overview
Updated 22/08/2024

Country overview

  • There are no restrictions on entry for people living with HIV in Georgia. Antiretroviral medications can be carried for personal use.
  • According to Georgian law, HIV can be a reason to deny a residence permit. But there was no practice of applying this law.
labor

Labor migrants

Migrant workers can receive free HIV-related health services, including ART, after a residence permit is issued. Health information is not required when applying for a residence permit.
You can legally stay in Georgia for 1 year as a tourist, but travel insurance does not cover treatment for chronic diseases and HIV.
Labor migrants in tourist status can self-test for viral load and CD4 count. The cost of two tests is approximately $200. Then, many of them send the test results to the country where they are registered in AIDS center and receive the ART by parcel.
refugee

Refugees

HIV medical services, including analysis and ART, are free for refugees in Georgia.
You must go directly to a special clinic (AIDS Center) with documents confirming your refugee status. It is advisable to have medical records confirming your HIV status with you. Refugees receive ART without problems, but if they leave the country after a short stay and then decide to return, they may face difficulty obtaining ART again.

Access to treatment

In order to receive ART, you must have a residence permit or a document confirming your refugee status. Next, one of the four specialized clinics must be contacted. In Georgia, all HIV services are provided by AIDS Centers, which are located in the following cities: Kutaisi for Imereti region; Zugdidi for Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region; Batumi for Adjara region; and Tbilisi for Kvemo Kartli region.
In some cases, even with tourist status, it is possible to get ART for one month free of charge. To do this you need to go to one of the AIDS centers and get tested for CD4 and viral load for a fee. This option was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and is available as of January 2023.

Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center
Web site: www.aidscenter.ge
Address: Tbilisi,16 Alexander Kazbegi ave.
Regional Center of Infectious Pathology, Aids and Tuberculosis
Address: Batumi, 11 Jemal Katamadze str.
AIDS Relief Fund
Address: 7 Merab Kostava str, Zugdidi 2100, Georgia
AIDS Center is located in the Medical City multidisciplinary clinic
Address: Kutaisi, 40 Poti str

There is no way to buy ART in Georgia. At your own risk, you can order it from India by mail, but customs may not let the treatment through. Only if the medication is registered in the country, it can be taken across the border.

No ability to get ART in emergencies

NGOs

Service: testing, counseling, HIV prevention
Address: 2 Marie Brosset str, 0108 Tbilisi
Phone number for refugees from Ukraine: +995 32 2398018

Service: social support for HIV and TB treatment, assistance (including financial) to abortion services
Phone: +995599355436

Queer activist trans community organization
Service: peer and psychological counseling, HIV testing, condoms

Service: For LGBTIQ+ people. HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B testing, condoms and lubricants, harm reduction (for injecting and non-injecting)
Web site: www.equality.ge
E-mail: [email protected] (English is recommended)
Address: 19, Ushangi Chkheidze str, Tbilissi

Service: Help with access to substitution treatment, referrals to partner organizations
Web site: www.ghrn.ge
Address: 24 Shartava str, 3rd floor, 6 apt., Tbilisi