Soft-Landing Services in Armenia

A productive employee is one who feels settled. The work permit and the Temporary Residence Card are the legal half of relocation. The human half is the practical work of getting an employee — and their family — established in Yerevan or Gyumri so they can focus on their job from week one rather than week six. That human half is the scope of our soft-landing service.

We organize the soft-landing engagement into three phases tied to the employee’s arrival timeline: Before Arrival, Arrival and First Week, and Settling In (30–90 days). The phases run in parallel with the work permit application so that the legal authorization and the practical settlement complete in the same window.

Phase 1 — Before Arrival

The pre-arrival phase begins as soon as the engagement is scoped and the start date is confirmed. It covers:

• Country and culture briefing tailored to the employee’s nationality and role. We adjust the briefing depending on whether the employee is a senior executive, a project manager, a technical specialist, or a family principal.
• Housing pre-selection based on budget, lifestyle, and proximity to office. We narrow the inventory before the employee arrives so the first viewings on the ground are focused.
• SIM card and local phone number arranged for activation on arrival. The employee lands with working connectivity rather than tethered to a hotel WiFi.
• Temporary furnished accommodation booked for the first 30–90 days. This is the practical bridge between arrival and the permanent apartment.
• Custom welcome packets, emergency contact setup, utility and telecom pre-arrangement, and any pet relocation logistics that need long lead time.

The pre-arrival phase is also where the family-side coordination begins for Premium tier engagements — school applications, spouse career networking introductions, and apostille work on dependent documentation.

Phase 2 — Arrival and First Week

The first week is heavy on logistics and light on policy. We cover:

• Airport meet and greet at Zvartnots International Airport. A named representative meets the employee at arrivals, handles ground transport, and confirms the immediate logistics.
• Transport to accommodation and neighborhood orientation. We walk the employee through their immediate neighborhood — groceries, restaurants, pharmacies, transit — within the first 48 hours.
• Bank account opening appointment. The bank requires passport and local address; we have the appointment booked and the documentation prepared.
• Utility activation: electricity, water, gas, internet. Where the temporary accommodation is serviced, this is procedural; for arrivals moving directly into permanent housing, we run the activation in parallel with check-in.
• Local transport orientation: metro, buses, taxi apps. The transit footprint in central Yerevan is workable; the orientation makes it actually usable.
• SIM card activation and local phone number ready on the ground.

By the end of the first week the employee has working banking, working connectivity, working transit, and a known address. That is the platform for legal work to begin when the Temporary Residence Card is issued.

Phase 3 — Settling In (30–90 days)

The longer arc is the permanent housing search and the family-side integration. We cover:

• Permanent apartment search with curated viewings and lease negotiation in Armenian. We narrow inventory, schedule viewings, and negotiate the lease in the local language so the employee is not navigating a foreign rental contract under time pressure. The dedicated page on this work is Employee Housing and Real Estate in Yerevan.
• International school enrollment for children, with English- and Russian-language options available in Yerevan.
• Spouse and partner integration: career networking, social introductions, community programming.
• Healthcare provider registration and insurance procurement. We have working relationships with private clinics serving the expat community.
• Grocery store orientation, gym and recreation memberships, neighborhood familiarization.
• Pet relocation logistics and veterinary registration where applicable.
• Ongoing concierge support for the full first 90 days. The employee has a single point of contact for any settlement question that arises — household repairs, school admissions queries, healthcare appointments, government renewals.

The 90-day window is the canonical retention milestone for an Armenian deployment. By the time it closes, the employee should be operating without active support from us, with the permanent housing, schools, banking, and healthcare in place. The Premium tier extends the active concierge beyond 90 days for clients who want a longer ramp.

Standard vs. Premium

Standard soft-landing covers the canonical scope for a solo employee or a small team. Premium adds the family-side depth — schools, spouse integration, cultural training, pet relocation — for relocated families and senior hires.

Indicative pricing:

• Standard soft-landing: $2,000–$4,000 per employee
• Premium soft-landing: $5,000–$8,000 per employee or family

Pricing is indicative and subject to custom quoting based on your requirements.

Why the soft-landing investment matters

The strongest argument for a structured soft-landing engagement is retention. Relocation succeeds only if employees want to stay. Yerevan delivers materially on quality of life — a safe, walkable, compact capital with affordable healthcare, international schools, and a growing expat community — but a relocated employee who is left to figure out the practical mechanics of a new city while also starting a new role tends to leak time and energy that should be going into the job. The soft-landing scope is what compresses that ramp.

For senior hires and family relocations especially, the retention math is unambiguous. An employee who feels settled inside 90 days is materially more likely to renew at the end of their first contract cycle than one who is still navigating bank account issues, lease problems, or school enrollment six months in. For a foreign employer paying a Western-scale salary, the cost of a soft-landing engagement is small relative to the cost of an unsuccessful relocation that ends with the employee returning home.

How the soft-landing engagement fits the broader workflow

The soft-landing service runs in parallel with the immigration scope and feeds into the ongoing EOR and payroll relationship where applicable. Cultural integration, language training, and on-call interpretation are organized under our Cultural Integration and Translation page. For broader context on Yerevan itself as a destination, see Relocating Your Team to Yerevan.

Frequently asked questions

What does the standard soft-landing scope cover?

Pre-arrival country briefing, housing pre-selection, SIM and local phone, 30–90 day furnished accommodation, airport meet-and-greet, transport to housing, bank account opening, utility activation, transport orientation, permanent housing search with Armenian-language lease negotiation, healthcare provider registration, and 90 days of concierge support. Standard and Premium tiers differ on the depth of family-side services.

Can the service handle families with children?

Yes. Premium soft-landing covers international school enrollment (English- and Russian-language options in Yerevan), spouse and partner integration support including career networking and community introductions, pet relocation and veterinary registration, and ongoing family-side concierge through the first 90 days.

How quickly can my employee start working?

Legally, the employee can begin work when the Temporary Residence Card is issued — approximately 30 business days after the work permit application is filed through workpermit.am. We typically aim for the employee to be fully settled (permanent housing, bank account, utilities, healthcare) within the same 90-day window so that legal employment and practical readiness align.

What's the difference between Standard and Premium tiers?

Standard soft-landing covers solo employees and the core arrival logistics. Premium adds family schooling, spouse support, cultural training, and a deeper 90-day concierge for relocated families. Indicative pricing is $2,000–$4,000 per employee for Standard and $5,000–$8,000 per employee or family for Premium. Pricing is indicative and subject to custom quoting based on your requirements.

Do you handle pet relocation?

Yes. Premium soft-landing covers pet relocation logistics, veterinary registration in Yerevan, and ongoing family-side support for animal transport.

Ready to deploy your team to Armenia?

Every engagement starts with a free consultation. We assess your workforce, timeline, and entity structure, then deliver a tailored proposal with transparent pricing and clear milestones.

Schedule a Free Consultation