Naturalisation via marriage — spouse of a Georgian citizen, 5 years continuous residence (simplified, Art 14/15)

A foreign spouse of a Georgian citizen may naturalise under the simplified procedure after 5 years of continuous lawful residence in Georgia in marriage (Art 14(1)/Art 15), a shorter residence clock than the 10-year ordinary route. 'Continuous residence' carries the same Art 2(c) meaning (no combined period of more than 90 days outside Georgia in a year, subject to limited carve-outs). The applicant must satisfy the pre-application electronic examination of the Georgian language, the history of Georgia and the basic principles of law (Art 12(1)(b)(c); MoJ Order No 996, in force 1 May 2024), give the Art 8 oath of allegiance, and — the grant being a naturalisation other than the Art 17 exception — the President's decree takes effect on proof of renunciation of the prior citizenship.

• A person married to a Georgian citizen who has continuously lawfully resided in Georgia for the last 5 years up to the day of applying acquires citizenship under the SIMPLIFIED procedure, provided they meet the Art 12(1)(b) and (c) Georgian-language and history/basics-of-law exam requirements. The marriage route is a genuinely reduced track (5 vs 10 years) that waives the 10-year residence and the economic-tie requirement but retains the language + history/law exam.

• Since the 2023/2024 reform the language/history/basics-of-law examination is a PRE-APPLICATION step: the level of knowledge is checked before the citizenship application is submitted to the Agency (PSDA) or a Georgian diplomatic/consular mission; the test result is valid for 1 year. - The pre-application examination is electronic, comprising 10 test items per subject (30 total) drawn from the state language, history of Georgia and basics of law; each subject has 20 minutes and the candidate must score at least 7 of 10 per subject to pass. - Decision authority: PSDA (the Public Service Development Agency / 'the Agency') processes the application with the assistance of the 6-member Citizenship Commission; the President of Georgia makes the final decision to grant/retain/refuse/terminate (positive = decree, negative = ordinance). - The statutory time frame for considering and deciding a citizenship application/notification is no more than 3 months; after a negative naturalisation decision the applicant may re-apply on the same grounds 6 months later. - On filing a citizenship application the applicant pays a service fee set by the Government of Georgia under the procedure prescribed by it (Art 27); in the case of restoration the service fee is refunded where the citizenship had been terminated unlawfully. The exact GEL fee schedule is set by Government ordinance (administrative figure), not by the Organic Law. - The pre-application knowledge examination (MoJ Order No 996 of 30 Apr 2024, in force 1 May 2024) is administered as an electronic test booked through the PSDA Civil Registry's citizenship/migration electronic management system: the candidate registers in person or via a representative at PSDA, a Justice House, or a Georgian diplomatic/consular office (Art 3(2)) and selects a slot from free times available within 2 months of registration, and may reschedule no later than 48 hours before the test (Art 3(6)). Each subject presents 10 items (30 total) with 4 options each, one correct (Art 4(1)); 20 minutes per subject (Art 4(2)); a pass requires at least 7 of 10 in each subject (Art 4(4)). A candidate may appeal the result to a Claims Commission (of at least 3 PSDA members) by lodging a claim within 3 working days of being notified (Art 9(1),(3)); the Claims Commission decides within 10 working days (Art 9(6)); where the result is annulled, a re-test is held within 15 working days free of charge (Art 9(8)). The fee is non-refundable on a no-show or removal from the test room (Art 7(5)). A successful result is valid for 1 year (Art 8).

Primary statute: Organic Law Art 14 (spouse 5yr simplified); Art 15(4); exam per Art 12(1)(b)(c). Operative 2014-05-27–present. Authority: Public Service Development Agency (PSDA); President of Georgia (grant/loss decree).