The last blog post in the “personal life” category was already on March 18. And all because life has stabilized. I work and travel. I am continuing the process of legalization in Armenia.
Today I will tell you more about offline: two major trips to the north and south of Armenia, marriage registration at the local MFC, collection and submission of documents for a 3-5-year residence permit.
But there will be a little bit about online, in which I converted 95% of all my income into a currency so as not to depend more on the ruble. And there will be a lot of photos – I warn you in advance. =)
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- Marriage registration in Armenia
- Summer trip to the south of Armenia: Tatev
- Trip to the north of Armenia: Lori
- Submission of documents for a residence permit and a few words about business
Marriage registration in Armenia
Let’s start in chronological order. In April 2023, Sanka and I finally officially got married (all the relatives were very surprised). It took 10 years and a move to Armenia. XD
There are no problems with this case here for foreigners. Two documents are needed:
- Passport (you can have a foreign passport, you can have a regular one) with a translation into Armenian.
- Certificate of absence of marriage.
You can register at the consulate, the local registry office or even at the MFC by paying some small fee. We just chose the latter option, as it is right next to our house.
Funny moment with the help. You sign up at the consulate, set a date, come and write a statement that you have no marriage in your homeland. An employee of the consulate confirms this statement and in the end it is a “certificate”.
We came with translations of passports and certificates to the MFC, applied for marriage. A day later, it was already possible to return for the certificate, which was immediately given for apostille (it will be useful in the future for residence permits and visas).
Getting a marriage certificate at a local MFC
A day later we went out into nature – to celebrate. Fortunately, nature is within walking distance here. I called a taxi, 30 minutes, and you are already in a beautiful grove on the river bank, with a gazebo and a place for a bonfire.
Wedding photo shoot from our photographer friends
Despite April, it was already quite hot outside, especially that day. So even a light jacket was not needed. By the way, I was in this “wedding” clothes all summer then. Very convenient!
Throughout the spring, we traveled around Gyumri with friends. First, a friend of Sanka flew to visit from Japan. Then our former “colleague” in activism came from Russia. And among the local emigrants, we have already made quite a lot of friends and acquaintances.
Marmashen Monastery
We continue to periodically participate in local environmental activities. We went to the theater. I installed a Glovo food delivery app for myself and ordered a pizza. I bought a new PC with delivery, instead of a hiking laptop. In general, we are slowly taking root and building a springboard for Europe.
Mountain river, near the waterfall Trchkan
Summer trip to the south of Armenia: Tatev
At the beginning of summer, we went on a tour to the south of Armenia: through Dilijan (where “the second most delicious water in the world, after San Francisco”) and Sevan to Tatev.
We took part in a cheese tasting at the Mikaelian farm. We rested in Dilijan. We climbed the cable car almost 2500 meters in Tsakhkadzor (one of the most popular ski resorts in Armenia). I, because of the strong height differences, was not very.
Finally, we tasted delicious local fish on Sevan. We drove around the lake. We found out that you can rent a house right on the shore. And there is also a place for camping, in addition to other tourist infrastructure. Maybe next year we’ll go there for a week.
Lake Sevan
On the way from Yerevan to the south, we stopped at Areni Wine Factory for a wine tasting. We visited the beautiful Noravank Monastery, the Shaki waterfall, the cave city and the swinging Khndzoresk bridge (the first time was very scary).
Shaki Waterfall
When I got to Tatev, I realized that this is now my favorite place in Armenia. I even started thinking about looking at real estate in the area. However, considering,that Azerbaijan is nearby is not a good idea.
Tatev
We took a ride on the world’s longest reversible cable car – “Wings of Tatev”. We listened to the guide’s story about the birth of Christianity in Armenia, and about the whole monastery complex.
Devil’s Bridge
I was particularly impressed by the Devil’s Bridge with its warm mineral springs, in which we swam. Incredibly beautiful caves flooded during the rainy season.
Trip to the north of Armenia: Lori
The second multi-day trip we took to the north of Armenia – to the Lori region (through which, at one time, we entered from Georgia).
