New residence permit rules in Armenia 2026: what changes on 1 November

Current as of 20 October 2026. HO-11-N was adopted by Parliament on 20 January 2026, signed on 12 February, published on 13 February and takes effect on 1 November 2026 (Art. 30). Below, dates and norms are separated into those confirmed by the text of the law and those expected.

Dates

What changes in substance

Online filing only

All applications for temporary and permanent status go through the unified electronic platform. The migration.e-gov.am portal and the EarlyOne app stop working on 1 November. Appointments for dates after 1 November are not kept: you must refile in the new system. Applications filed before 1 November are decided under the old rules (per the EY alert and law firms).

Decision term

30 days from filing (Art. 17(4)), as before. If the migration authority requests missing documents, you have 5 days to respond, then the case is suspended; after a month of inaction it is closed.

Temporary and permanent status

• Temporary status is issued for up to 1 year; entrepreneurship is added as a ground (Art. 15).
• Permanent status lasts 5 years. As a rule, at least 3 of the last 5 years of temporary status are needed. Direct access remains for persons of Armenian origin, investors and persons with exceptional services. The former direct route for business is gone: a three-year temporary period is needed (per law firms and T-J).
• Family: for permanent status only the spouse, parent and child of an Armenian citizen remain.
• The 10-year special passport is abolished from 1 November 2026; issued ones stay valid until expiry.

One status and quotas

• Only one residence status at a time (Art. 14). Multiple statuses held earlier remain until they expire (Art. 30(5)).
• The government will set annual quotas by status type; an exhausted quota becomes a ground for refusal (Art. 19). No quota decision existed as of 20.10.2026.

Business requirements

From Art. 29.4:

• sole proprietor: AMD 1m in an Armenian account on the filing date, or AMD 1m turnover in the 60 days before filing;
• company participant: an investment from AMD 2m;
• status is revoked if capital falls below AMD 1m or no tax is assessed within 180 days of the grant.

Work

• The labour market test ("no local candidate") is replaced by an annual quota (per law firms).
• If the employment contract ends, you have 15 working days to sign a new one (Art. 19).
• Work entry visa: up to 120 days, once per calendar year, no extension (Art. 10). It applies once the electronic visa launches.

Absence from the country

If you are absent for more than 183 days, you must notify via the platform within 10 days or the status may be revoked (Art. 17(8) and Art. 21; exceptions for investors and permanent holders for exceptional services). Tax residency is determined separately by the Tax Code.

Duties

HO-11-N states no amount: it refers to the Law on State Duty. Now AMD 105,000 (temporary) and AMD 140,000 (permanent) apply, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Publications cite AMD 150,000 and AMD 250,000 plus a card fee, but we have not opened a primary source. The claim that duties are not refunded on refusal, found in older publications, is also unconfirmed.

What older publications got wrong or imprecise

• "Decision in 30 days" is correct, but not new.
• "3 years on temporary permits" is correct for permanent status, except for Armenian origin, investors and exceptional services.
• "Revoked after 183 days abroad" is more precisely: revoked if you did not notify the platform within 10 days.
• "AMD 1m turnover in 60 days" is correct; an alternative is a balance on the account.

What to do

1. Check your card's expiry date and plan renewal early: after 1 November it goes through the new system.
2. For permanent status, count three years of temporary status.
3. Sole proprietors: watch tax assessments in the first 180 days.
4. Watch for implementing acts: there is no document list or quota yet.

Stay without a permit is covered in 180 days without a residence permit.