Employer of Record in Armenia

A foreign company can employ someone in Armenia through a local provider that is the legal employer, with no entity of its own.

No provision found in the Labour Code regulates employer of record, staff-leasing or agency arrangements, or sets a licence, registry or maximum duration for them. The provider is an ordinary employer, so you check the provider's own paperwork.

Ordinary employer payroll tax is 0% under the Tax Code. Budget gross salary, statutory benefits and any specific employer-funded duties, plus the provider's fee. The employee ordinarily bears 20% income tax and applicable pension, health and stamp withholdings.

The model suits a company with a few people in Armenia and no entity. Full salary and tax tables are in the Hiring in Armenia guide.

What an employer of record does in Armenia

An employer of record is a company that is the legal employer of a worker on behalf of another company that directs the work. The glossary entry covers the model in general.

In Armenia, the provider has these duties:

• It is the party named on the written employment contract and the individual hiring act. Work without either is illegal employment.
• Where registration applies, it files application No. 79 by the preceding day's end, or hiring-day 14:00 for a same-day start. Foreigners without residence status and stateless persons are excluded.
• It acts as tax agent: it withholds income tax and social fees from salary and files the monthly report.

You direct the work under the service agreement. No provision found in the Labour Code defines this three-party arrangement.

Is an employer of record legal in Armenia

The provider employs the worker under ordinary employment rules.

No provision found in the Labour Code covers employer of record, staff-leasing, temporary-agency or outsourced-worker arrangements. It defines employment as a two-party relation between employee and employer, so the provider is the employer.

The provider must meet the employer's obligations:

• A written contract and an individual hiring act, without which work is illegal employment.
• The closed list of grounds on which an open-ended contract can be ended.
• Tax-agent duties: calculating, withholding and remitting income tax and social fees.

No provision found in the Labour Code addresses these three aspects of the model:

• The Labour Code sets no licence or registry; the next section covers what to check instead.
• It sets no maximum duration for the arrangement.
• It has no rule dividing liability between provider and client.

The service agreement fills these gaps. Check its terms on duration and the division of liability before signing.

If a provider cites official recognition or a licence, ask which Armenian law and which regulator the claim refers to, and ask for the document.

Checking a provider: what to ask for instead of a licence

No provision found in the Labour Code sets an employer of record licence or registry, so a "licensed" claim needs a named law and regulator behind it. Ask for the provider's employment and tax documents.

Check	Why it matters	What to ask for
Which Armenian legal entity signs as employer	The employer named on the contract holds the tax-agent duties, the dismissal rules and the fines	Entity name, state register extract, tax registration with the State Revenue Committee
Registered activity code and tax regime	Under HO-72-N, adopted 26 March 2025, staff-provision activities NACE 78.2 (temporary workforce) and 78.3 (other workforce provision) cannot use turnover tax or the micro-business regime, Tax Code Art. 254(3)(3.1) and 267(5)(2.1). A provider registered there is in the standard regime, with 18% profit tax	The activity code on the registration, and how the fee is invoiced
Tax-agent record	The provider files the monthly income tax and social report by the 20th and pays the health premium by the 20th	The last filed report, anonymised, or the tax authority's confirmation of filing
Paper contracts for people working abroad	Contracts with people who work from outside Armenia stay on paper, including after 1 July 2027	The paper contract template and how it is signed and stored
Readiness for digital contracts	Digital use is voluntary until 1 July 2027, then generally mandatory in Armenia, subject to paper exceptions; existing contracts are uploaded by 30 June 2028 under HO-39-N and HO-40-N	Whether the provider already uses the national digital system, and its upload plan
Who bears an undocumented-worker fine	AMD 250,000 per worker, imposed on the employer (the provider) when a hire is not documented in writing or not registered in time	The clause that says who funds a fine

Ask for the activity code to check which tax regime the provider uses. The VAT treatment of a provider's fee is not established; ask how the fee is invoiced.

A membership badge, a "registered with" line on a website and a certificate are not a licence by themselves. Ask for the document behind the claim.

