Civil marriage in Georgia (the country) for Israeli couples: 2026 steps, costs and a mountain wedding weekend in Adjara

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Published 23 October 2026·18 min read·Prices and facts checked: October 2026

Israeli couples marry in Georgia with passports, two witnesses and a same-day registration, then apostille the certificate (30-150 GEL) and register it with PIBA within 30 days. Here are the steps, the 2026 fees, the Tel Aviv-Batumi flights and a wedding weekend in the Adjara mountains.

Israel has no civil marriage, so Israeli couples who want one marry abroad, and Georgia is one of the places they choose most: you register in a single morning and fly home married. The Georgian part is simple: a joint application, your passports, two adult witnesses, no waiting period and no certificate of no impediment. The Israeli part is where couples slip: the certificate needs an apostille and a translation, and the Population Registry expects to hear about your marriage within 30 days.

This guide covers both sides step by step, with the 2026 state fees, the nonstop flights from Tel Aviv to Batumi, and how a small wedding weekend in the mountains of Adjara works when you want more than a signature at a counter.

The legal registration takes minutes anywhere in Georgia. What you choose is the setting: a counter in Batumi, a hotel, or a whole place in the mountains where your guests stay with you for the weekend. These are the options within reach of Batumi airport.

Glamping Tago (our venue), Adjara mountains

• Where: on a ridge above Village Tago, Khulo municipality, at about 1,200 m
• Drive: 87 km from Batumi airport, about 2 hours
• Capacity: made for weddings of about 30 guests; 33 beds in 12 tents for two and a 9-bed dorm
• Price from (2026): 3,258 GEL a night for the whole camp in April, 5,041 GEL in June, 2 nights minimum
• Season: weddings from May to mid-October; the camp is open April to the end of October

The whole camp belongs to one wedding at a time and is closed to other guests, so the ceremony meadow, the event tent, the yurt restaurant, the dome and the fire circle are yours for the weekend. We arrange a civil registrar to come up to the meadow for the 255 GEL state fee, which makes the legal ceremony and the party one event in one place.

Israel registers marriages performed abroad, even though it does not perform civil marriages itself. A civil marriage registered in Georgia is entered in the Population Registry once you show the apostilled certificate, and your registered status changes to married.

Georgia is popular for four practical reasons. Israelis enter visa-free and may stay for a full year under Government Ordinance No. 255. Georgia asks for no certificate of no impediment, and there is no waiting period: you can register on the day you apply. Both countries belong to the Apostille Convention, so the certificate needs one stamp in Georgia and no embassy legalisation. And the nonstop flight from Tel Aviv to Batumi takes about 2 hours 15 minutes.

Georgian civil registration asks nothing about religion, so interfaith couples and couples where one partner is not registered as Jewish marry the same way as everyone else. Among Israeli couples where one partner is Jewish and the other is not, 16% married in Georgia in 2024, according to CBS figures (40% chose the US and 24% Cyprus).

Two limits matter. Georgia only registers marriages between a man and a woman: the Constitution says so, and the 2024 Law on Protection of Family Values bans registering or recognising same-sex unions. And since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling, Israel also registers Utah online civil marriages, which is the option for couples who do not want to travel at all.

For a first marriage you need your passports, two witnesses and a joint application that you fill in at the hall. The Public Service Development Agency lists the full set:

1. A joint written application, filled in and signed by both of you at the hall.
2. Your passports. Foreigners must be in Georgia legally, which the entry stamp in your passport shows. A foreign passport can be accepted without a Georgian translation when it carries your personal data in Latin letters, as Israeli passports do. Agencies still prepare notarised Georgian translations, which avoids a second trip to a notary if the clerk asks.
3. Two witnesses of full age with their own ID documents. Friends from your wedding party can be your witnesses, and agencies provide them if you come alone.
4. Proof that a previous marriage ended, if either of you was married before, such as a divorce certificate. Any document issued abroad except an ID needs an apostille in its home country and a notarised Georgian translation, so an Israeli divorce certificate is apostilled in Israel before you fly.

That is the whole list: no birth certificate and no proof of single status for a first marriage. Your witnesses bring their own passports.

Both partners must be at least 18, and both must be there in person: registration through a representative is not allowed. Georgia asks for no certificate of no impediment; you each declare in the application that nothing prevents the marriage (legal.ge gives the article of the law).

