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Legal Consulting LLC has been established in 2017. The shareholders
of the company are three young ladies, me and my colleges Gayane
Galoyan and Ani Alaverdyan. Our law firm usually deals with different legal
issues, including immigration issues. It also provides services for foreign
investors and deals with other civil cases. The main advantage of our law firm
is that all legal services rendered by professional and experienced attorneys.
As you mentioned among others you also deal with immigration issues. Can you give us some
examples of what kind of legal issues may non-citizens face while visiting Armenia?
t depends on the purpose of the visit. For instance, if a person is visiting Armenia in order to work here, they
need work permission and resident card. And in order to collect the package of the necessary documents
a foreigner needs legal support.
Besides, a foreigner may face custom issues while transferring their movable property into Armenia /for
example, cars or other vehicles which need to be registered in Armenia/. All these processes that have to be
ensured by a foreigner generally require some professional knowledge and approach.
As you know recently a lot of foreigners especially those of Armenian nationality leave for
Armenia in order to acquire real estate. What kind of regulations does the legislation of Armenia have
concerning this?
he legislation of the RA defines some special clauses concerning the purchasing of real estate by a non-
citizen, particularly it concerns the purchasing of land. The Land Code of RA defines the basic directions
of State regulatory system improvement concerning land relations. And according to the Code, there are
some restrictions for foreigners. However, legal analyses and approaches may find the best solutions to get
desirable outcomes.
Can you tell us how can a foreigner get an Armenian residency?
he main process consists of the following steps; The first one is getting registration in the city regarding
their living place. Then, they have to collect the compulsory pocket of documents to present them to
the VISA and passport department of Armenia. This pocket includes an application form, justification of the
purpose of the residency, a certificate from a hospital, etc. Then after entering all the required documents
to the appropriate state body, a person has to wait till the decision is made. However, in case of negative
consequences for the foreigner regarding the decision, it can be appealed to the court.
Please provide some information concerning the foreign investments in Armenia.
oreign investment in the RA is regulated by the Law ‘On Foreign Investments’, adopted in 1994. Our
legislation ensures appropriate guarantees for investors to freely establish their businesses in our country
and to avoid negative consequences because of alterations in laws. It also provides guarantees against
expropriation of property, which, if vindicated, will secure full compensation for the value of the investment.
Foreign investors are protected from feasible damages caused by illicit or inappropriate activities of the
Government. The law gives guarantees to the investors to freely repatriation of profits and equity.
In what ways foreign investors are entitled to make investments?
ctually, there are several ways and several and diverse sectors in which foreigners may invest. For
instance:
a) Through creating or establishing enterprises as well as through establishing subdivisions, affiliations,
branches, and representations belonging to foreign legal entities, or through purchasing as companies or
enterprises already operational;
b) Through establishing new enterprises with the participation of legal entities of the RA or establishing
companies with the participation of the citizens of the RA; or through purchasing divisions or shares in
enterprises already operating;
c) Through acquiring or purchasing other securities and other stocks and bonds within the framework of
the legislation of the RA.
d) Through acquiring the right to use land and acquiring concessions to use natural resources on the
territory of the RA, either alone or with the participation of legal entities of the RA or via enterprises that do
not have legal status in the RA;
e) Through acquiring other proprietary rights;
Are there any special clauses differences between resident
and foreign taxpayers and in your opinion generally do the state
authorities provide a beneficial environment for foreign investors?
here are some particularities regarding taxes for foreign investors.
According to the tax code of RA, the dividend tax composes 10%.
In order to create a beneficial and advantageous field for foreign
investments our legislation defines that in cases where the legislation
on foreign investments has been modified after the investments
are made, the investor will be entitled to enjoy exemption from any
unfavorable principle of the law for a period of five years. Thus, overall
our legislation creates favorable conditions and environment for
investors and with combination with appropriate legal aid, investors
may have positive outcomes.
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