Who signs what

Of the seven documents or acts below, you sign only the service agreement.

Document or act	Client	Provider (EOR)	Employee
Service agreement	Party	Party	Not a party
Written employment contract	Not a party	Employer; signs	Signs
Individual hiring act	Not a party	Issues it	Named in it
Employee tax registration, application No. 79	Not a party	Files it	Not involved
Pension and health enrolment and withholding (funded pension for staff born from 1 January 1974)	Not a party	Withholds and remits as tax agent; specific health continuity duty below	Ordinarily bears the fees
Work instructions, confidentiality and IP clause	Drafts the text	Signs	Bound by it
Termination act, on a closed list of grounds	Not a party	Issues it	Receives notice

Contract format depends on location and status. The general digital requirement starts in Armenia on 1 July 2027, with paper exceptions for foreigners, refugees and asylum seekers. Contracts for people working outside Armenia remain on paper.

The provider issues the hiring act. Where tax registration applies, it files by the preceding day's end, or hiring-day 14:00 for a same-day start. Foreigners without residence status and stateless persons are excluded.

The provider is named as employer on the employment contract. The Labour Code assigns the contract, hiring act and dismissal duties to that employer.

Your control over the work comes from the service agreement and the work instructions.

For probation and contract rules in detail, see the Hiring in Armenia guide.

Paper or digital

Digital execution has three dates and two exceptions:

• Until 1 July 2027 the national digital system is optional, and contracts executed through it have full legal force.
• From 1 July 2027 it is generally mandatory for people in Armenia, subject to the paper exceptions below.
• Existing contracts must be uploaded by 30 June 2028.
• Contracts with people who work from outside Armenia stay on paper, including after 1 July 2027.
• Foreigners, refugees and asylum seekers present in Armenia may use paper contracts, with entry into the system within three months of the document confirming lawful residence.

Hiring through an employer of record, step by step

Where employee tax registration applies, the provider must file by the preceding day's end, or by 14:00 on the hiring day for a same-day start. Foreigners without residence status and stateless persons are excluded.

For a foreign hire, check permit exemptions first. Where a permit is required, ministry consent takes up to 15 working days before the contract; the residence card is issued within 30 days of the application.

Step	What happens	Takes	Source
Service agreement	You and the provider agree scope, fee and who funds fines, notice and severance	Not published	Contractual
Foreign hire requiring a permit: consent and card	The provider applies online; the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs consents before the contract, then the residence card is issued	Consent up to 15 working days; card within 30 days after the application	Hartak, work permit; Migration Service
EAEU citizen	No work permit; the provider applies online to confirm lawful residence	Not published	Migration Service
Contract and hiring act	The provider and the employee sign a written contract and the provider issues the hiring act; paper or digital, subject to location/status exceptions	Before work starts	Labour Code; EY Armenia
Tax registration	Where required, the provider files application No. 79 free of charge; foreigners without residence status and stateless persons are excluded	Preceding-day end; hiring-day 14:00 for a same-day start; up to 15 minutes	Tax Code; Hartak
Probation	Up to 3 months, if agreed; either side can end it with written notice	3 days' notice	Labour Code
First payroll	Salary in Armenian currency; income tax and social report and health premium	Salary by the 15th of the next month; report and premium by the 20th	Labour Code; Tax Code; SRC
Local or exempt foreign hire	Contract, hiring act and applicable tax registration; check the residence route separately	Registration can be filed on the hiring day by 14:00 for a same-day start	Tax Code
Foreign hire requiring a permit	Consent and residence card	Separate maxima: consent up to 15 working days; card within 30 days of application. No combined onboarding time is established	Hartak, work permit; Migration Service

EAEU citizens need no work permit but confirm lawful residence online. Check other foreign hires for an applicable exemption before using the permit route. Registration deadlines apply only to the categories covered by Tax Code Art. 156(2).

The statute sets the registration deadline and permit maxima. A provider's claim of onboarding in days is a commercial promise.

Your own entity registers in 1 business day with individual founders and 2 with a legal entity among the founders. The bank account time is not published.