You have three ways to register in Adjara: at the Public Service Hall in Batumi without a ceremony (free) or with a short ceremony (75 GEL), or with a registrar who comes to your venue (255 GEL). All three give the same certificate.

The Batumi Public Service Hall, 5 km from the airport, is where most couples flying into Batumi file their application, register and order the apostille. It opens Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 18:00 and is closed at weekends. Batumi has no Wedding House in 2026: demolition of the old one at the entrance to the Boulevard began in February 2026, and a new one is planned on the New Boulevard.

In the mountains, the nearest hall is the Khulo Public Service Hall at 5b Queen Tamar Street in Khulo township, on the official list of branches.

A registrar at your venue is the outdoor option: the state fee is 255 GEL, set by Decree No. 373, and the application is filed in advance. At Glamping Tago we arrange it for you. Agencies sell the same service as a package: Violet Weddings from US$1,400 and Kate&Co from US$1,800, plus the 255 GEL state fee.

Order the apostille at the same Public Service Hall right after the registration. Since 1 June 2021 Georgian marriage certificates are electronic; ask for the paper copy, because that is the one you apostille and carry home.

The PSDA tariff is per document and depends on how fast you need it:

Some expat guides still quote an older list of 20, 40, 70 and 100 GEL; the table above is the official one. If your flight leaves before the apostille is ready, order it from home by video call or through the Embassy of Georgia in Israel.

The PSDA also translates the certificate into English (not Hebrew) for 30 GEL a page and can apostille the translation. For a notarised translation, a translator works with a notary, whose certification of the signature costs about 11 GEL on top of the translator's fee (notary and translation fees). The agencies below arrange notarised translations into Hebrew or English as part of their packages.

Within 30 days of the wedding you report the marriage to the Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA), in Israel or at an Israeli mission abroad. The duty is in section 17 of the Population Registry Law, and the service itself is free.

In Israel, both of you go to a PIBA office together and bring (gov.il):

• both Israeli ID cards;
• the original Georgian marriage certificate with its apostille;
• a Hebrew translation of the certificate certified by a notary (an Arabic document needs no translation);
• form MR6, filled in.

If the update includes a new surname, your ID card and passport are replaced; replacing a passport with more than a year of validity left is free (gov.il, in Hebrew).

At the embassy in Tbilisi, you can register before you fly home. At an Israeli mission, a certificate that is not in Hebrew, English or Arabic needs a notarised translation, so the PSDA's English translation works there (gov.il). If both of you are Israeli, both come; if one partner is a foreign citizen, only the Israeli partner has to attend, and the foreign partner needs an apostilled proof of their previous personal status.

The state side costs very little: registration is free at a Public Service Hall, a ceremony there is 75 GEL, a registrar at your venue is 255 GEL, and the apostille is 30 to 150 GEL. An agency package for the paperwork costs US$370 to US$450; the venue and the guests are where the real budget goes.

The three agencies with Israeli packages publish their prices. Lotus Wedding starts at US$370 without a ceremony and US$430 with one, and can file your application in advance under a power of attorney (+995 591 946 620). Violet Weddings charges US$450, works in Hebrew and Russian, and answers on +995 595 04 78 54. Kate&Co charges US$450 (+995 510 000 468, ask@wedding-in-georgia.ge).

What a 30-guest wedding weekend costs at Glamping Tago

Here is a June weekend for 30 guests at our 2026 wedding prices: two nights with the whole camp, a welcome dinner, the wedding dinner with a BBQ station, two breakfasts, the registrar on the meadow and minibuses from Batumi and back.

Drinks, decor, a photographer and music come on top. 2026 quotes from 24 photographers who work in Batumi and Adjara put most entry packages at about 470-800 GEL and a full package around 1,900 GEL, plus about 100-150 GEL to bring the photographer up to Tago; a wedding host (MC) starts around 1,000-1,900 GEL. The whole camp costs 3,258 GEL a night in April, 3,711 in May, 5,041 in June and September, 6,035 in July and August and 3,646 in October, so a May or October weekend costs 2,600 to 2,800 GEL less for the venue. Your own wine costs 15 GEL a bottle in corkage.

