At a glance
- A Public Service Number (PSN) is free and ordinarily issued immediately by the Migration and Citizenship Service to any foreign national lawfully present in Armenia. No residence permit is required first.
- Once you hold a residence status document, address registration is due within 15 days, and any later change of address within 7 days. The fine for missing it is AMD 3,000 (about USD 8) — small, but it can hold up later paperwork.
- A residence permit is not a legal prerequisite for a bank account, but non-residents face enhanced due diligence and approval is bank-specific.
- LLC registration is free and can be same-day with official model documents; sole-proprietor (PE) registration is AMD 3,000 (about USD 8) in person, or free online if you already have Armenian e-signature access.
- The 1 November 2026 reform (HO-11-N) changes how residence applications are filed and adds capital thresholds. The separate fee increase (HO-12-N) takes effect 1 January 2027 — the two dates are frequently confused.
Moving to Armenia is administratively straightforward compared with most countries — but the steps have an order, and getting the order wrong costs weeks. A bank will ask for a Public Service Number you do not have yet. A residence application will ask for an address registration you have not completed. A tax residency certificate will ask you to prove 183 days you have not yet spent in the country.
This checklist sets out what a newly arrived foreign national should do in the first 30 days, in the sequence that actually works, with the deadlines and state fees that apply as of July 2026 — and a clear note on what changes later this year.
Before anything else: confirm your lawful stay
Most of what follows depends on being lawfully present in Armenia. Citizens of the United States, the European Union, Russia, Georgia and many other countries enter visa-free and may stay up to 180 days in a 12-month period. Others need a visa or an e-visa obtained before travel.
Your visa-free or visa period is your working window. Everything in this checklist is designed to be completed comfortably inside it — but a residence permit application is not, which is why it should be started early rather than left to month five.
Days 1–3: Get your Public Service Number (PSN)
The Public Service Number — still called an “SSN” or “social card” in informal expat conversation — is Armenia’s universal identifier for dealing with banks, employers, tax authorities and government services. It is the single most useful thing you can obtain in your first week.
A foreign national lawfully present in Armenia can obtain a PSN free of charge from the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A residence permit is not required, and issuance is ordinarily immediate — typically same-day, sometimes one to two working days.
What to bring
- Your original passport
- A notarised Armenian translation of the passport
- Proof of lawful entry (entry stamp, or an internationally recognised passport for Russian citizens rather than the internal passport)
Booking is often required in advance, and the wait for a slot can run from a few days to about two weeks — so book on day one, not day ten. Applications are filed in person; while representation by power of attorney is generally permitted for Armenian government procedures, the process is fast enough that in-person filing is standard practice.
If you decline a PSN on religious grounds, you can instead request an official statement confirming non-receipt, which banks and employers accept in its place.
Days 1–15: Address registration (grantsum)
Armenia operates two legally distinct address regimes on the same infrastructure: the population-register regime for citizens, and the residence-status notification regime for foreign nationals. As a foreigner you first obtain temporary, permanent or special residence status, and then perform the address entry.
The two deadlines currently in force: register your address within 15 days of receiving your residence status document, and report any change of address within 7 days. Failure to provide address data, providing false data, or failing to notify a new address is an administrative offence carrying a fine of AMD 3,000 (roughly USD 8) — three times the AMD 1,000 statutory calculation base, not three times the actual minimum wage.
These are the periods in force as this is written. Armenia is in the middle of two separate transitions — the Foreigners Law reform effective 1 November 2026 and a successor State Population Register law whose commencement is tied to the launch of a new register database — and the implementing legislation for both has not been finalised. Whether these particular windows survive unchanged is not yet settled, so treat the deadlines above as date-sensitive and confirm the current rule before relying on them.
Documentary versus factual registration
Documentary registration is based on a title document — an ownership certificate, a lease, or the owner’s consent. The owner’s presence is required for consent-based registration. Turnaround is usually one to two days.
Factual registration is based on where you actually live and does not require the owner’s cooperation or presence. Checks are now processed online, your passport is no longer held during the process, and home visits still occur. Expect roughly ten days.
If your landlord is reluctant to sign anything — a common sticking point in Yerevan rentals — the factual route is usually the answer. Our guide to proving your legal address in Armenia covers the documents in detail.
Days 3–20: Open a bank account
This is where most well-meaning advice goes wrong in both directions. Some sources tell you a residence permit is mandatory. Others tell you a passport and a PSN are all you need. Neither is accurate.