An employer of record saves you the bank account and payroll set-up. Entity registration itself takes 1 to 2 business days.

Foreign hires

Temporary residence status and card for a foreign hire carry a state duty of AMD 105,000 under the current Law on State Duty.

HO-215-N replaces it, from the tenth day after the platform launch is announced and not later than 1 November 2026. The costs section has the amounts.

The Law on Foreigners, HO-11-N, takes effect on 1 November 2026. EY Armenia lists the changes that matter to an employer:

• The work permit becomes a permit to stay or reside for employment.
• A Government quota limits the residence statuses granted each year. It has not been determined.
• The work-visa and employment-permit provisions start only once the new electronic entry-visa system is introduced.
• The law abolishes two exemptions: for employees of foreign companies working through a branch or representative office, and for founders and directors of companies with 50% or more foreign participation.

EY Armenia's alert of 17 February 2026 warns that employers may face challenges in hiring foreign workers because of the quota and the abolished exemptions.

With the quota unset, the future permit timeline needs confirmation. Check exemptions and the applicable transition rules before setting the contract date for a hire requiring permission.

What an employer of record costs in Armenia, line by line

No employer payroll tax is added to ordinary salary. Your EOR budget also covers statutory benefits, any applicable employer-funded pension or health duties, foreign-hire items and the provider's contractual fee.

Line	Amount	Who pays	Source
Gross salary	The agreed salary; other applicable costs appear separately	Employer	Tax Code
Employer payroll tax	0%	No employer payroll tax	Tax Code
Income tax	20% flat of gross, withheld	Employee	Tax Code
Funded pension fee	5% of salary up to AMD 500,000; above that 10% minus AMD 25,000; base ceiling AMD 1,125,000	Employee, withheld	Law on Funded Pensions; PwC
Health premium	For covered employees: AMD 4,800 for salary AMD 200,001 to 500,000; AMD 10,800 from AMD 500,001. Coverage timing and continuity matter	Ordinarily employee, withheld; specific employer duty below	SRC; UHI Law
Stamp duty	AMD 1,000 up to AMD 1,000,000; AMD 15,000 above	Employee, withheld	SRC
Pension amount during childcare leave	AMD 3,000 a month, from the month after leave starts until the child reaches two	Employer	Law on Funded Pensions
Sick pay, first five working days after the unpaid first day	Benefit; the State Budget pays the rest	Employer	Hartak, incapacity
Maternity benefit for an employed woman	Calculated from her average monthly salary for the leave period	Employer calculates and pays	Hartak, child benefits
Residence fee for a foreign hire	AMD 105,000 until HO-215-N takes effect; AMD 155,950 for temporary residence under HO-215-N	Set in the service agreement	Law on State Duty; HO-215-N
Provider fee	Contractual; no statutory amount	Client	Service agreement

Agree which statutory costs the provider invoices to you: gross salary, applicable childcare-leave pension, five employer-paid sick days and health-premium continuity, alongside its fee. The provider calculates and pays maternity benefit; reimbursement is not established here.

Ordinary income tax, pension, health and stamp deductions come out of gross salary. A separate employer payment duty can arise when an insured employee's salary is insufficient, as described below.

The funded pension fee stops at the ceiling of AMD 1,125,000, which is 15 times the AMD 75,000 minimum wage.

A foreign hire adds a one-off state duty. Under HO-215-N it is AMD 150,000 for temporary or AMD 250,000 for permanent residence, plus AMD 5,950 for the card.

That makes AMD 155,950 and AMD 255,950. The Government may pay all or part of it for some groups.

Net pay at the pay steps

For the covered employee used in these 2026 examples, net pay is gross minus four withholdings. Health premium and stamp duty step up at AMD 500,001 and AMD 1,000,001 respectively.

Income tax is taken on the full gross, as the State Revenue Committee's worked examples show. The examples assume an employee born in 1974 or later, already within the 2026 health-insurance regime.

They show salary and withholdings; provider charges, statutory benefits and other employer-funded duties are outside the calculation.

