Border crossing rules
Who needs a visa to travel to Armenia?
List of countries whose nationals are unilaterally exempted from the requirement of obtaining a visa.
List of countries, with which Armenia has a visa-free regime according to bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Holders of all other national passports and travel documents, including UN Laissez-Passer, are required to obtain an entry visa.
List of the countries whose citizens can obtain Armenian entry visas upon arrival in Armenia.
In all other cases the visa regime for the citizens of Armenia with foreign states is regulated by the internal law of those countries and might be changed in accordance with them. Therefore, the MFA of the Republic of Armenia recommends to check on the latest information on visa requirements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or from the diplomatic missions of the destination country before the trip.
Citizens of foreign countries for whom a visa-free regime is set can stay on the territory of the Republic of Armenia for no more than 180 days during one year if no other term is defined by the international agreements of the Republic of Armenia.
List of countries nationals of which could apply for visitor visa only with invitation.
(the list of documents required for the invitation). This limitation is obsolete for the citizens of those countries of Armenian nationality.
Types of Armenian Visas
Visitor visa - A visitor visa is issued when a foreigner intends to enter the Republic of Armenia for the purposes of tourism, visiting relatives or other persons, business, transportation and other professional interest, medical treatment or other short-term stay. Visitor visa is issued for a single entry or for multiple entries with validity of one year.
Official visa – for holders of Official or Service Passports
multiple entries visas for non-diplomatic employees of foreign diplomatic representations or international organizations and their families with validity of 3 years
single entry visa or multiple entries visa with validity of 1 year for foreign officials who arrive to Armenia upon invitation of Armenian authorities or foreign diplomatic representations or international organizations
single entry visa or multiple entries visa with validity of 1 year for members of official delegations holding ordinary passports
Diplomatic visa – for holders of diplomatic passports and for the persons with diplomatic status
multiple entries visas for employees of foreign diplomatic representations or international organizations and their families with validity of 3 years
single entry visa or multiple entries visa with validity of 1 year for members of official delegations, their families as well as other officials
single entry visa for 120 days if arriving to Armenia for non-official purposes
Transit visa – single entry visa or multiple entries visa with validity of 1 year with stay in Armenia for no more than 3 days and with possibility to extend maximum for 4 days
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia issues and extends Official and Diplomatic visas, as well as issues e-visas. Visitor and Transit visas are issued and extended by the Passport and Visa Department of the Police of Armenia.
Armenian visas are issued for maximum 120 days with possibility to extend for another 60 days if no other term is defined by international agreements of the Republic of Armenia.
Invitations
You can see the list of countries, citizens of which can obtain Armenian visa only upon invitation and only at the diplomatic representations of consular offices of the Republic of Armenia here.
Armenian nationals who are citizens of those countries can obtain Armenian visa without invitation and upon arrival.
Invitations can be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by
- a) juridical persons registered in Armenia
- b) authorities of Armenia and diplomatic representations or international organizations or their representatives (physical persons submit invitation to the Passport and Visa Department of the Police)
Arrival to Armenia
Foreigners enter the territory of the Republic of Armenian through border-control points. For entry a foreigner must have valid passport, entry visa or a document of residency status unless Armenian laws or international agreements define no other procedure.
Minor foreigners may enter Armenia accompanied by parents, a parent or any other legal representative or if one arrives to his parents, a parent, other legal representative or an receiving organization.
If a foreigner arrives to Armenia without any valid identity document or visa or if he gets refusal to obtain Armenian visa he cannot enter the territory of the Republic of Armenia and must be returned to his country of origin or to the country he arrived to Armenia from unless the aim of arrival is to apply for asylum or refugee status.
Departure from Armenia
Foreigners can leave Armenia upon valid passport and a document validating their prior stay in Armenia if laws or international agreements of Armenia define no other term.
Transiting through Armenia
If a foreigner is transiting through Armenia he must present tickets to a third country or a visa to a third country and can stay on the territory of Armenia for no more than 72 hours except in cases of emergency.
Foreigners transiting Armenia by land can obtain transit visas without tickets or visas of a third country.
A foreigner can stay in the Transit Zone for no more than 48 hours if not going to enter Armenia, except in cases of emergency.
Click here to load Application Form for Entry Visa to Armenia.