A residence permit is not a universal legal prerequisite for applying for an Armenian bank account, and several banks expressly publish tariffs for non-resident customers. However, non-resident customers are ordinarily subject to enhanced due diligence. In addition to a passport and PSN (or the applicable non-receipt statement), a bank may request proof of lawful stay, an Armenian or foreign address, tax residence, employment or business activity, expected transaction patterns, and source of funds. Approval is bank-specific and discretionary.
If banking is not urgent, some applicants prefer to wait until residence status and address registration are in place before approaching a bank. Whether that materially improves the outcome varies by institution and we would not present it as a rule — waiting is not legally required and does not guarantee acceptance.
A sequence that tends to work
- Obtain the PSN immediately on arrival.
- Approach a bank with a complete KYC package rather than the bare minimum — address evidence, income or business documentation, and a clear explanation of expected activity.
- If you are refused or deferred for lack of an Armenian nexus, reapply once residence status, employment or business documentation is available.
- Do not put all your hopes on one bank. Applying to more than one in parallel is standard practice.
See our detailed walkthrough on opening a bank account in Armenia, and, if you are setting up a company, corporate account procedure and requirements.
Days 5–25: Register a business, if you need one
Two structures cover most new arrivals: the sole proprietor, known in Armenia as a Private Entrepreneur or Individual Entrepreneur (PE/IE), and the limited liability company (LLC).
Private Entrepreneur (PE)
Registration is immediate and the application itself takes around ten to fifteen minutes. The state duty is AMD 3,000 (about USD 8) for in-person filing and free online. The online route requires access to Armenia’s e-identification and e-signature system, which most newly arrived foreigners do not yet have — so in practice the in-person route and its AMD 3,000 duty is what the first month looks like.
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Standard LLC registration is free. Using the official model charter, registration can be completed immediately; the published standard processing period is one working day where the founders are individuals, and two working days where a legal entity is a founder.
There is also an optional paid service — AMD 30,000, roughly USD 76 — for guaranteed one-working-day processing of a registration, an amendment, or a refusal decision, applied for separately with proof of payment. It is worth being precise about this, because it is widely misreported: LLC registration does not cost AMD 30,000. Ordinary registration is free and already fast. The AMD 30,000 service buys a guaranteed turnaround you may not need. Filing through a representative under power of attorney is possible, though we would not describe any particular turnaround for that route as a guaranteed statutory period.
Foreign ownership is unrestricted — 100% foreign shareholding is fine, there are no residency requirements for shareholders, and directors may be individuals or entities. A registered address is required and may be residential. See our day-by-day company setup checklist.
The 40-day trap: beneficial ownership declaration
This is the obligation new company owners most often miss. Anyone holding 20% or more is a beneficial owner, and the initial declaration must be filed at bo.e-register.am within 40 days of registration. Later ownership changes carry the same 40-day window, and there is an annual confirmation due by 20 February every year thereafter.
Default is an administrative offence penalised by a warning or a fine of AMD 30,000–100,000 (roughly USD 76–253) — the first tier can be a warning rather than a fine, and relief from liability is available where the violation is cured before the liability decision is issued. Repeated failure to file the annual confirmation over three years puts the company at risk of liquidation. Put 20 February in your calendar the day you incorporate.
Days 10–30: Tax residency
Immigration residency and tax residency are independent concepts in Armenia. You can hold a residence permit without being a tax resident, and you can be a tax resident without a permit.
Under the Tax Code, an individual is an Armenian tax resident if they are physically present in Armenia for 183 days or more in the tax year, or if their centre of vital interests — home, family, principal place of activity — is in Armenia. The centre-of-vital-interests basis is what allows qualification before the 183 days have run.
Two routes to the certificate
If you are a registered PE or entity: the certificate is issued electronically and immediately through the tax authority’s e-services platform on providing your taxpayer number and basic information. No 183-day evidence is needed. This is the main reason PE registration is so often recommended to people who need a certificate quickly.
If you are an ordinary individual with no registered activity: you must substantiate either the 183-day presence — passport entry and exit stamps, income statements — or the centre-of-vital-interests basis. Processing takes about two working days, not instantly.
An important caveat. An Armenian certificate confirms Armenian residence for Armenian purposes. It does not by itself resolve a dual-residence question with your previous country. Where a double tax treaty applies, the tie-breaker sequence — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and finally agreement between the two tax authorities — decides which country wins. Getting an Armenian certificate the week you arrive does not end your old tax residence.
If a taxpayer number is all you need — for dividends or taxable payments from an Armenian company, or because a foreign bank asked for one — that can be obtained separately, including remotely by power of attorney, usually within a couple of days. More detail in our overview of when foreigners become taxable in Armenia.