Gross (AMD / month)	Salary cost before additional items	Net pay	Withheld
303,140	303,140	221,555	81,585
500,000	500,000	369,200	130,800
500,001	500,001	363,201	136,800
1,000,000	1,000,000	713,200	286,800
1,000,001	1,000,001	699,201	300,800
1,010,668	1,010,668	706,668	304,000
2,000,000	2,000,000	1,486,700	513,300

Two steps cut net pay:

• Between AMD 500,000 and AMD 500,001 the health premium rises from AMD 4,800 to AMD 10,800, so net pay falls by about AMD 6,000.
• Between AMD 1,000,000 and AMD 1,000,001 stamp duty rises from AMD 1,000 to AMD 15,000, so net pay falls by about AMD 14,000.

Check the provider's payroll against both steps and the employee's coverage start date. These insured-employee examples do not automatically apply in the first month a salary crosses the coverage threshold.

The full tax section is in the Hiring in Armenia guide.

What the provider's fee covers

The provider's fee is contractual, with no statutory amount. Price four elements separately:

• A monthly fee per employee, or a share of gross salary.
• Set-up, permit and termination items.
• Benefits passed through at cost.
• The invoicing currency. The employee is paid in Armenian currency by law, so any conversion sits in your invoice.

Ask for each element on its own line, and ask which of them change when the salary crosses AMD 500,000 or AMD 1,000,000.

Costs that arrive later

Phase 2 of universal health insurance starts on 1 January 2027, with coverage extended to employees earning up to AMD 200,000 gross.

A proposal of 12 August 2026 splits the AMD 10,800 premium for staff earning up to AMD 200,000: AMD 4,400 from the state, AMD 4,400 from the employer and AMD 2,000 from the employee (Armenpress).

The proposed split is not enacted. Keep it separate from the mandatory costs when reviewing the service agreement.

The UHI Law also contains an existing continuity duty. Under Art. 46(20), a tax-agent employer must pay AMD 4,800 for the specified Art. 46(9)(1) employee group when salary cannot cover the premium, including a no-salary month.

That transitional duty applies to December 2025 and 2026. It does not establish who ultimately bears the amount after any recovery or reimbursement; confirm that separately with the provider.

Under Art. 45, employees qualifying through November 2025 salary enter coverage for December 2025 and subsequent months. For January–November 2026 entrants, coverage begins the following month. Premium calculation continues despite salary reductions during the following 12 months.

Employers may also fund premiums voluntarily in full or in part under the current law. HO-135-N broadened that existing option on 8 May 2026; the dated changes section explains the amendment.

The Tax Code treats employer-paid premiums of up to AMD 10,000 per employee-month as non-taxable income.

The 10% R&D rate

The 10% rate needs a listed high-technology occupation, qualifying R&D work and a positive opinion of the professional commission. It excludes foreigners without residence status and stateless persons.

Whether staff on a provider's payroll can qualify is not confirmed, so do not budget on it.

Ending an EOR employment: notice, severance and who funds it

The provider can end the contract only on the closed list of grounds in the Labour Code. Your decision to end the engagement is not itself a ground. The service agreement allocates the cost.

Ground	Notice	Payment
Employee resigns	30 days	None stated
Redundancy or liquidation	Two months	One average monthly salary
Unsuitability or long-term incapacity	14, 35, 42, 49 or 60 days by service: up to 1 year, up to 5, 5 to 10, 10 to 15, over 15 years	10, 25, 30, 35 or 44 average daily salaries, by the same bands
Probation	3 days	None stated

Two cases show the scale. A dismissal for unsuitability after under one year of service takes 14 days' notice and a payment of 10 average daily salaries. Redundancy takes two months' notice and one average monthly salary.

Severance is additional to notice, so a dismissal carries both costs. The Hiring in Armenia guide sets out the full tenure table.

If a court finds a dismissal unlawful, it can award compensation of one to twelve average monthly salaries instead of reinstatement.

Where the dismissed person takes a new job while the case runs, forced-idleness pay is capped at nine months of the previous salary.

