Transcription
Foreign hi, I'm Abby Stevens, a placement consultant at Skills Provision. Today I'm going to cover employer of record services in Armenia. I hope you enjoy this presentation. Armenia remains one of the South Caucus's most dynamic talent hubs with a tech led economy that has benefited from both Diaspora Links and a post 2022 inflow of professionals, especially in IT. That inflow boosted output and startup formations. Major global firms have local footprints and homegrown champions continue to scale. For employers, the administrative side is relatively straightforward compared with many jurisdictions. Payroll is simple, flat, personal income tax, employer on costs are low and statutory leave is easy to plan for. These features together with a maturing EOR ecosystem make Armenia attractive for both testing the market and building longer term teams. Many nationals can enter Armenia visa free for significant periods, often up to 180 days per year, and visa facilitation is expanding. For example, visa free entry was extended in 2025 to UAE residents and the EU has opened talks on visa liberalization with Armenia. However, visa free entry is not the same as permission to work. To take up employment, most foreign nationals still require a work permit and typically a residence permit. Employers should separate the travel step from the employment step. Armenia operates an electronic work permit platform through which employers post vacancies and secure permits. Permits can also support a temporary residence basis. Citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union are a prominent exception and may not require a permit under treaty rules. In practice, local council or an EOR typically handles filings, translations and sequencing. Timelines vary by category and completeness of documentation. Expect standard identity, education, experience proofs, medical insurance and an employment contract draft aligned to the Labor Code. Visa status at entry should match the intended route. Tourist entry on its own doesn't confer work rights. Official guidance is published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tech and Engineering. Armenia's engineering and IT talent is concentrated around Yerevan, but distributed teams are increasingly common. The ecosystem includes local offices of global players and strong local startups. The post 2022inflow enlarged the senior talent pool. The subsequent partial outflow means the market is currently competitive for top tier specialists but still favorable for employers. Non tech specialisms, finance, shared services, product design, marketing and sales roles are all recruitable locally with English and Russian widely present in the candidate base. French and German are available but thinner. International recruits typically target senior roles or niche skills where local depth is limited. Armenia has periodically refreshed incentives for high tech and R and D intensive businesses, including PIT and profit tax reliefs for qualifying programs, signaling a policy commitment to high value services. If you're weighing a build out alongside hiring, it's worth scoping current incentive windows and certification rules. Why use an eor? Here, three common reasons stand speed to hire without forming a local entity compliance assurance around the labor code contracts. Armenian language versions are standard payroll and immigration support coordination and cost predictability thanks to low employer on costs and flat pat. Multiple global platforms cover Armenia including Remote Deal, Papaya Global and Safeguard Global alongside regional specialists. Functionally all act as the legal employer on paper running payroll and benefits while you direct the employee's day to day work. Differences typically show up in immigration support depth, equity handling, local benefits design, SLAs and pricing models. Market maturity coverage is not as deep as in say Poland or Portugal, but it's robust for standard employment. Country guides from the platforms are broadly aligned on the essentials using an EOR to hire non nationals EORs can coordinate the work permit and residence process, but they don't eliminate it. If your chosen candidate is not already authorized to work, the EOR still needs time to secure authorization and onboard only once lawful to do so. That sequencing and the candidate's current visa status often drives your earliest realistic start date. In conclusion, Armenia offers a pro employer compliance profile, flat tax, minimal on costs, clear leave rules and a capable talent pool anchored by tech recruiting Europeans and other internationals is entirely workable but still permission based plan around work permit residence steps unless the candidate qualifies for an exemption. For many organizations, especially those testing the market or hiring a handful of roles, EOR is the fastest, lowest risk path to compliant employment and payroll. As you scale reassess whether an owned entity plus local council still leveraging EOR for niche cases makes better long term sense.
