Is this article legal or immigration advice?

No. MigrantIQ publishes general migration guidance for planning only. Confirm requirements with official government portals and regulated professionals before you apply or travel.

How current is this information?

Editorial content is reviewed on a rolling basis. This page was last updated October 30, 2026. Rules change — always verify fees, forms, and eligibility on official sites.

Armenia Residence Permit Rules From 1 November 2026

Armenia switches to a new residence system on 1 November 2026. From Sunday, every application for temporary or permanent residence goes through a single online platform run by the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. State fees rise on the same day, a refused application no longer gets a refund, and the 10-year special passport for ethnic Armenians disappears.

The changes come from Law HO-11-N, adopted by the National Assembly on 20 January 2026 and published on 13 February 2026. The start date was first set for 1 August 2026 and later moved to 1 November. If you live in Armenia on a residence card, plan to move there, or hire foreign staff in Yerevan, the rules below apply to you from this weekend.

What changes on 1 November

The Migration and Citizenship Service confirmed the switch in two notices, one on 19 June 2026 and one on 6 October 2026. The main points:

Online only. Applications for temporary and permanent residence move to a new electronic system. The old migration.e-gov.am platform and the Early One appointment app stop offering residence services on 1 November.
Booked appointments. If you hold an Early One appointment dated after 1 November, the Service says you file through the new system instead. Treat the old booking as gone.
Higher fees. The state fee for temporary residence rises from AMD 105,000 to AMD 150,000. The fee for permanent residence rises from AMD 140,000 to AMD 250,000.
No refund on refusal. From 1 November, the Service keeps the fee if your application is refused. The fee now pays for the review, not the approval.
New certificate fee. A certificate confirming lawful residence, free today, will cost AMD 30,000.
Work visa fee from 2027. A state fee of AMD 15,000 for a work visa starts on 1 January 2027.

Law firms in Yerevan report an extra card charge of AMD 5,950 on top of each fee, which puts the full cost near AMD 155,950 for temporary residence and AMD 255,950 for permanent residence. Check the final amount on the payment screen before you pay.

How the new process works

You submit the form, your documents, and any answers to follow-up requests online. The law sets a 30-day deadline for a decision, and your stay in Armenia stays lawful while you wait. The one step you still do in person is collecting the residence card. Expect to give fingerprints and an electronic signature in Armenia when you pick up the card.

Watch your notifications. If the platform sends you a request and you do not answer within five days, the file is suspended automatically. If you do not resume the file within one month, the case ends and you start again.

Temporary residence becomes a one-year cycle

Temporary residence is granted for up to one year. The law removes the extension procedure. When your status ends, you file a fresh application and pay the fee again. You also hold only one residence status at a time.

A new reporting duty applies to most holders. If you spend 183 days or more outside Armenia, you must notify the Service through the platform within 10 days of reaching the 183-day mark. Missing the notice puts your status at risk.

Annual quotas on residence

For the first time, the government will set yearly limits on residence statuses by type, number, and grounds. Once a quota runs out, the Service refuses new applications on those grounds, whatever the merits. The quota figures had not been published at the time of writing. If your plans depend on a specific route, file early in the year once the numbers appear, and keep a backup plan.

Business and investment routes get money tests

Residence based on business activity now has clear financial thresholds. You qualify if you meet one of these:

You invested at least AMD 2,000,000 in the charter capital of an Armenian company, or bought shares or securities of the same value.
You run a business as an individual entrepreneur and hold at least AMD 1,000,000 in your business accounts.
Your business turned over at least AMD 1,000,000 in the 60 days before you apply.

The tests continue after approval. Your status becomes invalid if you withdraw the capital, if the capital or the value of your shares falls below AMD 1,000,000, or if the State Revenue Committee database shows no tax assessed on your business within 180 days of approval. You keep your status if you already hold an equal investment in another Armenian company, or if you reinvest the money in another Armenian company within one month.

A dormant company or a sole trader registration with no activity will no longer hold up a residence card. If you work remotely for clients abroad through an Armenian sole trader setup, keep your accounts funded and file your taxes on time.

A new investment ground offers direct permanent residence, but the government has not published the investment amounts or the eligible assets. Ignore any figure you see online until an official decree appears.

Permanent residence and the end of the special passport

Permanent residence is granted for five years on one of five grounds: family ties to an Armenian citizen, Armenian ethnicity, business activity in Armenia, investment, or exceptional services to Armenia.

Family route. The qualifying relative must be your Armenian citizen spouse, parent, or child. Siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren no longer count. You also need temporary residence for at least three of the past five years.
Business route. You now need the same three years of temporary residence within the past five years.
Armenian ethnicity. The special residence status and its 10-year special passport are abolished. Ethnic Armenians apply for five-year permanent residence instead.

If you already hold a special passport, you keep the status and its rights until the expiry date printed on the document. Do not surrender the document early without advice, since some rights tied to special status, such as agricultural land ownership, end on the day the status ends.

Work permits and hiring rules

The old work permit becomes a "permit to stay or reside in Armenia for the purpose of employment," issued as an electronic confirmation on the platform. The list of people who work without one gets shorter. According to EY Armenia, two groups lose their exemption:

Founders and directors of Armenian companies with 50% or more foreign ownership.
Employees of foreign companies working through an Armenian branch or representative office.

Citizens of Eurasian Economic Union states, such as Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, keep their treaty right to work without a permit. They still need a certificate of lawful residence after signing an employment contract, and the certificate will carry the new AMD 30,000 fee.

If your employment contract ends early, you have 15 working days to sign a new one through the digital contract system. If you miss the window, your temporary residence based on the old job ends.

A new work entry visa, but not yet

The law creates a work entry visa for short-term jobs of up to 120 days, single or multiple entry, with no extension and only one issue per calendar year. Visa-required nationals who arrive on a visitor visa and then apply for job-based residence will face refusal once the visa rules start. These provisions start only when Armenia launches its new electronic visa system, and no launch date had been announced at the time of writing.

What to do now

Check your card expiry date. Cards issued before 1 November stay valid until the printed date. The new rules and fees apply when you renew.
Know your filing date. Applications submitted before 1 November follow the old rules. Anything filed from 1 November follows the new law.
Budget for the new fees. Two adults applying for temporary residence pay AMD 300,000 in state fees before card charges, with no refund if refused.
Prepare your documents early. Get translations and legalisation done now so you file as soon as the platform opens to your case.
Business owners. Check your charter capital or account balance against the AMD 1,000,000 and AMD 2,000,000 thresholds, and confirm your company files tax returns.
Employers. Review which foreign staff relied on the old exemptions and apply for their employment permits early.
Frequent travellers. Track your days outside Armenia and file the 183-day notice on time.

Watch the Migration and Citizenship Service website for the platform launch notice, the government quota decision, and the investment thresholds. These three pieces will shape how open Armenia stays to new residents in 2027.

Sources

Feedback

Was this article helpful?

Your answer helps us improve guides and editorial priorities.

Armenia Moves Residence Permits Online and Raises Fees From 1 November 2026