Plans to dismiss more than 10% of staff and at least 10 employees within two months trigger a notice duty to the employment authority. The threshold counts the provider's own staff and dismissals, not your engagement.

Get the allocation of notice, severance and unlawful-dismissal cost in writing before the first hire.

Where the model runs out

Four limits apply to an EOR arrangement in Armenia: permanent establishment, non-compete and IP, foreign workers and penalties. Duration is addressed separately below.

Duration

No provision found in the Labour Code sets an EOR arrangement-duration ceiling. Employment-contract duration is a separate question: indefinite employment is the default, subject to the fixed-term exceptions in Article 95.

Those exceptions include temporary work up to two months, seasonal work, substitution of an absent employee, and foreigners required to hold residence status, for the permission or residence-right period. Citizenship alone does not determine the contract term.

A planned year with a provider followed by conversion does not itself create a statutory EOR deadline. The service agreement governs commercial exit; employment termination still needs an applicable legal basis.

No provision found in the Labour Code covers moving an employee from the provider to your own entity.

Permanent establishment

An EOR contract does not change the dependent-agent test. Three of the Tax Code's permanent establishment (PE) tests matter for your company:

• 183 days: staff hired by a non-resident perform works or services in Armenia for at least 183 calendar days in a tax year, across one or more related projects.
• Management place, branch or representative office: a PE from day one, subject to the exception for a representative office doing exclusively preparatory/support activities for under three years.
• Dependent agent: apply all conditions in Tax Code Article 27(5); authority to represent the non-resident is only one part of the test.
• Registration: a non-resident with a PE registers with the tax authority as a taxpayer, or the rules for non-residents without a PE apply to it.

A person on the provider's payroll authorised to represent you and act on your behalf raises the dependent-agent test. Employment through a provider does not remove that authority question.

Whether provider-employed staff meet the service-PE test for your company remains unresolved. Assess both their authority and the qualifying activity; reserving signatures to your company alone does not settle every PE test.

The former safe harbour in Art. 27(6) said a non-resident supplying foreign labour to an Armenian organisation, under the customer's direction and without answering for the result, created no PE.

HO-377-N of 13 November 2025 repealed that rule. The 183-day rule is unchanged, which matters to any provider that is a non-resident.

Non-compete, IP and the 13th salary

Non-competes after termination are not regulated in Armenia:

Armenian legislation does not explicitly regulate restrictions on a worker’s ability to work for competitors after termination.

— Shushan Stepanyan, author of the Armenia chapter, Concern Dialog (Chambers Employment 2026, Armenia)

No court case is reported either, so the effect of a clause is unpredictable. Put it in the contract and do not plan around enforcement. Chambers adds that non-solicitation is not regulated.

For IP, the assignment clause belongs in the employment contract, with your company as assignee. That is drafting advice, not a statement of Armenian IP law.

A 13th salary is not mandatory. Bonuses are at the employer's discretion and set in the contract or internal acts.

Foreign workers

The provider sponsors a foreign employee like any employer.

The amended Law on Foreigners abolishes the exemption for employees of foreign companies working through a branch or representative office. Once its permit provisions apply, posting through a branch no longer avoids the permit.

Penalties land on the legal employer

Three penalties fall on the legal employer, which is the provider:

• AMD 250,000 for each undocumented worker, imposed in a tax inspection when a hire is not documented in writing or not registered in time.
• Late-paid tax incurs a fine of 0.075% a day for up to 730 days, capped at 54.75% of the unpaid amount. AMD 100,000 of income tax paid a year late carries a fine of AMD 27,375.
• Recognition by a court of illegal employment from the day the person actually started work, where there is no written contract or hiring act.

Whether you reimburse the provider, or the provider indemnifies you, is a question for the contract.

Dated changes that affect an EOR arrangement, 2025 to 2028

Eight dated changes affect an employer of record arrangement, from a 2025 tax rule on staff-provision providers to the upload deadline for digital contracts in June 2028.