Israir, El Al and Arkia fly nonstop from Ben Gurion to Batumi, about 23 times a week, and the flight takes about 2 hours 15 minutes; Batumi airport's route map lists all three. Book on Israir, El Al or Arkia, and check the winter timetable before you fix a date between November and March.

Georgia keeps UTC+4 all year. Batumi is one hour ahead of Israel in summer and two hours ahead in winter, from late October to late March. An early-morning flight lands in time to reach the hall the same day.

From the airport to Glamping Tago is 87 km on the Batumi-Akhaltsikhe road through Keda and Shuakhevi to Khulo, then up to Tago: about 2 hours by car. Khulo is your last stop for an ATM, fuel, a pharmacy and a shop, about 6.5 km before the camp. The last stretch is a mountain road for 4x4 cars and minibuses; big coaches cannot reach the camp, which is why we move groups in 15-seat minibuses. A guest who drives a normal rental car parks in Khulo centre and takes our 4x4 taxi up. Our transport page has the full route.

The marshrutka to Khulo leaves Batumi bus station every 30 minutes between 08:00 and 20:00; the sign in the window says ბათუმი - ხულო. For guests who land late, a first night in Batumi and the drive up the next morning works better than arriving in the dark. Our guide to wedding guest transport from Batumi covers the waves of minibuses for a whole group.

Most couples combine the two: they register at the Batumi Public Service Hall on a weekday, or bring the registrar to the meadow, then spend two nights in the mountains with their guests. At Glamping Tago a wedding books the whole camp for at least 2 nights: one to arrive, set up and have dinner together, one for the wedding day.

A typical wedding day, built from the weddings we have hosted:

• 09:00 leave Batumi; the drive takes about 2 hours.
• 12:00 arrival, welcome lemonade, check-in; getting ready in the dome.
• 16:00 ceremony on the meadow facing the mountains, or in the event tent if it rains.
• 17:00 canapés and sparkling wine by the yurt while you shoot photos in the golden hour.
• 19:00 dinner in the event tent, with the BBQ station beside it.
• 20:30 cake, first dance and fireworks.
• 21:00 to midnight music outside, then the party moves into the warm yurt so the tents can sleep.
• Next morning yoga on the grass, breakfast and check-out at 11:00.

Pack layers. In the mountains above Tago, days usually reach about 19°C in May, 24°C in June and 18°C in October, while nights drop to about 6-9°C in May and 5-8°C in October. Rain falls on 11 to 16 days a month from May to October, so every wedding has a rain plan: the walls of the event tent close and the ceremony moves under cover. The tents are heated, the evening sauna is included for everyone staying, and the camp has Starlink Wi-Fi.

Eco House Merisi, Keda (Adjara)

• Where: Silibauri, in a side valley above the Adjaristsqali river, Keda municipality
• Drive: 49 km from Batumi airport
• Capacity: ceremonies of 20-50 guests; restaurant hall for up to 50, plus two verandas
• Price from (2026): priced individually
• Season: all year

Merisi's wedding page describes a ceremony platform of about 50 m2 on the cliff edge, a covered backup space of about 100 m2, and a full hotel buyout for a wedding. It sits in a side valley: combining it with Tago adds 23 km to the drive.

Hotel Chateau Iveri, Keda (Adjara)

• Where: Varjanisi, Keda municipality, on the Batumi-Khulo road
• Drive: 47 km from Batumi airport
• Capacity: on request
• Season: all year

A small hotel with its own winery and Georgian restaurant that hosts weddings and events. It lies right on the road up to Khulo, a 1 km detour at most, so it also works as a stop on the way to the mountains.

For more venues on the coast and in the hills, read our comparison of a wedding in Adjara: coast or mountains.

Batumi has a Chabad House with Shabbat meals and a mehadrin meat restaurant, so couples who keep kosher plan their Shabbat in Batumi. Our kitchen at Glamping Tago is vegetarian and is not kosher-certified.

Chabad Batumi serves Shabbat meals by registration, publishes a kosher food guide and a list of Shabbat-friendly hotels, and notes that Batumi has no eruv. Its restaurant, Mendi's, has a mashgiach and opens Sunday to Thursday 12:30 to 22:30 and Friday 11:30 to 14:30 (Chabad Batumi). The historic Batumi Synagogue stands on Vazha-Pshavela Street.