Important Notes
In border-control points only 3-day Transit visas and 21/120 days Visitor visas are issued.
Foreigners who can travel to Armenia only upon invitation cannot obtain Armenian visa upon arrival.
For additional information please email us at visa@mfa.am or call us at (+37460) 620516.
ENTRY INTO THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
The RA citizen’s enters into the Republic of Armenia submitting to the border control:
- Passport of the RA citizen, Biometric Passport of the RA citizen, Diplomatic Passport of the RA or the RA Certificate of Return.
The dual citizen of the Republic of Armenia submit any of the valid passports.
A foreigner shall submit:
- a valid passport or other document of the citizenship of the country, and, upon necessity, as well as, an authentic document attesting his/her legal stay or residence status in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
A foreign citizen holding a service, diplomatic and/or official passport shall submit:
- The service, diplomatic or official passport of the country of citizenship, and, upon necessity, the RA entry visa issued by the diplomatic corps or consular posts of the foreign countries. The above-mentioned persons may enter RA also on the basis of a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.
A foreigner under the age of 18 shall submit:
- a passport or a substitute document of the country of citizenship and enters into the Republic of Armenia together with parents, one of the parents, another legal representative or an attendant, or alone, if he/she comes to the Republic of Armenia to visit his/her parents, one of the parents, another legal representative, or a host organization.
A person without a citizenship or a person who has been granted a refugee status by a foreign state, shall submit:
- the travel document, as well as an authentic document attesting his/her legal stay or residence status in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
A person who has been granted a refugee status by the Republic of Armenia shall submit:
- the travel document issued by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
Pursuant to the RA Government Decision N 2 „On Approval of the Procedures for Implementing the Functions of State Authorized Bodies at State Border Crossing Points” (Amended as of 24 March 1998) (Clauses 2, 5, 7, 10), Pursuant to The RA Law „On Foreigners”, Articles 6, 12
EXIT FROM THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
The RA citizen’s exits from the Republic of Armenia submitting to the border control:
- Passport of the RA citizen with a seal of validity in foreign countries, Biometric Passport of the RA citizen or Diplomatic Passport of the RA.
The dual citizen of the Republic of Armenia shall submit:
- Passport of the RA citizen with a seal of validity in foreign countries, Biometric Passport of the RA citizen or any of the other valid passports.
A citizen under the age of 18 shall submit:
- Passport of the RA citizen under the age of 18.
A foreigner shall submit:
- a valid passport or other document of the citizenship of the country, and, upon necessity, an authentic document attesting his/her legal stay or residence status in the territory of the Republic of Armenia till the moment of the exit, otherwise the foreigner may be subject to administrative liability.
A person without a citizenship or a person who has been granted a refugee status by a foreign state shall submit:
- The travel pass and an authentic document attesting his/her legal stay or residence status in the territory of the Republic of Armenia till the moment of the exit.
A person who has been granted a refugee status by the Republic of Armenia shall submit:
- The travel pass issued by the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the country's entry permit where the person leaves.
Pursuant to the RA Government Decision N 2 „On Approval of the Procedures for Implementing the Functions of State Authorized Bodies at State Border Crossing Points” (Amended as of 24 March 1998) (Clauses 2, 5, 7, 10), Pursuant to The RA Law „On Foreigners”, Articles 6, 12
EXIT OF ARMENIAN MINORS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF ARMNIA
There is no specific procedure for entering the RA and exiting from the RA for Armenian minors (RA citizens under the age of 16), therefore Armenian minors can cross the border on the basis of availability of a valid passport. The exit from the RA for Armenian minors is banned only on the basis of a court verdict entered into legal force and submitted to the RA National Security Service by the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.
DUAL CITIZEN OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
A person holding more than one citizenship is considered a dual citizen.
A person having a citizenship of another state (countries) beside the Armenian citizenship is considered dual citizen of the Republic of Armenia.
The dual citizen of the Republic of Armenia is recognized only as a citizen of the Republic of Armenia for the Republic of Armenia. This norm also covers those Armenian citizens who after January 1, 1995, have accepted or have been granted the citizenship of another state without denouncing Armenian citizenship, according to the regulations as well as those who have denounced their Armenian citizenship unilaterally.
