Armenia visa and entry requirements

The allowance is generous and oddly counted

• Most Western passports enter Armenia without a visa for up to 180 days in a year, for tourism or business.
• It is 180 days in a year, not per entry and not 90 in 180. That is one of the most generous visa-free allowances anywhere and it is counted across the calendar, so leaving and coming back does not reset it.
• Your passport must be valid for the duration of your stay - Armenia does not demand the usual six months beyond departure, which is unusually relaxed. Airlines may still apply a stricter test.
• There is no arrival form and no fee.

Two of the four borders are closed

This is the fact that reshapes itineraries, and it is not a visa matter.

• The border with Turkey has been closed since 1993. You cannot cross from Kars or Dogubayazit.
• The border with Azerbaijan is closed and remains so. There is no crossing to Baku or to Nakhchivan.
• That leaves Georgia to the north and Iran to the south, plus flights.
• Georgia is the practical land route. Yerevan to Tbilisi is a standard bus or shared-taxi run and the border works normally.
• The FCDO warns that entering from Iran carries significant personal safety risks for British passport holders, which is a separate matter from whether the crossing is open.

The border strip to stay out of

• The FCDO advises against all travel within 5 km of the entire eastern border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, because of tensions between the two countries.
• It also advises against all travel along the M16/H26 road between Ijevan and Noyemberyan. That matters because it is in the north, near the Georgian route, and a satnav may offer it.
• Check your driving route against that advice before setting off north or east. This is the one piece of Armenian geography that a map app will not warn you about.

If you are also visiting Azerbaijan

• Read the Azerbaijani side before you plan. Azerbaijan can refuse entry to anyone who has visited certain areas without its permission, and the two countries' stamps interact badly. See the Azerbaijan guide.