At a glance
- From 1 November 2026, residence applications, supporting documents and corrections of deficiencies are filed through the Migration and Citizenship Service’s new online platform. It cannot open earlier, because the legal act governing it takes effect on that date.
- Appointment capacity for every date up to 31 October 2026 was exhausted on 15 June 2026, so there is no slot to book before the changeover.
- An application actually filed before 1 November 2026 is processed under the old rules even if the decision comes later. A booking is not a filed application.
- State duties become AMD 155,950 for temporary residence and AMD 255,950 for permanent residence (about USD 432 and USD 708 at the CBA rate of 361.36 on 19 October 2026), each including AMD 5,950 for the card.
- Residence based on work activity stays on workpermit.am and is unaffected by the move.
Renewals move to a new Migration and Citizenship Service platform on 1 November 2026, and there is nothing to book before then: appointment capacity for every date through 31 October 2026 was exhausted on 15 June 2026. The Service set both points out in writing to this firm on 14 August 2026, in a reply signed by Deputy Head Irina Davtyan.
A renewal already filed keeps the old rules
A renewal lodged and accepted on or before 31 October 2026 continues under the pre-reform procedure, even where the Service decides it in November or later. The protected event is the date of submission, under Article 30(4) of the reforming law, HO-11-N. The date of the decision changes nothing.
A booked appointment sits outside that protection. The Service’s notice of 19 June 2026 states that migration.e-gov.am and the Early One appointment application stop serving residence matters on 1 November 2026, including for appointments already dated after that day, and that those users move to the new system. Holding a slot does not place a file inside Article 30(4).
Whether a file already lodged also keeps the old state duty and the old document set is unsettled. The firm’s own procedure note flags the question as open, and no source consulted for this article resolves it. We do not quote a figure on that point to a client with a pending file; the answer turns on how the Service applies the new fee trigger to cases already in its hands.
Renewing after your circumstances changed
Residence granted for work activity continues to be filed online through workpermit.am, which the Service confirmed in the same letter. A change of employer therefore stays on the channel it is already on. Under the rules that start on 1 November 2026 an employee has 15 working days after a contract ends to be covered by a new one, and from day 16 the stay counts as an overstay; mandatory digital employment contracts give the Service immediate sight of the gap.
The other grounds move. Applications based on family, business activity or study, together with their supporting documents and any corrections the Service asks for, are filed through the new platform from 1 November 2026. Filing will not require a visit to the Service in Davtashen: documents are attached online, and deficiencies recorded in a submitted file are cured the same way. The grounds themselves are unchanged by the platform move and are set out on our residence permits page.
The detailed procedure is still being written. In October 2026 the Ministry of Internal Affairs put a draft government decision on residence procedures for foreigners (study, business, family and other grounds) out for public discussion on e-draft.am, as project 10700. Until the Government adopts it, its filing windows, document rules and time limits are proposals, not law. We will update this page when the final text is published.
For a new passport, we could not source a published procedure for recording the new document against an existing permit under the new platform.
A lost or damaged card
A replacement card is issued on application to the authority that issued the permit, under the ordinary procedure in Government Decision 134-N. Where the permit was granted on employment grounds, the replacement runs through the employment-based procedure in Government Decision 2087-N. Damage is handled in the same administrative way as loss.
The state duty for a replacement card is AMD 12,000 (about USD 33 at the CBA rate of 361.36 on 19 October 2026), with exemptions under Article 26(1) of the Law on State Duty. That figure holds only until the reformed fee schedule takes effect, which happens on the tenth day after the Service announces the platform launch and no later than 1 November 2026. No replacement-card duty has been published for the period after that.
Replacement covers a card lost or damaged while the permit itself is still valid. An expired permit cannot be restored by paying the replacement duty. Renewal is a separate application.
The new state duties
From the tenth day after the Service announces the platform launch, and in any event from 1 November 2026, the state duty is AMD 155,950 for a temporary residence permit and AMD 255,950 for a permanent one (about USD 432 and USD 708 at the CBA rate of 361.36 on 19 October 2026). Each amount includes AMD 5,950 for issuing the biometric card. The certificate confirming lawful residence for EAEU purposes is AMD 35,950 (about USD 99 at the same rate).
Citizens of the United States pay different amounts, set on a reciprocal basis by Government Decision 300-N of 29 March 2019: AMD 85,000 for temporary residence, AMD 1,000 for a repeat grant or extension within five years, and AMD 90,000 for permanent residence (about USD 235, USD 3 and USD 249). Whether the AMD 5,950 card duty is added to those amounts after 1 November 2026 has not been confirmed, so check the figure for your nationality before you pay.
The trigger is the Service’s announcement, so the duties can rise before 1 November if the announcement comes early enough. HO-215-N sets the amounts and the commencement. No window exists in November or December 2026 in which the reformed procedure runs at the old prices: the reading that placed the fee change on 1 January 2027 fell away when HO-213-N repealed the provision it rested on. Current figures for each permit type sit on our residence permit cost page.
If your stay lapsed between 15 June and 31 October 2026
Overstaying is an administrative offence under Article 201 of the Code of Administrative Offences, carrying a fine of AMD 50,000 to AMD 100,000 (about USD 138 to USD 277 at the CBA rate of 361.36 on 19 October 2026) whatever its length. Our overstay page sets out how the fine is assessed and paid.
For this transition the Service has said it will not apply liability under Article 201(1) to foreigners whose lawful stay in Armenia expired between 15 June 2026 and 31 October 2026, where two conditions both hold:
- the ground for obtaining residence status arose before 1 November 2026; and
- the application to legalise residence is submitted through the new platform between 1 November 2026 and 1 January 2027.
The measure reaches only people who are in Armenia and who file within that window. Crossing the state border before filing puts the person back under ordinary administrative liability, assessed at departure.
This rests on the Service’s letter to this firm of 14 August 2026 (ref. 42/94/4/252505-26), not on any published law, decree or Service order: Article 201 was last amended in 2021 and carries no such window. Treat it as the Service’s stated approach to enforcement and take advice before relying on it for your own file.
The Service also confirmed that the period between the expiry of a permit and the filing of the new application is not lawful stay. Where that creates an obstacle to exercising a right, the Service will consider the case individually on a reasoned application supported by documents.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still submit in person after 1 November 2026?
What if my permit expires before 1 November 2026?
Does a booked appointment still count for anything?
What happens to an application I have already filed?
Do the new state duties apply to a renewal filed before the changeover?
Can I replace a lost card while the permit is still valid?
Does any of this affect a work-based permit?
My renewal was refused. Does the changeover affect an appeal?
What to do before 1 November
Check the expiry date printed on the card and confirm the ground for your status still exists, since the ground has to have arisen before 1 November 2026 for the transition measure to reach you. Assemble the supporting documents now in scannable form: the platform accepts uploads from the day it opens, and the window that carries the Article 201 relief closes on 1 January 2027.
If a file is already lodged, keep the submission receipt. If the permit lapsed after 15 June 2026, stay in Armenia until the application goes in; leaving first forfeits the measure and puts the overstay back in the ordinary assessment at the border.
Last updated: 20 October 2026
