Individuals arriving to Armenia for permanent residence (including refugees) can import their personal property without paying customs payments (including VAT).
To be eligible for these benefits, the person has to have resided outside of Armenia for at least five consecutive years (except for refugees). This requirement will be met if the person has lived outside of Armenia for 184 and more days during each year of this period.
In order to benefit from this provision, individuals arriving to Armenia for permanent residence have to import their personal property within 18 months after their arrival (except for refugees, who, regardless of circumstances of their arrival, can import their personal property if they have a Government-issued document verifying their status). According to the law, for individuals who do not have Armenian registration, the 18 months period is calculated from the day of registration in Armenia within 180 days after their arrival, for individuals who do have Armenian registration, this period is calculated from the day they apply in writing to the Customs authorities within 180 days after their arrival. An individual can use these benefits only once in five years.