The citizen of the Republic of Armenia, in the event of receiving or obtaining citizenship of another state, is obliged to inform the authorized body of the RA Government within one month in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
Pursuant to The RA Law „On the citizenship of the RA”, Articles 13.1
FOREIGNERS’ ENTRY INTO THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
According to Article 6 (1) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners, Foreigners shall enter the Republic of Armenia through state border crossing points, on the basis of availability of a valid passport, on the basis of an entry visa or a document attesting the residence status and in case of authorization by the administration body of the RA NSS Border Troops authorized by the Government of the Republic of Armenia carrying out border control, unless another procedure is provided for by this Law or the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.
According to Article 6 (2) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners, Foreigners under the age of 18 may enter the Republic of Armenia with their parents, one of the parents, another legal representative or an attendant, or alone, if they come to the Republic of Armenia to visit their parents, one of the parents, another legal representative, or a host organisation.
Article 6 (3) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners provides that the entry into the territory of the Republic of Armenia of foreigners who have arrived at a crossing point of the state border of the Republic of Armenia without a passport, a document substituting it or with an invalid passport, or who have been refused an entry visa at a crossing point of the state border of the Republic of Armenia, or who have not obtained an entry authorization from the body carrying out border control, shall not be allowed, and, as soon as possible, they shall be returned to their State of origin or to the State, from where they have arrived, by the means of transport of the same carrier, except for cases when they have arrived in Armenia for the purpose of seeking refugee status or a right to political asylum.
Pursuant to The RA Law „On Foreigners”, Article 12
EXIT FROM THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
According to Article 12 (1) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners, Foreigners may exit from the Republic of Armenia in case of availability of a valid passport and a valid document attesting lawful stay or residence in the territory of the Republic of Armenia till the moment of the exit, unless another procedure is provided for by aw or international treaties.
Article 12 (2) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners states that Article 201 (1) of the RA Code on Administrative Violations establishes that (the residence of foreigners in the RA without a valid visa or residence permit or with invalid documents, as well as violation of transit traffic within the RA) the foreigner subjected to administrative liability may exit from the RA without a valid passport and a valid document confirming their legal stay or residence in the territory of the Republic of Armenia only upon submission of the receipts confirming payment of the fine (other document confirming payment of the fine) before exiting from the RA.
Article 12 (3) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners states that the exit of a foreigner from the Republic of Armenia shall be prohibited where as prescribed by law: (a) a decision has been entered against him or her on involving as an accused, until the closure of the case proceedings or termination of the criminal prosecution against that person; (b) a punishment has been imposed on him or her, the serving of which is possible only in the Republic of Armenia, until the end of the term of serving the punishment or release from serving the punishment as prescribed by law.
Pursuant to The RA Law „On Foreigners”, Article 12
FOREIGNERS’ STAY IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
Those States’ citizens for whom a regime for arriving in the Republic of Armenia without an entry visa is established, may stay in the territory of the Republic of Armenia for a maximum term of 180 days in a year, unless another term is prescribed by the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.
Pursuant to The RA Law „On Foreigners”, Article 7
RIGHTS OF BORDER GUARD TROOPS IN THE BORDERLINE AND BORDER CROSSING POINTS
The Border guard troops have the right to:
1. allocate border guard points and implement operational-investigating measures in any partof the territory;
2. in compliance with the order determined by the law of the Republic of Armenia, requirethe right of temporary usage from the owners of territories in order to fulfill their tasks (creation and provision with corridors through border patrols and roads for transportation, as well as fences and other obstacles);
3. accompany trains with passengers and luggage, as well as other vehicles by means of border patrols;
4. in a manner prescribed by the law, check the documents of persons and vehicles, examine the means of transportation and the luggage. During the examination the loss occurred as a result of examination by border guard troops to the legal entities and natural persons shall be compensated form the state budget and the person who has harmed shall undertake a responsibility in the manner stipulated by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
5. in accordance with the order stipulated by the law, build houses, constructions, engineering-technical structures, training centers install and use equipment and armament;
6. implement the border crossing regime, border regime and put under administrative arrest citizens of the Republic of Armenia, foreign citizens or stateless persons who have violated the border regime border regime and state border crossing points regime;
