Armenia residence permit for business owners and investors: temporary and permanent status

Either. The law speaks of engaging in entrepreneurial activity without specifying the form. In practice this is a sole proprietorship or a limited liability company registered in Armenia where you are founder and director. We choose the form by tax regime and by whether you need the exemption from a work permit, which is given to founders and executives of companies with more than half of the votes in foreign hands.

For applications filed before 01.11.2026, no. The Law on Foreigners as currently in force contains no minimum investment, share capital or turnover. The condition is genuine activity: registration, a bank account, contracts, tax reporting. Figures such as USD 10,000 quoted on agency websites are not a legal requirement. From 01.11.2026, according to Armenian lawyers, residence through business requires AMD 2,000,000 in company capital or AMD 1,000,000 for a sole proprietor; the official text of the law has not been published on the legal portal.

On 19 June 2026 the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Armenian MIA announced that, following amendments to the Law on Foreigners, applications for residence status are accepted through a new electronic system from 1 November 2026, and the migration.e-gov.am platform and the Early One app stop working from that date. The other parameters are known from Armenian lawyers: special status is abolished (passports already issued remain valid until expiry), renewal is replaced by a new application, annual quotas are introduced, residence through business requires AMD 2,000,000 in company capital or AMD 1,000,000 for a sole proprietor, and the duties become AMD 150,000 for temporary and AMD 250,000 for permanent status plus card issuance. According to the same lawyers, applications filed before 1 November are reviewed under the previous rules. The official text of the law has not been published on the legal portal.

Under the bilateral agreement only Indian diplomatic passports are visa-free, so an ordinary passport needs a visa, including an e-visa via evisa.mfa.am. From 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2027 there is a temporary exemption: nationals of India and 110 other countries holding a residence permit of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the EU, Schengen states or the USA valid for at least 6 months from entry enter without a visa and may stay up to 180 days a year. The permit must be shown as a card or a passport sticker with Latin-script details.

30 days by law for temporary and permanent status (Art. 17). The term does not apply to residence based on a work permit. For special status the Armenian MFA states usually 3–4 months, and it may take longer if the case needs additional review.

It depends on where you work. Founders and executives of companies where foreign capital holds more than 50% of the votes work in their companies without a permit (Art. 23). Nationals of EAEU states are exempt under the EAEU Treaty. Holders of permanent and special status work without restrictions. Temporary status based on business does not by itself give the right to be employed by another employer.

Under the Tax Code of Armenia: profit tax 18% (23% for sole proprietors on the general system), income tax 20%, dividends to non-residents 5%. A business with turnover up to AMD 115 million a year may opt for the turnover tax (trade 10%, manufacturing 7%, rent, interest and royalties 10%, catering 12%), and up to AMD 24 million for the micro-entrepreneurship regime. You become a tax resident after 183 days or more in Armenia; your Indian tax residence is checked separately.

For applications filed before 01.11.2026, under the text of Article 16, yes: for persons carrying out entrepreneurial activity there is no three-year condition, which is set for relatives of Armenian citizens. The duty is AMD 140,000 (from 01.11.2026, according to Armenian lawyers, AMD 250,000) and the card is valid 5 years. How the Migration Service applies the rule to a newly created business is confirmed for each case before filing; usually the temporary card comes first.

For temporary status the law sets no minimum stay; what matters is keeping the ground and renewing the card 30 days before expiry (from 01.11.2026, according to Armenian lawyers, renewal is replaced by a new application). A permanent-status holder absent from the country for more than 6 months must notify the Migration Service in writing (Art. 17(5)). Naturalisation needs 3 years of permanent residence, so long absences are planned in advance.

Under Article 13 of the Law on Citizenship, a person over 18 who has permanently resided in Armenia for the last 3 years, can communicate in Armenian and has read the Constitution may apply. The duty is AMD 50,000 and from 1 January 2026 the application is filed only via mcs-citizenship.am. Armenia recognises dual citizenship (Art. 13.1). India does not: acquiring Armenian citizenship means giving up the Indian passport and switching to OCI. The decision is taken by the state and we do not guarantee the timing or the result.

For applications filed before 01.11.2026, special residence is granted to ethnic Armenians and to other foreigners carrying out economic or cultural activity in Armenia, by decision of the Prime Minister for 10 years. The holder receives a special Armenian passport, enters without a visa and has the rights and duties of citizens except the right to vote and stand for election. The duty is AMD 150,000; processing, according to the MFA, usually takes 3–4 months. From 01.11.2026, according to Armenian lawyers, special status is abolished; special passports already issued remain valid until expiry. The official text of the law has not been published on the legal portal.

The permit itself does not require an account, but an operating business needs one: operations run through it and it evidences activity. Opening an account is the bank's decision after its checks, so we prepare proof of source of funds and the company structure in advance without guaranteeing the bank's result. Transfers from India fall under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and are planned together with the structure.

Business registration is online, translations and certificates take 1–3 weeks, processing is 30 days by law. A realistic term from the first meeting to the card is about 2 months once you are in Armenia; it depends on the appointment with the Migration Service and document requests. We do not promise one-week timelines.

Yes, if the main applicant holds permanent or special status: parents, children, brothers and sisters, grandparents and grandchildren are named in the law as close relatives and receive temporary residence (Art. 15(1)(d)). There are no age limits or dependency conditions in the law. If the main applicant holds temporary status, relatives need a ground of their own: business, employment or study.

For applications filed before 01.11.2026 it does not: there is no investment threshold in the programme. Only the state duties are added, AMD 105,000 per temporary card and AMD 140,000 per permanent card, plus translations and apostilles of certificates. From 01.11.2026, according to Armenian lawyers, the duties will be AMD 150,000 and AMD 250,000, and a minimum capital is introduced for the main business applicant (the official text of the law has not been published on the legal portal). No separate income for family members has to be proven under the law unless they take the housing-and-means route to permanent status.

Yes. If the application is refused through the fault of our team or an error in building the case, we refund the company's service fee less a minimal retention for costs actually incurred. Refund terms, the payment schedule and the rules on retaining service costs are fixed in the contract before work begins. Before we start, we check your documents and risk history free of charge and tell you about any risks in advance.