Relocation intelligence

🇦🇲 Moving to Armenia: tax, residency and cost of living

Unified 20 percent flat tax on employment income (on gross salary), with a mandatory funded pension contribution, health premium and military stamp duty

Thinking of moving to Armenia? Here is the tax, residency, property and quality-of-life picture in plain numbers, with sources.

Key facts

Top income tax
20%
Corporate tax
18%
Capital gains
20%
Wealth tax
No
Inheritance tax
No
Cost of living index
38
Safety
8/10
Internet quality
7/10
Visa-free destinations
65
Foreigners can own property
Yes
Residency in
6 months
Citizenship in
5 years

Taxes

Flat 20 percent on the full gross salary with no tax-free allowance. On top come a mandatory pension contribution (5 percent up to AMD 500,000/mo, above that 10 percent minus AMD 25,000 capped at AMD 87,500/mo), a fixed health premium (AMD 4,800 or 10,800/mo) and a military stamp duty (AMD 1,000 or 15,000/mo). Residents are taxed on worldwide income; VAT is 20 percent and corporate tax 18 percent.

Residency and visas

A temporary residence permit (1 year) is quick to obtain, usually within about a month, via work, business, study, family or property ownership. A permanent permit (5 years) and naturalisation follow, the latter possible after around three years. There is no formal golden visa or citizenship by investment.

Property ownership

Foreigners may freely buy and own apartments, homes and commercial property without a residence permit. They may not directly own agricultural land, but can do so through an Armenian-registered company or long-term lease.

Cost of living and quality of life

Yerevan is an affordable, safe and welcoming city with fast internet and a growing expat and tech community. Points to watch are the more modest healthcare, the closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan and regional geopolitical tensions.

Passport and mobility

The Armenian passport gives visa-free access to 66 destinations per the Henley Index 2026 (rank 71). As an expat you generally travel on your own passport; Armenia itself has a generous visitor visa policy (up to 180 days a year visa-free for many nationalities).

Why people move to Armenia

  • Low and simple 20 percent flat tax

    Employment income is taxed at a flat 20 percent with no progressive brackets, plus a modest pension contribution; certified IT companies even enjoy 10 percent.

  • Fast, cheap residency and low living costs

    A temporary residence permit can be obtained in about a month via work, business or property, naturalisation is possible after three years, and the cost of living in Yerevan is low.

Honest trade-offs

  • Armenie belast fiscale inwoners op hun wereldwijde inkomen en kent geen belastingvrije voet, zodat het vlakke tarief van 20 procent al vanaf de eerste dram over het volledige brutoloon geldt.
  • Buitenlanders mogen appartementen en commercieel vastgoed vrij bezitten maar geen landbouwgrond, want landbouwgrond is voorbehouden aan Armeense burgers of aan een lokaal geregistreerde vennootschap.
  • De kwaliteit van de gezondheidszorg ligt lager dan in West-Europa en voor complexe of specialistische zorg wijken welgestelden vaak uit naar het buitenland.
  • De landgrenzen met Turkije en Azerbeidzjan zijn al decennia gesloten en de regio kent aanhoudende geopolitieke spanningen rond Nagorno-Karabach.

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Sources

Other destinations

AndorraUnited Arab EmiratesAfghanistanAntigua & BarbudaAnguillaAlbaniaAngolaArgentinaAmerican SamoaAustriaAustraliaAruba