Armenia Changes System for Granting Residency to Foreigners; Residence Fee to Increase
The system for granting residency status to foreigners in Armenia is being revised. While currently three statuses are in effect—temporary, permanent, and special—only two will remain after the adoption of the law: temporary and permanent. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan announced this in the National Assembly while presenting the package of corresponding legislative changes.
According to him, the process of granting residency statuses will be fully digitized to simplify administrative procedures and increase work efficiency.
The Deputy Minister noted that the granting of residency on the basis of employment will be abolished. Instead, a quota system will operate. Furthermore, the quota will be adopted annually by the government, based on migration trends and the country’s needs.
State duties are also being changed: the fee for temporary residency will be set at 150,000 drams instead of 105,000 drams, and for permanent residency, 250,000 drams instead of 140,000 drams.
It should be noted that in 2024, approximately 12,500 foreigners obtained residency status. Most of them arrived from Russia, followed by India, Iran, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine. According to Ghazaryan, a significant portion of applicants are ethnic Armenians, and this trend has not changed significantly since 2021.