Residence in Armenia: business permits and the new investor route from 1 November 2026

Armenia has never operated a citizenship-by-investment programme, and the drafts discussed in 2022 were not enacted. Residence has instead been granted on ordinary grounds such as employment, business activity, study and family ties, alongside a 10-year special residency status. On 20 January 2026 Parliament adopted a substantial amendment to the Law on Foreigners, which takes effect on 1 November 2026. It abolishes special residency for new applicants (existing passports remain valid until expiry), introduces direct permanent residence for investment in Armenia and for exceptional services to the state, sets out precise capital tests for business residence, and allows the government to set an annual quota on residence grants, after which applications are declined. Applications filed before 1 November 2026 are processed under the previous rules. Property ownership on its own is not a ground for residence.

The business route is the immediately usable investment option. A foreigner who is a shareholder or participant in an Armenian commercial company qualifies if they have invested at least AMD 2 million in its charter capital, or acquired shares or securities of the same value; a sole entrepreneur needs at least AMD 1 million in business accounts, or turnover of AMD 1 million in the 60 days before applying. Temporary residence is granted for up to one year, and status can be cancelled if the capital is withdrawn, falls below AMD 1 million, or if no tax information on the activity reaches the State Revenue Committee within 180 days, unless the capital is reinvested in another Armenian company within one month. After at least three of the previous five years on temporary residence, a business owner can apply for a five-year permanent residence card. The new direct investor permanent residence route depends on a government decree specifying amounts and qualifying assets, which had not been published as of October 2026. Investor permanent residents will not be subject to the rule requiring notification after 183 days abroad.

Tax residence is separate from immigration status. An individual is tax resident if physically present in Armenia for 183 days or more in a calendar year, if their centre of vital interests is in Armenia, or if they serve in its civil service. Residents are taxed on worldwide income and non-residents only on Armenian-source income. Most income paid through a tax agent, including salaries, bears a flat 20% income tax; dividends are taxed at 5%, royalties and lease income at 10%, and interest at 20% unless exempt. There is no non-domiciled or remittance regime, so anyone becoming resident should review foreign income and gains first.

Family members apply in their own right. Temporary residence on family-ties grounds remains available, but from 1 November 2026 family-based permanent residence is limited to spouses, parents and children of Armenian citizens, who must first have held temporary residence for three of the previous five years. Siblings, grandparents and grandchildren lose that route. Citizenship is ordinary naturalisation: applicants generally need three years of permanent residence, the ability to communicate in Armenian and familiarity with the Constitution, while persons of Armenian origin and close relatives of citizens benefit from facilitated rules. Armenia has permitted dual citizenship since 2007, which makes the residence-to-citizenship route attractive for families with long-term ties to the country.