The north is very different from the south. There are a lot of steep serpentines, which are especially scary to drive in the evening. There are green forests everywhere, even in the mountains (over which massive clouds often hang). And apricots don’t grow here either.
One of the most beautiful cities in the north of Armenia – Alaverdi. Part of it is built in the bottom of the gorge, and part of it is built on the tops of the mountains. Not a single photo will convey the gorgeous view that opens on the city from its different points.
View of a piece of the city of Alaverdi from the monastery of Haghpat
Here we visited the monastery of Haghpat (a monument of urban planning of medieval Armenia) and the cave-fortress complex Zarni-Guys (with a cave with drinking water flowing from the ceiling), where we had lunch with a magnificent view of the Kayan fortress.
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In the afternoon, we visited the Aramyants Castle (the famous Armenian entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist) – a luxurious mansion built in the style of a medieval European castle.
In addition to the unexpected pool, there is an empty fountain near the castle with a very unusual acoustic illusion: if you stand in the center of the fountain and start saying something, it seems that you are inside some invisible dome.
Akhtala Architectural Complex
Well, the final point of the trip was the 10th-century Armenian monastery and fortress of Akhtala, which has been attacked by many people in its entire centuries-old history: starting with Tamerlane and ending with Dagestanis who destroyed the unique dome of the Church of the Holy Virgin.
Maybe I’ve already written about it somewhere, but once again I was surprised by the openness of such historical monuments of Armenia. They have practically no fences, fences and prohibitions on entering this or that part of the attraction (except for those places where it is simply dangerous to be).
And on this trip we walked around Yerevan in the evening. And it is even more beautiful than daytime!
Submission of documents for a residence permit and a few words about business
At the beginning of May, I was hired by a large international company as an SEO consultant. I saw that they were looking for a specialist in the local Telegram channel. I joined the staff of their HR department on Linkedin, and I was invited to a series of interviews.
At the same time, they called me to work as a senior in Yerevan and St. Petersburg, as well as as a link builder in the USA (remotely). Peter brushed it off right away. From the USA, the recruiter poured a lot of water and spoke little about the case. But in Yerevan, I even passed an interview and received an offer (but they offered less money).
As a result, the NDA was signed, so I began to publish fewer new posts. And just free time for blogging has become much less. But now you can no longer think about money at all – they pay very well.
I don’t abandon my projects. I delegated almost everything I used to do myself. Now I have two full-fledged assistants working for me. It is especially interesting to observe the project that we are developing with the help of AI (once a month I publish reports in my Telegram ).
I converted 95% of my income into foreign currency so as not to depend on the ruble. Now I am receiving for my Armenian sole proprietorship:
- dollars;
- euros;
- drams.
Finally launched a private scheme for link exchanges (I can’t tell you yet). So in the finstrip for 2023 there will be a significant increase in income from this direction (who would have thought).
The CPA niche is not happy with money yet. Although it has stopped deflating, as in 2021-2022.
Gyumri city, summer 2023
Since I finally came to stability in my affairs, I applied for a residence permit in Armenia through my accountant.
Initially, when it was first submitted, it was possible to get in the electronic queue and get a residence permit for a period of 1 year, with the possibility of further extension. But while I was collecting documents, this option was closed. Now everything is done offline, in Yerevan, but they are given immediately for 3-5 years. An answer to my application should come before the end of the year.
If you also plan to get a residence permit in Armenia, you will need the following documents:
- Passport scan
- Scan and original translation of the passport into Armenian
- Scan of an extract from the state register of sole proprietors (certificate)
- Scan of the lease agreement (if any)
- Photo on a white background (approximately like a passport)
- Certificate from the local polyclinic about the state of health (form No. 3; for OVIR)
I will leave this list here, on my blog, so that I can simply throw off the link to those who write to me in a Telegram. And then, after the posts about opening bank accounts and sole proprietors in Armenia, several dozen entrepreneurs have already written to me.
That’s all for now. If everything goes well, I will try to write the next such post in November. Well, or wait for the annual – in January.
Good luck to everyone!