Country comparisons
Portugal vs Georgia
Portugal gives you an EU base and a well-trodden nomad path, but the D8 visa asks for roughly 3,680 euros a month and Lisbon rents keep climbing. Georgia lets almost anyone stay a full year visa-free and can tax you as little as 1% on turnover, yet it sits outside the EU and tightened its remote-work rules in March 2026.
Side by side
| Portugal | Georgia | |
|---|---|---|
| Digital nomad visa | Digital Nomad Visa (D8) | Yes |
| Income requirement | ~EUR 3,680/mo (D8 digital nomad visa, ~4x minimum wage) | ~$2,000/mo (or ~$24,000 savings) via the Remotely from Georgia remote-work program; visa-free 365-day stay needs no income proof |
| Tax residency | Resident after 183 days or main home in PT; old NHR closed, narrow IFICI (NHR 2.0) successor. | Resident after 183 days in any rolling 12 months; 1% small-business regime up to GEL 500,000 turnover; foreign-source income exempt under territorial system, but work done physically in Georgia counts as Georgian-source |
| Cost of living | Moderate | Low |
| Currency | EUR | GEL |
| Healthcare | Foreigners on short visits rely on travel medical insurance or an EU GHIC/EHIC for medically necessary care, while residents register with Portugal's public health system (SNS). | Foreigners pay for treatment and cannot register for Georgia's national healthcare system, so comprehensive travel or health insurance is essential; private clinics in Tbilisi and Batumi are decent and inexpensive. |
| Driving | Visitors can generally drive on a valid foreign licence for short stays, and an International Driving Permit is recommended (and effectively required for some nationalities such as Indian licence holders). | A valid foreign licence is generally accepted for up to about 12 months from entry, after which an International Driving Permit alongside your licence or a Georgian licence is needed. |
The bottom line
On money Georgia wins: Tbilisi runs about 1,000 to 1,200 dollars a month against Lisbon's 1,500 to 2,400 euros, and the 1% small-business regime is hard to beat if you qualify. But the catch is real: work you physically do while sitting in Georgia is usually treated as Georgian-source, not foreign, and the visa-free stay no longer guarantees the right to work on the ground. Portugal costs more and taxes you as a resident past 183 days now that NHR is closed, yet you get EU residence, reliable healthcare, English almost everywhere and a path others have already mapped. Neither is a slam dunk: Georgia rewards the lean, mobile solo earner, Portugal rewards anyone who wants to actually settle in Europe.
Pick Portugal if you want a long-term European base with solid healthcare, easy English and eventual EU residence, and you can clear the roughly 3,680 euro D8 income bar.
Pick Georgia if you are a lean, mobile solo earner who values near-zero paperwork, a 365-day visa-free stay and a possible 1% tax rate, and you are comfortable living outside the EU.
Read the full guides
Put it to work
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Digital-Nomad Visa Checker
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Tax-Residency Reality Checker
Go beyond the 183-day myth: model the treaty tie-breaker and see whether two countries could both claim you as a tax resident.
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Cost-of-Relocation Calculator
Estimate the all-in, one-time cost of moving to a country (shipping, visa fees, flights, deposits) as low, likely and high bands.
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