Armenia: visa and entry rules

Do you need a visa for Armenia

No visa for most travellers. By law (Article 7 of the RA Law on Foreigners No. ZR-47) citizens of visa-exempt countries may stay in Armenia for no more than 180 days within one year. Everyone else applies for an e-visa at evisa.mfa.am.

An arrival date stamp goes into the passport — by law (Article 7). The clock runs from it.

Grounds for refusal. By law (Article 8) entry is refused to a person deported less than three years ago, to anyone who submitted false information when applying for a permit, and on security grounds including links to terrorism.

Money. The banking system is ordinary and cards are widely accepted, with the exception of cards issued in Russia.

How long you can stay in Armenia

180 days within a year, counted cumulatively. By law (Article 7) the days add up across the year rather than resetting on each entry. This is the single most misread rule in the country.

Visa runs therefore do not work here. Leaving for Georgia and coming back does not reset the counter. Neighbouring Georgia works the opposite way — a year per entry — so the trick that works there fails here.

Registration from 30 days. In practice anyone staying longer than a month registers their place of stay: hotels handle it, private rentals mean a trip to the migration police with your passport and the lease.

To stay longer you apply for a residence permit. From 1 November 2026 the rules for residence permits and work visas change under amendments already adopted.

Armenia’s borders: every crossing point

Armenia has four neighbours but only two working directions:

With Georgia: Bagratashen — Sadakhlo (the main one, open around the clock), Bavra — Ninotsminda, Gogavan, Privolnoye.
With Iran: Meghri — Norduz, the only crossing, open around the clock.
With Turkey: closed.
With Azerbaijan: closed.

The Turkish border has been closed since 1993, shut unilaterally from the Turkish side; the Margara and Akhurik crossings do not operate in either direction. A Yerevan–Kars overland route is not possible at all — only by air via a third country.

The Azerbaijani border is closed entirely. There is no overland traffic.

Bagratashen — Sadakhlo carries almost all passenger traffic between Yerevan and Tbilisi, runs around the clock and can be crossed on foot. From the Georgian side the same crossing is called Sadakhlo.

Meghri — Norduz leads into Iran through the mountains, runs around the clock and is lightly used.

Driving into Armenia

A foreign-plated car may be temporarily imported for up to a year. In practice a passenger customs declaration is filled in at the border.

You may not hand the car to locals. A temporarily imported vehicle is for the person who brought it; passing it to Armenian residents is not allowed without formalities.

Third-party insurance is compulsory — locally called APPA. Foreign policies and the Green Card are not accepted: buy the local one at a kiosk just past the border or online at aswa.am. Driving without it carries a fine, but the amount was revised downwards recently and no single confirmation could be found — ask when buying the policy.

Documents. Passport, driving licence, registration document, insurance. If the driver is not the owner, a power of attorney granting the right to take the vehicle abroad is needed.

The two clocks differ. You get 180 days a year; the car gets up to a full year. Here the person is the tighter constraint — the reverse of Georgia.

Bringing a dog or cat into Armenia

Rabies vaccination is required. In practice it must be given no later than 21 days and no earlier than 11 months before entry. Dogs also need distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus; cats need panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and leukaemia.

Microchip. In practice the Armenian side does not enforce it, but have one anyway: without a chip the animal cannot be tied to its paperwork, and the airline and the return journey will require it. ISO 11784 or 11785.

Health certificate is issued shortly before travel.

Sources disagree about an import permit. International references say a Ministry of Agriculture permit valid for one month is required; practical accounts describe travelling with vaccinations and a certificate alone. Check with your vet before you start the paperwork.

No quarantine where the requirements are met.

Overstaying in Armenia

There is a fine, but the law does not state the amount. By law (Article 43) foreigners bear liability as prescribed by law, with the figures set out in the Code of Administrative Offences rather than in this act.

A deportation carries a three-year entry ban. By law (Article 8) entry is refused until three years have passed; serious and especially serious offences carry longer bans.

Offenders go into a database of undesirable persons, and the decision follows from it rather than being taken afresh at each border.

Count the days yourself. The arrival stamp is in your passport, but because the limit is cumulative you have to track the remainder across several trips in a year — the officer will not tell you.