Russian experts say Armenia a promising country to get residence permit

YEREVAN, November 8. /ARKA/. Those Russians who are looking for residence permit in foreign countries in return for investment are considering Armenia and several other former Soviet republics as the most promising options, according to the Russian edition of the Forbes magazine.

It says the former Soviet republics where thousands of Russians have relocated to in recent months do not have full-scale programs for foreigners to get residence permit in return for investments but they are being worked out by Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The commercial director of Tranio real estate agency Elena Milishenkova says in Armenia owning real estate is not enough for being granted a residence permit, but a foreign owner may obtain resident status in case of using his/her property as an asset for earning income: for example, renting it.

"So if you have a real estate in Armenia you can apply for a residence permit for a year or five years. For residents the tax on rental income is 10%. Armenia is now discussing a draft government decree proposing to grant foreigners a citizenship for an investment not less than $150, 000," she said. --0--