New rules for obtaining a residence permit in Armenia have come into force.

In Armenia, amendments to the law "On Foreigners" have come into force with changed rules and procedures for granting residence statuses to foreigners in the country.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", at the end of February 2022, after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the flow of people leaving Russia increased. One of the relocation countries became Armenia, according to the report of "Caucasian Knot" "Why did Russians go to Armenia?".

New rules for granting residence status to foreigners came into force in Armenia on November 1, the republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

According to the agency's explanation, temporary and permanent residence statuses will now be in effect, while the special status is abolished. The temporary status is granted for up to one year, and the permanent status for five years, writes "News-Armenia".

Armenian nationality will remain a separate basis for obtaining permanent residence status. Other possible grounds include making investments in Armenia, providing exceptional services to Armenia, as well as family ties or entrepreneurial activities.

Applications and their processing will now be carried out only through a unified electronic platform. Decisions will be made within 30 days after the application is submitted. Permanent status based on exceptional services will be granted by the decision of the Prime Minister.

If the legal stay or residence period expires during the processing of the application, the person's stay in Armenia will be considered legal until the processing is completed and a decision is made, the publication notes.

Now it is necessary to notify through the platform about the absence in Armenia for 183 days or more no later than 10 days after the expiration of this period. This requirement does not apply to holders of permanent status based on investments or exceptional services. Applications submitted before November 1 will be considered under the previous rules.

Additionally, starting from November 1, the state duty for obtaining temporary residence status has increased from 105,000 drams (about $291) to 150,000 drams (about $416), and for permanent status from 140,000 (about $388) to 250,000 (about $693) drams. A fee of 30,000 drams (about $83) has been established for issuing a certificate confirming the legality of residence. In case of refusal to grant residence status, the paid state duty is non-refundable, the publication states.

The new rules are related to the fact that on November 1, an amended version of the law "On Foreigners" (adopted on January 20, 2026) came into force, which changes the rules for obtaining residence permits, explains the law firm ArmLegal, located in Yerevan, on its website.

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It is worth noting that the increase in the number of Russian citizens traveling to Armenia was also recorded in September-October 2022, after the announcement of mobilization in Russia. In the first 10 months of 2022, 1.4 million people arrived in Armenia, and almost half of them were Russian citizens.

Armenia and Georgia are not a reliable refuge for those who left Russia for political reasons, as there is a high influence of Russian special services and a risk of extradition to their homeland, noted Russian human rights defenders interviewed by "Caucasian Knot".