Armenia's Visa-Free Scheme for US and EU Residents Ends 1 July

Armenia’s temporary visa liberalisation scheme — which allows holders of valid US, EU/Schengen or Gulf Cooperation Council residence permits to enter without a separate Armenian visa — expires on 1 July 2026. With six weeks remaining, travellers who qualify but haven’t yet visited have a short window to make the trip without the standard application process.

Who the scheme applies to — and who it doesn’t

This programme is specifically for nationalities that would normally require a visa to enter Armenia but who hold a current residence permit from a qualifying country. The qualifying residency issuers are: the United States, any EU member state, any Schengen Area country (including non-EU Schengen members such as Switzerland, Norway and Iceland), the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.

Nationals of the United States, all 27 EU member states, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea can already enter Armenia visa-free for up to 180 days per year under standard bilateral agreements — for those nationalities, the temporary scheme adds nothing new.

The scheme is valuable for nationalities that fall outside those standard visa-free agreements but who live and work in the US, Europe or the Gulf. Examples include citizens of countries in South and Southeast Asia, parts of Africa and elsewhere who hold a valid EU residence card or US green card.

Key requirements

Entry under the scheme requires a physical residency card or a residency sticker in the passport — a digital or provisional document is not sufficient. The residency document must have at least six months of remaining validity from the date of entry into Armenia. Stays are permitted for up to 180 days within a single calendar year.

What happens after 1 July

The Armenian government has left open the possibility of extending the scheme beyond 1 July, with any decision expected to depend on whether the policy demonstrably drove tourism growth and foreign direct investment. An announcement either way has not been made at the time of writing. If the scheme is not extended, the standard options — visa-free entry for eligible nationalities, or an e-visa for others via evisa.mfa.am — apply from that date.

Planning a trip before the deadline

Yerevan is the natural starting point for any Armenia visit — the capital has direct flights from Paris, Rome, Vienna, Milan Bergamo and a growing list of European cities in 2026, plus extensive CIS connections. Our flights to Armenia page lists current carriers and routes. Full details of entry requirements — including the residency card rules, the standard visa-free list, and the e-visa process — are on our Armenia visa requirements page.