7. examine and confiscate if necessary the belongings and documents of arrested people. A protocol shall be prepared for each case of administrative arrest and confiscation of belonging of arrested person;
8. hold apprehended people or people suspected in crime, people who should be questioned by authorized persons in special constructions equipped by border guard troops. In case ofnecessity, hold arrested persons in temporary isolation wards or other spaces of bodies of national security and internal affairs designated for that purpose;
9. invite a person to subdivisions of the Border guard troops to clarify the circumstances of violation of the State Border regime, border regime and state border crossing points regime;
10. check the exit and entry documents of persons, make relevant notes into them, and if necessary temporarily confiscate them and false documents, prevent entry or exit of persons without relevant documentation until a person obtains due papers, or clarification of circumstances in case of citizens of the Republic of Armenia having lost documents during temporary stay abroad;
11. jointly with interested state bodies and organizations, determine the place and duration of stay of vehicles transporting passengers and luggage at state border crossing points;
12. confiscate weapon, drugs, currency, valuable items and goods prohibited for import or export, as well as smuggled goods being transferred across the State Border, as stipulated by the law;
13. while maintaining border searching and operational-inspection activities, in order to protect people’s health and lives, temporarily limit or prohibit the movement of people and vehicles, as well as citizens’ entry to separate parts of the territory, force them to stay there or leave, immediately informing about it the commander of border guard troops;
14. in case of real danger to interests of the Republic of Armenia at the State border to inform territorial administration and local self-governing bodies, interested organizations, temporarily restrict the activities of organizations, except activities done in accordance with international agreements of the Republic of Armenia, defending works and other measures, which relate to the prevention of consequences of natural disasters and extremely dangerous infecting illnesses;
15. while persecuting people violating the state border regime, penetrate into apartments, buildings, territories, land-plots of citizens, by means of overcoming the obstacles, following the order stipulated by the law. If the above-mentioned actions have been done against the will of citizens or officials, the commander of border guard unit shall report about it the appropriate prosecutor within 24 hours;
16. while searching and moving people suspected in crime or other illegal activity to use communication devices for servicing purposes, vehicles of organizations (despite organizational-legal type), citizens, for purpose of driving back incursions to the territory of the Republic of Armenia, with the further compensation from budget funds accordingly with the of the Republic of Armenia;
17. receive information from state and local self-governing bodies, NGOs and otherorganizations, except those cases, when a special regulation for collecting information is defined;
18. for establishing control of State border regime, border regime and state border crossing points regime, to perform people’s registration, calculation of factual data, statistics and for those purposes use informational systems, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
19. propose to state bodies, organizations to clear up the reasons and conditions, which cause the violation of rules by border guard troops;
20. encourage citizens, who actively participates in border protection;
21. use weapons, military equipment, special measures and dogs following the order stipulated by the law;
22. for the purpose of providing the protection of state border, in frames of their authorization to perform inspection, anti-inspection and operational-inspection activities;
23. control the protection of rules of state border regime, border regime and state border crossing points regime within the population;
24. conduct investigations on cases under their supervision in accordance with the law;
25. prevent those violations, which should be fought under authorization of border guard troops;
26. participate in the activity of border representatives of the Republic of Armenia, organize border search (operation) if necessary;
27. examine planes or other flying machines if it has not replied to the requested signs, has flown outside the air corridors, has violated the order of entry to the air space of the Republic of Armenia or after entry to the air space of the Republic of Armenia has landed not at an international airport. Examination of planes or other flying machines shallinclude check of documents of the plane or the flying machine, check of documents andluggage of crewmembers and passengers.
28. After examination, the plane or the flying machine may be allowed to continue flight in the air space of the Republic of Armenia observing the set rules, or asked to leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia; they may also be arrested, in accordance with the “Law on State Border” of the Republic of Armenia;
29. Prohibit exit of crewmembers and passengers from the plane or other flying machines in case the latter have violated flight, airport, customs, sanitary or other rules in the territory of the Republic of Armenia;
30. In case there are wanted criminals on the plane or flying machine, arrest them and give to the discretion of investigation or pre-investigation entities, if otherwise not provided by international agreements of the Republic of Armenia.
Border guard troops may also use their rights given by this article outside border zone on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, persecuting border violators jointly with corresponding bodies.
