless employees?
Employers wishing to support refugee candidates should ensure that recruitment processes are transparent and fair and consider the skills and potential of individuals. Recruiters may consider refugees' and stateless peoples’ challenges regarding the language barrier and lack of self-presentation skills. Employers can facilitate refugees who do not speak Georgian by subsidizing language classes or referring them to free courses organized by the government and NGOs. Finally, it can be very beneficial to support women in finding adequate childcare services so that they can fully participate in the labour market.
A good example
Carrefour is a leading supermarket and hypermarket retailer, employing approximately 3,000 people across Georgia. The company partnered with UNHCR and World Vision Georgia to recruit a total of 16 asylum seekers, mainly from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Libya and Yemen. The employment consultants of UNHCR and World Vision Georgia played a key role in the recruitment process by pre-selecting candidates and helping to implement internal measures for their work integration, such as frequent communication, more flexible supervision, and involving compatriots of refugees to help overcome language barriers, issues with communication, or cultural differences. Carrefour managers share that their experience has been highly positive: Asylum seekers brought valuable skills and extensive knowledge and demonstrated a strong work ethic to the company. They also helped address staffing shortages while contributing to workplace diversity. Despite initial challenges, the company has found the integration process rewarding. It views it as an opportunity to demonstrate social responsibility.
Amboli (Automobile Services) has become a prominent partner of World Vision in terms of refugee employment. Since 2023, the company has employed a total of 21 refugees and asylum seekers and continues to be an active partner. The company is indeed a good example of collaboration with the private sector.
Useful resources
Job platforms
Businesses can publish available vacancies on several job platforms, which have a special section for Ukrainian refugees. These include jobs.ge and hr.ge, as well as the Employment section on the Dopomoga platform, which is meant specifically to support Ukrainians in Georgia with access to information and resources.
Vocational training
The VET colleges offer not only manual skills training (such as technician, plumber, tailor, etc.) but also medical, IT, administrative skills, etc. development (such as nursery, pharmacist, office work, logistics, web design, and many others). Therefore, vocational institutions offer employers a qualified workforce in different sectoral directions. More information on available faculties can be viewed at: vet.emis.ge . Companies often reach out to the VET colleges seeking successful graduates, among them refugees.
The State Employment Agency is mandated to support asylum seekers, refugees, and stateless persons in job matching and already have active collaboration with a wide range of private sector companies.
Although some legislative changes will be introduced in the Law on Migration concerning work permits, it should be noted that refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons will be exempted to pursue economic activities in Georgia.
“Skills for Employment” toolkit prepared by IKEA with best practices on how employers can open employment pathways for refugees
A report by the Association "Consent": "Support for the socioeconomic condition of internally displaced women” (in Georgian)
This is a video by World Vision showcasing the successful employment of refugees from Ukraine, Congo, and other countries at the ice cream shop "Loca Polcare."