How long can Iranians stay in Armenia without a visa?

How long can Iranians stay in Armenia? Under the Iran–Armenia visa memorandum, an Iranian citizen can stay up to 90≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days in any period of 180≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days, with as many entries as they like and no visa at all. The window rolls: leaving the country and coming back does not give you a fresh allowance. The Armenian embassy in Tehran says something different on its Persian page, so the figure is marked as disputed below, and we explain what we rely on and why.

How long can Iranians stay in Armenia without a visa

The binding text is a memorandum of understanding between the governments of Iran and Armenia on visa exemption for visits, signed on June 5, 2016 and in force since August 10, 2016. It is published on ARLIS, the official Armenian legal database, and has no end date. It allows multiple entries and caps the stay at 90≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days within any 180≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026.-day period.

Most visa-free nationals in Armenia live under a different rule. The Law on Foreigners gives them 180 days "within one year", unless an international agreement sets another term. For Iranians, the memorandum is that agreement, so its shorter limit applies instead of the general one.

What you need at the border is a valid passport. Iran is on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list of countries that are visa-free for all passport types, and the memorandum covers ordinary, diplomatic and service passports as well as the certificate of return. There is no visa to apply for and no e-visa to buy for a stay inside the limit.

Why the embassy page gives a different number

The Persian visa page of the Armenian embassy in Tehran says Iranians may enter repeatedly and stay at most 180 days, the same figure as the general limit in the Law on Foreigners. It names no period and carries no date. Travel agencies and some lawyer pages then add their own versions, including "so many days per year", which matches neither the memorandum nor the embassy.

We use the memorandum's figure because it is the legal instrument, it is listed as in force, and the Law on Foreigners itself gives a treaty term priority. An undated consular page does not change a treaty. That said, nobody we can cite has officially reconciled the two, and border practice is what decides your case on the day.

How the rolling window works

On any given day, look back over the last 180≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days and add up the days you spent in Armenia. That total must not go over 90≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026.. Each new day in Armenia adds one to the count, and each day that slides out of the back of the window takes one away, but only if you were in Armenia on that old day.

Two things the memorandum does not spell out: whether the day you arrive and the day you leave both count, and whether a few hours in the country count as a day. Count both as full days. It costs you a little and protects you from an argument at passport control.

The Law on Foreigners says the arrival date of a visa-free visitor is recorded in the passport. Keep your own list as well, with boarding passes or bus tickets for each crossing, because you will need the dates to do the count.

Example one: one long stay

You land at Zvartnots and stay the full 90≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days in one go. You have to leave. Your first day in Armenia only drops out of the window once it is more than 180≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days in the past, so if you then stay out as long as you stayed in, you come back to a window that is emptying day by day, and you can stay roughly as long again.

This is the one pattern where the agencies' rule, "after your days run out, stay out for the same time", gives the right answer. It goes wrong as soon as the trips are split.

Example two: split trips

A UX designer from Tehran comes to Yerevan for two months to find an apartment and open a bank account, goes home for one month to sort out family matters, and comes back.

On the day she returns, both of those first months are still inside the window. She has used two months of her 90≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days and has only what is left, roughly one more month. The month she spent at home did not buy her anything except that it did not count. And the first trip will not start sliding out of the window until its first day is more than 180≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days back. If she wants to live in Yerevan after that second stay, she has to be out of the country, or holding a residence status, until those old days fall away.

Example three: back and forth every two weeks

A developer works two weeks in Yerevan, two weeks in Tabriz, and repeats. Over any window he is in Armenia about half the time. Under the memorandum's figures that sits right at the limit. One extra week in Yerevan, a delayed flight, a long weekend that stretches, and he is over. People who commute like this tend to find out from the border officer rather than from their own count.

Does a weekend in Georgia reset the count

No. The memorandum counts days inside any window of 180≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days, so a short trip out only removes the days you are away. We found no primary source that resets the count on exit. You may hear from Russian friends that a border run starts the clock again. That story comes from a different rule, the general limit in the Law on Foreigners, where how the "year" is counted really is unclear. Their situation is covered in how long Russians can stay in Armenia, and it does not carry over to Iranians.

Can the visa-free stay be extended

The memorandum allows the competent authorities to extend the stay under national law. That is all it says. We could not find an Armenian procedure for it: no application form, no fee, no decision time, no published list of acceptable reasons.

So do not plan on an extension. If something you cannot control, like a hospital stay or a cancelled flight, is going to push you past the limit, contact the Migration and Citizenship Service before your days run out, not after. The legal way to live in Armenia longer is a residence status, covered further down.

Can I work or register an IE while visa-free

A visa-free stay is permission to visit. It is not permission to take a job. Iranians are not citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union, so the free labour movement Russians and Kazakhs have does not apply to them, and working for an Armenian employer needs a work-based status. Law firms agree on this. The memorandum itself is silent on work.