Pursuant to The RA Law „On Border Guard Troops”, Articles 7
ADMINISTRATIVE ARREST CARRIED OUT BY THE RA BORDER GUARD TROOPS
According to Article 7 (f) of Law of the Republic of Armenia on Border Guard Troops, in the borderline and border crossing points, the Border guard troops have the right to implement the border crossing regime, border regime and put under administrative arrest citizens of the Republic of Armenia, foreign citizens or stateless persons who have violated the border regime and state border crossing points regime. The right of the border guards to carry out administrative detention is also defined by Article 261(2) of the RA Code of Administrative Offenses, which states that border guard troops can carry out administrative detention of persons who have violated the border regime and state border crossing points regime.
Article 260 of the RA Code of Administrative Offenses states that a protocol on administrative detention shall be drawn up stating the time and place of compiling, the position, name, surname and patronymic of the person making the protocol, as well information on the detainee's personality, the time of arrest and the grounds. The protocol is signed by the official and detainee. In case of refusing to sign the protocol, it shall be signposted therein.
According to Article 262 (2) of the RA Code of Administrative Offenses, persons who have violated the border regime and state border crossing points regime can be detained for up to 3 hours to make a protocol, and if necessary to identify the person and the circumstances of the offense, administrative detention of persons can last up to 3 days within 24 hours after the arrest, by giving a written notice to the prosecutor or the prosecutor's sanction for up to 10 days in case the offenders have no identification documents. The administrative arrest term is calculated from the moment of bringing the infringer to make a protocol at his/her presence.
According to Article 7 (g) of Law of the Republic of Armenia on Border Guard Troops, in the borderline and border crossing points, the Border guard troops have the right to examine and confiscate if necessary the belongings and documents of arrested people. A protocol shall be prepared for each case of administrative arrest and confiscation of belonging of arrested person.
Article 263 of the RA Code of Administrative Offenses states that among other authorized state bodies, the RA Border Guard Troops also have the right to conduct personal inspection and examination of items. The same article also sets out the rules of inspection and examination of items.
RA CODE OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES, LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON BORDER GUARD TROOPS
Detention of foreigners — without an entry authorization — at the crossing points of the state border of the Republic of Armenia
According to Article 37 (1) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners, where, as provided for in Article 6 (3) of this Law, it is impossible to return a foreigner to the State of origin or to the State where he or she came from, foreigners who have arrived at a crossing point of the state border of the Republic of Armenia without a passport, with an invalid passport, or who have been refused an entry visa at a crossing point of the state border of the Republic Armenia, or who have not obtained an entry authorization from the body carrying out border control, may be detained in a transit area or in another place — in a special facility provided for that purpose.
According to Article 37 (2) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners, if the foreigners referred to in part 1 of this Article are family members, they shall be detained together.
Article 37 (3) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners states if the person referred to in part 1 of this Article is a person under 18 travelling without being accompanied by a parent or by a legal representative, he or she may not be detained in a special facility and must be immediately taken to a parent (parents) or a legal representative.
Article 37 (5) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners states if the return of a foreigner to the State of origin is impossible within 90 days, the public administration body authorized in the field of police of the Republic of Armenia shall issue a temporary permit to the foreigner until the departure of the foreigner from the Republic of Armenia, but for a term not exceeding one year.According to Article 37 (6) of the Law of the RA on Foreigners, the procedure for the operation of special facilities at border crossing points and transit areas and for detention of foreigners shall be established by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
Pursuant to The RA Law „On Foreigners”, Article 6, 37
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIM
If you are planning to go abroad, then:
- Before you leave, make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months abroad.
- Check the terms and conditions for entry, visa and customs regime of the country of destination. Keep the deadlines set out in your entry permit: staying abroad for a longer period of time is illegal.
- Study the migration and labor legislation of the country of destination and the customs of that country.
- Do not trust your passport to anyone. Your identity cards should always be under your supervision, and nobody has the right to take them away from you.
- Take the photocopies of your passport, visa, invitation, contract and extra copies of your passport photos and keep them separate from your passport so that it can be easily restored if your passport is lost.
- Take the addresses and phone numbers of Armenian Embassies and Consulates abroad, as well as the addresses and phone numbers of international organizations (International Organization for Migration, the Red Cross, etc.). Collect information about the Armenian community of the country of destination.