• HO-72-N of 26 March 2025: staff-provision activities NACE 78.2 and 78.3 are excluded from turnover tax and the micro-business regime. Ask for the provider's activity code to see its tax position.
• HO-377-N of 13 November 2025: repeals Tax Code Art. 27(6), the no-PE rule for non-residents supplying foreign labour. If the provider is a non-resident, ask how it treats permanent-establishment risk.
• 8 May 2026: HO-135-N broadens the existing employer-premium funding option beyond the original express collective-agreement wording. The original law already allowed full or partial funding through collective agreements. Agree any benefit with the provider.
• 1 November 2026, at the latest: residence fees under HO-215-N become AMD 155,950 for temporary and AMD 255,950 for permanent residence, card included. Put the payer of the fee in the service agreement.
• 1 November 2026: HO-11-N takes effect. Its employment-permit and work-visa provisions await the new e-visa system. Check exemptions and transition rules before setting a foreign hire's contract date.
• 1 January 2027: phase 2 of universal health insurance covers employees earning up to AMD 200,000 gross. Check that the provider's payroll withholds the premium for staff in that band.
• 1 July 2027: digital contracts generally become mandatory in Armenia (HO-39-N, HO-40-N). Paper remains for people abroad and the specified foreigners, refugees and asylum seekers in Armenia. Check the provider's upload plan.
• 30 June 2028: the deadline to upload existing employment contracts to the digital system.

An employer share in the premium for employees earning up to AMD 200,000, floated on 12 August 2026, is a proposal and not law.

The full list of changes sits in the Hiring in Armenia guide.

When you do not need an employer of record in Armenia

You can use your own entity for employment, or engage a genuine independent professional under a civil-law contract. Assess employment status and your company's permanent-establishment exposure separately; headcount alone decides neither.

Can I hire directly without an entity?

Direct hiring requires separate labour-law and tax assessments. The service-PE test concerns staff hired by a non-resident performing works or services in Armenia for at least 183 calendar days in a tax year across related projects.

An authorised dependent agent, a management place, or a branch/representative office raises other PE tests. The representative-office exception covers exclusively preparatory/support activity for under three years.

A foreign employer's labour-law duties towards a person in Armenia remain unsettled.

The Code's text reaches an employee who permanently resides in Armenia (Art. 7(4)). Whether a contract signed abroad counts as arisen in Armenia turns on Art. 14(1.1).

Your own entity is quick

Registration takes 1 business day when the founders are individuals and 2 when a legal entity is among them.

A foreign corporate founder needs its documents translated into Armenian and notarised, and foreign citizens register in person. The bank account time is not published.

A contractor instead

For an independent professional, the contractor route has no legal employer at all.

Labour law applies only where a court establishes that the relationship is in fact employment. The employment test turns on personal performance for remuneration under internal disciplinary rules.

Compare the whole package: contractor cost is not always lower than an employer of record.

A person working from outside Armenia

A contract with someone who works from outside Armenia is concluded on paper, outside the digital system, also after 1 July 2027. That holds whether the employer is you or a provider.

Run two checks in parallel. A relationship that meets the employment definition needs an employer regardless of PE exposure. A civil-law contract can be reclassified by a court if the work is employment in fact.

Separately, assess qualifying works/services and service days, management places, branches, representative offices and dependent-agent authority. Where a PE exists, taxpayer registration is required. Using a provider does not settle whether its staff count towards your company's service-PE test.

Work location also determines contract format. Staff working outside Armenia remain outside the digital system on paper contracts; that document rule does not itself resolve employer duties or tax exposure.

Alternatives, and when each fits

Four routes compete with an employer of record in Armenia, and the choice turns on headcount, expected length, whether the person signs for you and whether a permit is needed.

