Documents for Residence Permit in Armenia in 2026: Complete List by Grounds

Current as of 11.11.2026. The basic package for temporary and permanent residence permit consists of nine items, listed below. From 1 November 2026 applications are submitted through a unified electronic platform, and the document list is approved by the Government. We did not find the full text of the new list in the original sources. Below is separated: what is confirmed by the lists of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Migration and Citizenship Service (MCS), and what is visible on the new platform.

Basic package

The composition is taken from the MFA RA page and from the service page on migration.e-gov.am.

1. Application.
2. Application-questionnaire.
3. Three color photographs, 35×45 mm.
4. Passport, its copy, and notarized translation into Armenian.
5. Health certificate.
6. Document confirming legal stay: entry visa, residence permit card, RA special passport, or border control stamp of entry.
7. Documents confirming the grounds for status.
8. Receipt for payment of the fee. For persons under 18 the fee is not charged.
9. For minors: passport of the parent or legal representative and a document confirming relationship. For a trusted representative: power of attorney and passport of the authorized person.

For temporary residence permit based on an employment contract, the list is different: the employer submits the application. More on grounds: grounds for residence permit.

Documents confirming the grounds

On the migration.e-gov.am page, the grounds are split as follows:

Documents confirming Armenian nationality are listed in the service text: baptism certificate certified by embassy or consulate, document of a foreign state authority with apostille or consular visa, birth certificate or document of a parent, grandparent, brother or sister indicating nationality. The birth certificate and passport with the field "nationality — Armenian" are also considered proof.

What is displayed on the new platform

The mcs-permits.am platform displays required documents by grounds. This is not the full list by the Government, but what the platform requests when applying.

On the pages for Armenian descent and family it’s stated explicitly: all foreign documents must be submitted with notarized or consular Armenian translation, including the passport. The documents must be certified in accordance with the law.

Passport and photo requirements

The platform publishes file requirements.

• Passport: valid, personal data and photo page, all four corners visible. Scan should be in color (black-and-white or grayscale not accepted). Format JPG or PDF, up to 5 MB. Prefer scan over phone photo. File must be unprotected and unedited.
• Photo: 35×45 mm, head occupies 70–80% of height, neutral expression, light plain background, taken within the last 6 months, no filters or editing.

Typical reasons for photo rejection by the platform include smiling, shadows on the face or background, head too small or too large, glare on glasses, and dark photos.

Children and representatives

If a representative submits the application, the MFA and MCS lists specify power of attorney and passport of the authorized person. For minors, the passport of the parent or legal representative and a document confirming relationship are required.

The law separately addresses children of RA citizens. Children under 16 may receive status based on one parent's citizenship for the term stated in the parent's application, but no longer than the maximum status period. Alternatively, the child can obtain status based on their parent's status for the term of their document (Art. 29.5 part 3, as amended by HO-11-N). Exception — children studying at institutions from the Government list or on exchange programs. More: residence permits for children.

According to the previous MCS list, the fee was not charged for persons under 18. Whether this exemption will remain after 1 November 2026 depends on the Government’s decision on groups (new part 7, Art. 26 of the Law on State Duty), which we have not found.

State fee

From 1 November 2026, new item 8 of Art. 14 of the Law “On State Duty” (HO-215-N) applies. Basic fee is 1,000 drams.

The MFA RA service page still shows 105,000 drams for a temporary card and 140,000 for a permanent one. These were under the previous version of the law. The current Law on State Duty on arlis.am displays the new amounts, effective from 30 October 2026. The law allows the Government to fully or partially exempt groups from the fee. Before 1 November, for example, minors and close relatives of an RA citizen were exempt (MCS list). We found no decisions on the group composition as of 11.11.2026.

For work and study, the platform reminds: MCS reviews the application only after the fee is paid.

How the review process works

• Decision timeline: 30 days from submission, taking into account the annual quota for statuses (Art. 17 part 4 of the Law as amended by HO-11-N).
• The platform notifies of errors and missing documents. You have 5 days to respond, after which the case is automatically suspended. If not resumed within a month, the application is closed (Art. 17 parts 9 and 10).
• Applications submitted before 1 November 2026 are reviewed under the previous rules (Art. 30 part 4).
• If the status under law is reviewed longer than your allowed stay, presence in the country is considered legal until the decision (Art. 17 part 4).

Step-by-step platform filing described in: Online submission.

Common mistakes

• Passport translation without notarization. More: passport translation for residence permit.
• Photo not meeting platform requirements (smiling, colored background, over 6 months old).
• Passport scan with a cropped corner or in black-and-white.
• Payment of the fee under outdated sums.
• Foreign birth or marriage certificate without translation and certification.
• Health certificate submitted without checking if it's required for your grounds: health certificate for residence permit.

What to do

1. Determine your grounds, these determine your document set.
2. Order a notarized translation of your passport; for foreign documents, prepare certified translations.
3. Take a 35×45 mm photo and scan your passport according to platform requirements.
4. Confirm with MCS the current list of documents for your grounds (call 84-22 in Armenia or +374 10 300 159 from abroad, mcs@gov.am).
5. Submit your application and pay the fee at the new rates.