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Temporary residence status on the ground of entrepreneurial activity

Last updated 2026-10-22 Route business Authority Migration and Citizenship Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs

Official page Migration and Citizenship Service, temporary residence

Key facts

Validity
1 year
Stay per entry
Continuous, for the validity of the card
Threshold
AMD 2,000,000 (2026) of company charter capital or securities, or AMD 1,000,000 (2026) of sole trader capital or turnover in the 60 days before applying
Settlement
Switch-required after the qualifying period
PR clock
3 years of temporary status within the preceding 5 years
Local employment
Yes, including work for Armenian clients. Employment as an employee needs the employment ground

Temporary residence status on the ground of entrepreneurial activity

A one-year residence card issued to a foreigner who puts a fixed amount of capital into an Armenian company or registers as an individual entrepreneur.

This is the route the site means when it calls Armenia cheap, and the one the 1 November 2026 reform changed most. Before that date there was no statutory minimum and the migration service judged each business case by case. Now there is a number, and the number is the whole test.

Programme snapshot

ItemCurrent rule
Main audienceFreelancers, consultants, e-commerce sellers and small founders, including remote workers with foreign clients
Route familybusiness
Validity1 year
Stay per entryContinuous, for the validity of the card
ThresholdAMD 2,000,000 (2026) of company charter capital or securities, or AMD 1,000,000 (2026) of sole trader capital or turnover in the 60 days before applying
USD equivalentAbout USD 5,500 and USD 2,750 at AMD 363.85 to USD 1 (2026-09-04)
RenewalNew application each year. The extension procedure was abolished
SettlementSwitch-required after the qualifying period
PR clock3 years of temporary status within the preceding 5 years
Citizenship clock3 years of permanent residence, about 6 years on this path
FamilySpouse, parent or child may hold their own card. Extended family was cut on 2026-11-01
Local employmentYes, including work for Armenian clients. Employment as an employee needs the employment ground
Tax headline20 percent flat; 5 percent turnover tax for small businesses under the threshold
Processing30 days, extendable once by 30 days. permits.am from 2026-11-01

Application flow

  1. Incorporate with at least AMD 2,000,000 of charter capital, or register as an individual entrepreneur and place AMD 1,000,000 in an Armenian account.
  2. Register with the State Revenue Committee. Tax registration is part of the application, not an afterthought.
  3. Leave the funds in place. The migration service reads the balance.
  4. File through permits.am from 1 November 2026, or on paper at 14 Tairov Street, Yerevan before that.
  5. Pay the state fee, AMD 155,950 (2026). EY reports AMD 150,000 for the same item. Budget the higher figure.
  6. Wait 30 days for a decision, which may be extended once.

Good fit

A freelancer or consultant earning USD 30,000 to 60,000 who wants a legal one-year base, an Armenian tax identity and a clock running toward a passport. A small founder who would rather hold capital in an Armenian company than pay a visa fee to a country that gives nothing back.

Poor fit

Someone who wants to keep the company offshore and file nothing in Armenia, because the tax registration is the application. Anyone who needs the AMD 1,000,000 liquid for something else, since it must sit in the account at assessment, or who cannot show activity within the first 180 days.

Watchpoints

  1. The capital is not a fee, but it is not free money. It must be in an Armenian account or in charter capital when the file is read, and stay above the floor.
  2. Compliance is checked after grant. Withdrawing charter capital below AMD 1,000,000, or securities falling below that value, invalidates the status. So does the State Revenue Committee having no tax record of activity within 180 days.
  3. Reinvestment is the only cure. If you take capital out, move it into another Armenian company at the time of withdrawal, or within one month.
  4. The annual quota applies. A fully eligible applicant can be refused because the year’s allocation is gone. No quota figure had been published as of October 2026, so timing is a real risk.
  5. The fee rose on 1 November 2026, from AMD 105,000 to AMD 155,950 (2026).
  6. Renewal is a new application. The extension route was abolished, so every year repeats the full file and the full fee.
  7. A one-year card is not a Schengen key. It admits you to Armenia and nowhere else.

Sources