Route	Legal employer	Fits when	Main limit
Own Armenian entity	Your Armenian company	Several hires or a lasting presence; registration takes 1 to 2 business days	Bank account time is not published; you file the monthly report by the 20th
Employer of record	The provider	One or a few people, a defined start, no entity	The provider's fee; no Labour Code provisions on duration or liability found, so the contract splits the risk
Independent contractor	None; civil-law contract	A genuine independent professional	Labour law applies if a court finds employment in fact
Direct hire without an entity	Your foreign company	A small, short presence you manage yourself	Separate PE tests for qualifying service activity, offices and dependent-agent authority; the foreign-employer labour-law position remains unsettled
Staffing agency, outsourcing or PEO	The agency or provider	A supplier delivers a team or service under its own management	No separate regime found in the Labour Code; ordinary employment in each case, as for an employer of record

The PEO versus EOR and EOR versus staffing agency posts explain how those models differ in general. The employer of record versus contractor post covers the same choice outside Armenia.

Choose by four tests:

• Headcount: from several people, the entity's 1 to 2 business days of registration weigh less than the provider's fee.
• Length: an open-ended need points to an entity; a defined start and uncertain end points to a provider.
• Authority: a person who signs for you creates a permanent-establishment question whatever the route.
• Permit: check exemptions for the foreign hire before applying the consent/card route. The provider applies as employer where permission is required.

For an independent professional, a contractor platform is an option. 4dev.com is a global contractor platform, not an employer of record. The Hiring in Armenia guide compares the routes with figures.

How to choose a provider: questions to ask

Use the answers to these eleven questions to set the service agreement's terms before signing.

1. Which Armenian legal entity signs as employer, and what is its tax registration? The employer named on the contract holds the tax-agent duties and the fines.
2. Under which activity code is it registered, and how is the fee invoiced? Staff-provision codes NACE 78.2 and 78.3 are excluded from turnover tax and the micro-business regime.
3. Who files the monthly report by the 20th, and can you see the confirmation? The report and the health premium are both due by the 20th of the next month.
4. How does it handle paper exceptions and the 1 July 2027 digital requirement? Paper remains for staff abroad and specified foreigners, refugees and asylum seekers in Armenia; check residence-document uploads.
5. How are AMD 250,000 per-worker fines allocated? The fine lands on the legal employer.
6. Who funds notice and severance? Notice runs from 14 days to two months by ground; severance comes on top.
7. What does it charge for permits and residence cards, and what changes with the fee at 1 November 2026 at the latest? The residence fee is AMD 105,000 until HO-215-N takes effect and AMD 155,950 after.
8. Is the fee fixed or a share of gross, and how does payroll apply the steps at AMD 500,000 and AMD 1,000,000? The health premium and stamp duty change there.
9. How are leave, holidays and sick pay invoiced? Minimum annual leave: 20 working days (five-day week), 24 (six-day week). There are 13 non-working holidays; employers pay five sick days after the unpaid first day.
10. Which law governs the service agreement, and who holds your confidential data? No provision found in the Labour Code splits these between provider and client.
11. What happens at exit? No provision found in the Labour Code covers moving an employee to your own entity, so the transfer terms must be written.

Questions people actually ask

Is it legal to use an employer of record in Armenia?

No provision found in the Labour Code prohibits it or regulates employer of record arrangements. The provider is an ordinary employer, with a written contract, a hiring act and tax-agent duties.

Is there a licence or registry for employer of record providers in Armenia, and how do I check one?

No provision found in the Labour Code sets a licence or registry. Check the provider's Armenian entity and tax registration, its activity code, its monthly filings, its paper contracts for staff abroad and who funds the AMD 250,000 per-worker fine.

How much does an employer of record cost in Armenia?

Ordinary employer payroll tax is 0%, but budget salary, statutory benefits, any specific employer-funded pension/health duties and the provider's contractual fee. A temporary-residence hire adds AMD 105,000 until HO-215-N applies, then AMD 155,950 including the card.

How long does it take to hire someone through an employer of record in Armenia?

Applicable tax registration takes up to 15 minutes: file by prior-day end, or hiring-day 14:00 for a same-day start. Foreign permit-route maxima are 15 working days for consent and 30 days from application for the card.

Can I hire in Armenia without a local entity?