Month one and beyond: starting the residence permit
A residence permit will not be finished in your first month, but it should be started in it. The timing point that matters most is the gap between the legal processing period and the real-world wait.
The statutory decision period is 30 days after a complete residence application has actually been filed and entered the administrative process. Under the current appointment-based system, however, the total time from beginning the process to receiving a decision can be considerably longer, because an applicant may first have to wait for a filing appointment. In our own recent matters as of July 2026, the total wait has commonly been approximately five to seven months. That figure reflects our client experience, not an official published average. Electronic platform filing is scheduled to replace the current appointment system from 1 November 2026, but actual processing times after that launch are not yet known.
The practical consequence: if you intend to stay beyond your visa-free window, begin the residence process in your first month. Our guide to Armenian residence permits sets out who qualifies under which ground.
What changes on 1 November 2026 — and what does not
Two different reforms with two different dates are routinely conflated online. Keeping them apart is the single most useful thing you can know about Armenian immigration law in 2026.
1 November 2026 — Foreigners Law reform (HO-11-N)
- Appointment-based filing replaced by an electronic platform.
- Business-based residence capital thresholds introduced: AMD 2,000,000 (about USD 5,060) charter capital for an LLC or JSC, and AMD 1,000,000 (about USD 2,530) as business-account balance or turnover in the preceding 60 days for a PE.
- A maintenance test after approval: status may be revoked if invested capital or share value falls below AMD 1,000,000 (about USD 2,530), or where tax records show no business activity within 180 days of grant. Reinvestment in another Armenian company within one month is protective.
- Direct business-based permanent residence is replaced by a requirement to have held temporary residence for at least three years within the preceding five. A separate investment-based permanent residence route remains.
- Special residence status closes to new applications — but ethnic Armenian origin remains an independent ground for permanent residence. Reports that ethnic Armenians lose their route are wrong.
- A five-day cure window after electronic notification to fix errors or supply missing information; inaction for one month terminates the case automatically.
- Lawful stay continues while a residence application is pending, even if the original stay period expires during the proceeding.
- Most permit holders absent from Armenia for 183 days or more must notify the Migration and Citizenship Service via the platform within 10 days of reaching that threshold. Investment-based and exceptional-service permanent residents are exempt.
- Work-visa provisions take effect only once Armenia’s new e-visa system launches — a separate trigger, not automatic on 1 November.
1 January 2027 — State duty increase (HO-12-N)
The residence permit state duties rise to AMD 150,000 (about USD 380) for temporary residence and AMD 250,000 (about USD 633) for permanent residence. This is a separate law with a separate date. The current, lower duties continue to apply through 31 December 2026, including throughout the November–December 2026 window after the platform reform begins.
One further point of caution. Under the new framework, residence decisions will also weigh annual quota indicators set by the Government. The implementing acts have not been finalised, so how restrictive these turn out to be is not yet knowable. Meeting a capital threshold should not be read as a guarantee of approval, and we would not put a number on the quotas until the implementing legislation is published.
Your 30-day sequence at a glance
- Days 1–3. Book and obtain your PSN. Get the notarised passport translation done first — it gates everything else.
- Days 3–10. Secure housing with a lease or landlord consent if you can; identify whether documentary or factual address registration fits your situation.
- Days 3–20. Approach banks with a complete KYC package. Apply to more than one.
- Days 5–25. Register a PE or LLC if your plans require it — and diarise the 40-day beneficial ownership deadline immediately.
- Days 10–30. Obtain a taxpayer number; request a tax residency certificate if and when you qualify.
- Within your first month. Begin the residence permit process. The wait is longer than the statutory period suggests.
- Within 15 days of receiving residence status. Complete address registration. Report later changes within 7 days.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a residence permit before I can get a PSN?
Do I need a residence permit to open an Armenian bank account?
How long does an Armenian residence permit really take?
What does it cost to register an LLC in Armenia?
What happens if I miss the address registration deadline?
Can I get an Armenian tax residency certificate in my first month?
Do residence permit fees go up on 1 November 2026?
I registered a company — what is the deadline I am most likely to miss?
Where to start
If you do only three things in your first week, make them these: get the notarised passport translation, book and collect your PSN, and start the residence permit process rather than assuming there is time later. Everything else in this checklist follows more easily once those are done.
Armenia’s rules are in transition through the end of 2026 and into 2027, and much of the guidance circulating online has the two reform dates mixed up. If your plans depend on a specific deadline, threshold or fee, confirm the position as it stands on the day you act.
This article is general information about Armenian law and not legal advice for any particular situation.
Last updated: 28 July 2026