The Public Service Halls are closed on Saturday, so a Shabbat-observant couple registers on a weekday anyway. The civil registration is the legal marriage; a chuppah or any other ceremony you add on the meadow is yours to shape, with your own rabbi or officiant.

Since 1 January 2026, every tourist entering Georgia must hold health and accident insurance with at least 30,000 GEL of cover for the whole stay, written in Georgian or English, which the border police can check. It is an entry rule under Decree No. 602, not a marriage document, although agencies list it with the paperwork.

• Medicines: Israel's Foreign Ministry warned in December 2025 that Israelis were held at the Georgian border over medicines, including some sold over the counter in Israel (Maariv). Check Georgia's list, carry an English prescription with a notarised translation, keep medicines in your hand luggage and bring personal quantities only.
• Travel advisory: Israel's National Security Council put Georgia at level 3, avoid non-essential travel, in March 2026; check the current level before you book. Its autumn 2026 guidance asks travellers to stay alert near Chabad houses, kosher restaurants and synagogues and not to post travel plans in advance.
• Visa: none for Israeli passport holders, for stays of up to a year.

1. 6 to 12 months ahead: pick the date and book the venue. June to September dates at Glamping Tago go 6 to 12 months ahead, and we need at least 3 months for any wedding. A 30% non-refundable prepayment confirms the date.
2. 3 months ahead: if either of you was married before, get the divorce or death certificate apostilled in Israel and translated into Georgian by a notary.
3. 2 to 3 months ahead: book the flights to Batumi and decide who files the application: you at the hall, an agency under power of attorney, or us for a registrar at the venue.
4. 1 month ahead: make sure every guest flying in has insurance with 30,000 GEL of cover, and send us your programme, timeline and vendor list. Book the photographer and the host now too.
5. 7 days ahead: confirm the final guest count for the food, in writing, and the rooming list.
6. In Georgia, on a weekday: file the application with your passports and two witnesses, register, collect the paper certificate and order the apostille and the English translation.
7. Within 30 days: register the marriage at a PIBA office in Israel, or at the embassy in Tbilisi before you fly home.

• Landing on a Friday night. The halls are closed on Saturday and Sunday. Fly in by Thursday, or bring the registrar to your venue.
• Leaving the divorce certificate at home without an apostille. It cannot be fixed in Georgia; it is apostilled in Israel.
• Flying home without the apostille. Order the same-day apostille for 150 GEL, or book the e-apostille by video call from home.
• Translating into the wrong language. The PSDA does not translate into Hebrew. A PIBA office in Israel wants a notarised Hebrew translation; the embassy accepts a notarised English one.
• Missing the 30-day window for reporting the marriage in Israel.
• Packing medicines without a prescription, or forgetting the insurance certificate for the border.
• Planning a mountain wedding in November. Glamping Tago closes at the end of October and in winter there can be 3 m of snow on the ridge.

Glamping Tago for this

A civil wedding weekend in the mountains at Glamping Tago

We are Jonas and Lisa, a Belgian couple who fell in love with these mountains and opened Glamping Tago in 2021. Our camp on the ridge above Tago village is made for weddings of about 30 guests: the whole place belongs to your wedding, and everyone sleeps on site.

We bring the civil registrar up to the meadow, so the legal marriage and the celebration happen in one place. You get the event tent on its deck, the yurt restaurant Yurtalicious, the dome as your getting-ready room, the fire circle and the evening sauna for 2 nights or more, with our kitchen and event team on site.

We organise the minibuses from Batumi and can collect your drinks in town. Write to us with your date and guest count and we send the organizer guide with every price.

Guests

Made for about 30; 33 beds on site, the whole camp for one wedding

Price from

3,258 GEL a night for the whole camp (April); 5,041 GEL in June; 2 nights minimum

Civil registrar on site

255 GEL state fee, arranged by us

Drive

87 km from Batumi airport, about 2 hours

Transfers

4x4 car 265 GEL or 15-seat minibus 410 GEL, Batumi to Tago one way

Season

Weddings May to mid-October; open April to the end of October

Food

Vegetarian kitchen with a BBQ station for meat; not kosher-certified

Booking

30% non-refundable prepayment; June-September dates 6-12 months ahead

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