An EOR can be the employer; genuine contractors use civil-law contracts. Direct foreign-employer labour-law duties remain unsettled. Separately assess qualifying service activity lasting 183 calendar days per tax year across related projects, offices and dependent-agent authority, including the representative-office exception.

What is the difference between an employer of record and setting up an entity in Armenia?

An entity registers in 1 business day with individual founders, or 2 with a legal-entity founder. An EOR supplies the legal employer and payroll administration. Employment duties still apply; compare provider fees, benefits, control and exit obligations separately.

Can an employer of record sponsor a work permit or visa in Armenia?

The provider applies as employer where permission is required; consent takes up to 15 working days on that route. EAEU citizens are exempt. HO-11-N takes effect on 1 November 2026; its employment-permit/work-visa provisions await the new e-visa system.

Does an employee hired through an employer of record get a 13th salary, and can I add a non-compete?

No 13th salary is mandatory. Post-termination non-competes are not explicitly regulated and no court cases are reported, so write the clause into the contract and do not plan around enforcing it.

Sources

1. ARLIS. Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia, English text (Tax Code). Accessed 6 October 2026.
2. ARLIS. Labour Code of the Republic of Armenia, official English translation (Labour Code). Accessed 6 October 2026.
3. Hartak. Employee registration, application No. 79 (Hartak). Accessed 6 October 2026.
4. ARLIS. Law on Funded Pensions, English translation (Law on Funded Pensions). Accessed 6 October 2026.
5. ARLIS. Labour Code of the Republic of Armenia, current Armenian text. Accessed 6 October 2026.
6. State Revenue Committee (SRC). Information sheet on health premium and stamp duty withheld from salary (SRC). Accessed 6 October 2026.
7. EY Armenia. Amendments affecting electronic signing of employment contracts (EY Armenia). Accessed 6 October 2026.
8. ARLIS. Law HO-39-N on digital employment contracts. Accessed 6 October 2026.
9. ARLIS. Law HO-40-N on digital employment contracts. Accessed 6 October 2026.
10. Hartak. Work permit service for hiring a foreign employee (Hartak, work permit). Accessed 6 October 2026.
11. Migration Service of Armenia. Acquiring employment-based residence status (Migration Service). Accessed 6 October 2026.
12. ARLIS. Law on Foreigners, HO-11-N. Accessed 6 October 2026.
13. Hartak. Business registration steps. Accessed 6 October 2026.
14. ARLIS. Law on State Duty, current Armenian text (Law on State Duty). Accessed 6 October 2026.
15. ARLIS. Law HO-215-N on state duty for residence status (HO-215-N). Accessed 6 October 2026.
16. EY Armenia. Law Alert on amendments to the Law "On foreigners". Accessed 6 October 2026.
17. PwC. Armenia, individual: other taxes (PwC). Accessed 6 October 2026.
18. ARLIS. Law on Universal Health Insurance, current Armenian text (UHI Law). Accessed 9 October 2026.
19. Hartak. Temporary incapacity benefit (Hartak, incapacity). Accessed 6 October 2026.
20. Hartak. Child benefits (Hartak, child benefits). Accessed 6 October 2026.
21. EY Armenia. Implementation of the universal health insurance system. Accessed 6 October 2026.
22. Armenpress. Report of 12 August 2026 on health insurance in 2027. Accessed 6 October 2026.
23. ARLIS. Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia, current Armenian text. Accessed 6 October 2026.
24. Legal500. Labor Code updates in Armenia: forced downtime compensation and digital system for signing employment contracts. Accessed 6 October 2026.
25. Chambers and Partners. Employment 2026: Armenia. Accessed 6 October 2026.
26. ARLIS. Law HO-135-N amending the Universal Health Insurance Law. Accessed 9 October 2026.
27. ARLIS. Original Universal Health Insurance Law HO-459-N, Article 14(9). Accessed 9 October 2026.
28. ARLIS. Labour Code of the Republic of Armenia, English translation, employment relations. Accessed 6 October 2026.
29. ARLIS. Law on Holidays and Memorial Days. Accessed 6 October 2026.