Moving Your Belongings

If you want to find a broker, you can search/post in the Armenian Repatriates Network Facebook group for names and contacts of those others have been happy with. 

Paperwork you may need for this process includes: 

• Detailed inventory including values

• Copy of Passport

• Copy of Visa

• Letter of employment

• Original Bill of Lading (OBL)

• Packing list

• Pro-forma invoice

• Transportation cost information

If you are bringing pets, you will need: 

• Any pets or wild animals being imported into the country will need permission from the Ministry of the Environment and will need to be accompanied by a veterinarian health certificate clearing the animals of Rabies and any other diseases.

• Vaccination certificate

• Veterinary health certificate

• Pet passport

• Photo of the pet

More information about the process is available in the Moving Your Personal Belongings section below. If you have any doubts or questions, we recommend connecting with the Customs Service of the Republic of Armenia by emailing or calling: 3, 7 Movses Khorenatsi St., Yerevan, +374 (60) 54 44 44, +374 (60) 54 46 57. Official email: [email protected], [email protected] 

This section will expound on the process of moving your personal items to Armenia. The current laws surrounding the moving of one’s belongings is on par with EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) laws in general, and constantly improving. Repatriates may bring their belongings in tax-free, decreasing their overall costs. However, the cost of transportation is on the repatriate. You will still have to pay for the packing and shipping costs, as well as the costs of warehousing in Armenia. A customs clearance fee of 7,000 AMD may be charged. 

For the movement of goods within the EAEU, customs clearance doesn’t apply. However, if the transportation is by road, a customs declaration should be filled out in the exporting country, since Armenia doesn’t share borders with any of the other member countries. 

The official law states that, as a repatriate, you have the right to bring your items if you are:

• A citizen of Armenia

• A permanent resident of Armenia (not temporary)

• A refugee accepted into Armenia

To be eligible for the one-time tax-free regime, a person must not have lived in Armenia for more than 915 days (30 months or 2.5 years) in the past 1825 days (60 months or 5 years). Note that you have 18 months from the date you are provided with the document stating agreement to bring in your items. The State Register determines eligibility. 

There is a second option to being considered eligible for moving your belongings. While in the first option, there was no limit to the value of the items imported, the second places a maximum value of 5000 Euros. This is excluding any motor vehicles. This is an option for those who have not lived in Armenia for more than 12 months in the past 420 days (nearly 14 months). To be eligible for this option, a written request (dimoom/timum) must be made within 60 days of arrival, attaching the necessary documents proving temporary foreign residency. Eligibility is accounted for once every three years. Note that one cannot apply for both options simultaneously.  

Important: Ensure you have obtained your residency/citizenship or have refugee status (temporary doesn’t count), as well as your grantsoum (cost: 1000 AMD - to be paid at the bank to the specific number provided or by terminal at 100 AMD extra cost) before the arrival of your items. The contact information on the boxes should be relevant and local. If you use a number that’s not local, you won’t receive the call that your items have arrived. The address provided must be that of your grantsoum. 

What can you bring with you?

Please make sure that whatever you bring is a personal item, NOT for use in business. Do not bring things such as piping and toilets (we’ve had such a case before). Do not bring any items in a big quantity because it will be considered as a commercial import. 

Note: Make sure all packed boxes do not exceed 25 kg each. 

Do bring:

1. One car that has been registered in your name for a minimum of 6 months. Make sure you have the certificate of ownership by government entities (stamped) on you. 

2. Up to 3 types of each type of household appliances. This can be as large as refrigerators or as small as blenders. 

3. One set of furniture for each room. That means 1 set of living room furniture, 1 set of kitchen. You can probably get away with more than one bedroom furniture, but it will have to be clear that there are multiple family members involved.  

4. Clothing, books, and anything else that is clearly for your own use in unlimited quantities.

You will have to ensure all items have been used before. They cannot still be in original sealed packages. Please do not pack anything that is liquid, food item, medication, flammable, or otherwise deemed dangerous. Make sure to pack in such a way that heat and cold won’t hurt it. 

Pro Tip: Remove all batteries from toys and electric items. Saves you the headache later.  

What paperwork will you need?

There are certain steps you need to take, from before you ship your items to the documents you present afterwards, in order to ensure a smooth transition. It is recommended to send a list of items you plan to bring to the customs office, just to make sure there isn’t anything taxable. 

• In order to use the tax-free regime to import your personal belongings, it is necessary to first receive the document confirming the fact of moving to the Republic of Armenia for permanent residence by submitting an application to the Passport and Visa Department of the RA Police. The document is issued to a foreign physical person who has citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, or special or permanent (5 and 10 years) residence status of the Republic of Armenia, or another status equivalent to them. It is important to know that during the period of 1825 days (about 5 years) preceding the date of applying for the document, a foreign person must have been absent from Armenia for at least 915 days (about 2.5 years).
• If the requirements are met, the document identifying the person moved to the Republic of Armenia for permanent residence is provided no later than five working days. After receiving the document, the person can submit an application to the customs authorities, o paper or electronically, by sending it to the official email of the RA State Revenue Committee. It is necessary to indicate the name, weight, and quantity of imported personal goods.

1. The document confirming the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, special or permanent (long-term) residence status of the Republic of Armenia, or, in the case defined by an international agreement, the status equalized to them.
2. The document that confirms the recognition of the fact of moving to Armenia. (the one you need to get from the Passport and Visa Department)
3. The document confirming the fact of the person’s residence in another state before arriving in Armenia. (your foreign passport or residence permit)
4. Documents required when declaring goods for personal use, for example, documents for transportation of goods (shipment docs, land waybills, non-commercial invoice or bill of lading, transit declaration).
5. When importing a vehicle for personal use, documents confirming the fact of registration and ownership in the name of a natural person provided by the authorized body of a foreign state.

The taxation waiver will be sent to the cargo office, where you will show up in person to grab your belongings when everything is ready. The company might also have a door-to-door service. Check about what that means exactly from the beginning. 

Note: There are no warehouse fees to pay if you grab your items within 48h of their arrival. After that, it’s about 10-20,000 AMD a day, depending on the amount of space your shipment takes. 

Pro Tip: Make sure you have absolute essentials packed in your suitcases, just in case you don’t have access to your items for some time, from basic necessities to entertainments. 

Pro Tip: We also recommend watching this video prepared by the Customs Service of the Republic of Armenia.

What about smaller packages sent by post?

You are allowed to bring in items through post. We recommend only using this for personal shopping, however, the information might come in handy in general. There is no difference here if the items are new or used. However, there are maximum amounts to the number of a certain item you may bring in. You can see the allowances made by the Customs Union here.  

Starting from 31 March 2022, no customs fees or taxes are charged for goods imported in the Republic of Armenia by physical persons via carriers or in international postal deliveries from countries which are not members of the Eurasian Economic Union, as long as the total weight of the transported items does not exceed 30 kg, and the value does not exceed the sum 200,000 AMD. If the total weight of the transported items does exceed 30 kg, or the value does exceed the sum 200000 AMD, a customs fee and taxes will be charged at the united rate of 15% of the exceeding part, but not less than 2 Euros (the equivalent in AMD) for every 2 kg over 30 kg.