Before you start

Passport valid for the stay
For a residence permit: a ground (job, company, studies, family), a criminal-record certificate and a local address
Public Services Number (social card) for anything financial

Step-by-step

1
Check your visa-free allowance — and note it does not reset
Armenia's visa-free list covers the EU/EEA, UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Gulf and many others for up to 180 days in any one-year period. Chinese and Iranian nationals get 90 days in any 180 instead. The days are cumulative: leaving for a weekend does not restart the clock the way it does in Georgia. Everyone else uses the official e-visa at evisa.mfa.am, from around AMD 3,000. Separately, from 1 July 2026 nationals of a further list may enter visa-free if they hold a US, EU/Schengen or GCC residence permit valid at least six months, shown as a physical card or sticker — confirm this is still running before relying on it.
In personWho: Visa-free nationals; e-visa for everyone elseImmediate at the borderFree, or e-visa from about AMD 3,000
2
Get the Public Services Number early
The PSN — the 'social card' — is Armenia's identity and tax number. Banks ask for it, employers need it for payroll, and most state services key off it. Foreigners obtain it through the relevant state office with a passport and, in practice, evidence of why you are here. It is quick and cheap, and it removes friction from every subsequent step, especially opening a bank account.
In personWho: Anyone staying beyond a short visitDaysNominal
3
Register a company or take sole-trader status, if that is your basis
Armenia's company registration is genuinely one of the simplest in the region — same-day at the state registry, low cost, minimal capital. Registering an LLC or taking individual-entrepreneur status gives you a business basis for a temporary residence permit as well as the ability to invoice. Business-based permits have carried a minimum investment or turnover test around AMD 2,000,000 (roughly US$5,000); confirm the current figure, it is set administratively rather than in primary legislation.
In personWho: Freelancers and foundersSame day to a few daysNominal registration fee
4
Apply for the temporary residence permit — and note the November 2026 change
Temporary permits run one year and renew annually on the same ground: employment, business, study or family. Under the current framework you file with the migration authorities with your passport, criminal-record certificate, address proof and ground documents. From 1 November 2026 the new Law on Foreigners moves filing online, issues biometric residence cards, requires a decision within 30 days, and raises the state fee to AMD 150,000 for a one-year permit — non-refundable if refused. On the published drafting, work-based applicants are expected to have entered on a new dedicated work visa rather than converting from tourist entry.
In personWho: Anyone staying past the visa-free allowanceAround 30 days for a decisionCurrently a modest state duty; AMD 150,000 from 1 November 2026

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Criminal-record certificate from your home country, apostilled and translated
Proof of the ground: employment contract, company documents, enrolment letter or family certificates
Proof of address in Armenia
Public Services Number (social card)

Things most newcomers don’t know

The big Armenian immigration reform was deferred from 1 August to 1 November 2026 — and most published guidance still says August.

The new Law on Foreigners was drafted for an August commencement and the government moved it to November. Every law-firm explainer written in the first half of 2026 describes the new fees, the biometric card and the abolition of special residency as current. Until November they are not. If you are quoted AMD 150,000 today, or told the ten-year special passport is gone, check which regime the adviser is actually working from.

Source: Armenian government commencement order

Armenia has no digital nomad visa. The 180-day visa-free stay is the vehicle, and it is entry, not residence.

Aggregator sites list nomad visas for countries that do not have them — a live problem across this region. Armenia's openness is real but it is an entry rule: it carries no work authorisation, builds nothing toward permanence, and leaves you without a residence card, which complicates long leases and some banking. If you plan to stay, the temporary residence permit is the honest answer.

Source: mfa.am

The 180 days are counted across the year, not per entry — the opposite of the Georgian rule people arrive assuming.

Georgia's 365 days reset on re-entry, so the regional folklore is that a border run fixes everything. In Armenia the allowance is 180 days within any one-year period and a weekend in Tbilisi does not restart it. People who spend eight months here across two stays are over the line without ever having overstayed a single entry.

Source: mfa.am

The ten-year 'special residence status' for ethnic Armenians is being abolished, and its replacement is better for most people.

The special passport — obtainable on church or genealogical evidence — disappears under the new law. Existing holders keep their rights until expiry and then move to the five-year permanent permit, reportedly without the usual three-year qualifying wait. Since permanent residence counts toward citizenship in a way special status did not straightforwardly, the change is a net improvement for anyone intending to naturalise. Armenia permits dual citizenship, unlike Georgia.

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating the 180 days like Georgia's 365 and assuming a border run resets them
Planning around the new residence rules before 1 November 2026, when they actually commence
Applying for a nomad visa that does not exist, on the strength of an aggregator listing
Arriving without an apostilled criminal-record certificate and losing weeks getting one from abroad
Assuming visa-free days count toward permanent residence — they count for nothing

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.