Registering as an individual entrepreneur is a separate question. Several law firms and payroll providers say a foreigner can register an IE without a residence permit or social card. Whether you need a public service number first is disputed: one agency says it is mandatory, and the register law only records it "if available". Ask the State Register before you rely on either answer. The steps are in how to register as an IE in Armenia as a foreigner.

Registering an IE does not add a single day to your visa-free stay. It is mainly a step towards residence on business grounds.

Then there is the grey zone: a freelancer on a visa-free stay who keeps working remotely for clients in Iran or the Gulf. The law does not address this case directly, and we have not found a primary rule either way. Treat it as unsettled, and if it matters to you, ask an immigration lawyer rather than a travel agent.

If an IE is your plan, the calculator shows what each tax regime would cost at your income, and which ones you appear eligible for. Also keep in mind that days in Armenia matter for tax residency too, under a separate test that is counted differently. See Armenian tax residency and the residency certificate.

What happens if you overstay

Living in Armenia without a valid visa or residence status is an administrative offence. The Code of Administrative Offences sets a fine of AMD 50,000–100,000, calculated on a fixed base amount rather than on the actual minimum wage (text on IRTEK). The same provision stays unchanged after the November reform. Claims online that a first offence always costs a fixed amount have no legal source.

What else happens is less clear. One law firm reports that people cannot re-enter until the fine is paid and that expulsion can bring an entry ban lasting years. We found no primary source for either, so we cannot tell you how long a ban would be or when one is imposed. For someone who plans to apply for residence later, a record of overstaying is a risk not worth taking for a few days.

What changes in November 2026

The amended Law on Foreigners (HO-11-N, text on ARLIS) takes effect on November 1, 2026. For visa-free Iranians, four things matter.

1. The visa-free rules do not change. The amendment rewrites other parts of the visa-free article, not the limit itself, and the Iran memorandum is a separate treaty that it does not amend. Your days are counted as before.
2. Entering on the wrong basis becomes a refusal ground for work-based residence. As we read the new refusal grounds, a foreigner who entered visa-free without first getting work authorisation can be refused temporary residence on the work ground. This concerns the work ground only, not residence on business grounds through an IE or a company.
3. A new work entry visa appears in the law: up to 120 days, single or multiple entry, no extension, issued once per calendar year. Its launch depends on a new e-visa system and no date has been announced. The state duty, AMD 15,000, is set by a separate law that takes effect in 2027.
4. Residence applications move to a new electronic platform. In-person visits drop to 1, for fingerprints and signature. The old portals stop taking residence applications from November 1, 2026≈Estimate: Not yet confirmed by an official source. Last checked October 5, 2026.. Applications submitted before the reform date are decided under the old rules, but a booked appointment is not a submitted application.

The full list for IE holders is in the checklist for the new residence rules.

How to move from visa-free stay to residence

For freelancers, the usual route is temporary residence on business grounds, through an IE or a company. Under the amended law an IE qualifies with either AMD 1,000,000 held across its accounts, in any currency, or AMD 1,000,000 of turnover from business activity in the 60 days before the application. The IE owner applies personally through the platform.

The numbers that come with it:

Your stay is lawful while the application is being decided, which is why timing matters: apply while you still have visa-free days left, not on the last one. The government also sets yearly quotas by type and ground, and an exhausted quota is a refusal ground. The numbers had not been published when we checked.

The law has no rule aimed at Iranians specifically. Every application is checked against the security and interior ministry databases, and we have no primary source on whether Iranian applicants face extra screening in practice.

Opening the bank account the IE test depends on is its own hurdle with an Iranian passport: see opening a bank account in Armenia with an Iranian passport. The residence route itself, company against IE and why registration alone is not enough, is in Armenian residence for Iranians after the reform.

Questions people ask

Do Iranians need a visa for Armenia?

No. For a stay within the memorandum's limit you need only a valid passport. There is no visa and no e-visa to apply for.

Is the limit counted per calendar year?

Not under the memorandum. It counts days within any window of 180≈Estimate: Sources disagree; this is the figure most of them give. Last checked October 5, 2026. days, which moves forward every day. "Per year" versions you see online match neither the memorandum nor the embassy page.

Can I leave for a day and come back with a full allowance?

No. Days you already spent in Armenia stay in the count until they slide out of the window. A short exit only stops new days from being added.

Can Armenia suspend visa-free travel for Iranians?

Yes. The memorandum lets either side suspend it, wholly or partly, for security, public order or health reasons, or end it on notice. Armenia suspended it in the spring of 2020 during the pandemic. If you live in Armenia without a residence status, a suspension would hit you directly.

Does a visa-free stay count towards Armenian tax residency?

Days you are physically in Armenia can matter for tax residency, but that is a separate test with its own counting rule, and the immigration window says nothing about it. If you also wonder what Iran still taxes once you live abroad, see the Iran–Armenia tax treaty and tax residency.

Who can confirm the limit for my case?

The Migration and Citizenship Service. Ask in writing, quote the memorandum, give your planned dates, and keep the reply with your passport.