How much a residence permit in Armenia costs and how long it takes in 2026

Current as of 20 October 2026. The figures are split into what applies now and what is expected after 1 November 2026.

Duties now

State duties per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based on Part 8 of Art. 14 of the Law on State Duty:

US citizens have separate reciprocal rates (Art. 14.3, government decision of 29.03.2019 No. 300-N): 85,000 for issue and 1,000 for extension of a temporary card, 140,000 for a permanent one.

Pay through E-Payments, at a bank or at a terminal on site.

Other costs

The duty is not the whole price. Budget for:

• a notarised Armenian translation of the passport (mandatory);
• a health certificate;
• three 35x45 mm photos;
• documents proving the ground (translation and legalisation of foreign certificates).

We do not quote notary or clinic prices from general sources: they depend on the provider, so ask when booking.

Processing time

• A decision is made within 30 days of filing (Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Art. 17(4) as amended by HO-11-N).
• You have 5 days to answer a notice about deficiencies; with no answer the case is suspended, and closed if nothing is done within a month (Art. 17 as amended).
• After a refusal you may reapply after one year (Art. 20 as amended).

These are statutory terms. We did not measure actual terms including queues and found no official statistics.

Renewal

• A temporary card is renewed each time for 1 year, a permanent one for 5 years.
• File at least 30 days before expiry.
• For study-based permits, HO-11-N allows filing up to the last day of validity (per the law firm armenian-lawyer.com).

What changes on 1 November 2026

• Applications for all statuses are filed only online through the unified electronic platform. The old migration.e-gov.am portal and the EarlyOne app stop working (ARKA, Service announcement of 19.06.2026).
• Cards become biometric: fingerprints and an electronic signature are required.
• The decision term stays 30 days (Art. 17 HO-11-N).
• Duties will rise: law-firm publications cite AMD 150,000 for a temporary permit and AMD 250,000 for permanent residence plus a card fee. HO-11-N contains no amounts; they are set by the Law on State Duty. We have not opened a primary source with the amounts, so we do not present these figures as fact. One publication also gives 1 January 2027. This article will be updated.
• Applications filed before 1 November are decided under the old rules. EarlyOne appointments are not carried over: you must refile in the new system.

How not to overpay

1. If your status ends within weeks, file the renewal before 1 November while the old system still works.
2. Pay only via E-Payments, not by unverified details.
3. Keep receipts: we could not confirm a refund after refusal, so treat the duty as non-refundable.