Regarding the digital platform for employment contracts

According to the Labour Code of the Republic of Armenia, starting from January 1, 2026, the establishment, modification, and termination of employment relations shall be carried out through a digital system, and employment contracts shall be signed with an electronic digital signature via that system.

In this regard, the following issues arise:

1. According to Decision No. 2087-N of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, dated December 16, 2021, the procedure for issuing a certificate confirming the legality of residence for foreigners exempted—under relevant international treaties of the Republic of Armenia—from the requirement to obtain a work permit is defined. This certificate is mainly issued to citizens of the EAEU.

According to the procedure, in order to obtain this certificate, it is necessary to upload a scanned copy of the employment contract. However, under the new regulation, such a contract can be concluded only through the digital system, using an electronic digital signature. At the same time, a foreigner can obtain an electronic digital signature only if they already possess a certificate confirming the legality of residence, which creates a closed loop. To resolve this issue, we propose introducing appropriate amendments to Government Decision No. 419-N of April 5, 2012 and/or Government Decision No. 2087-N of December 16, 2021, or other related decisions.

2. For employees who are not citizens of the Republic of Armenia and perform their work duties outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the requirement to obtain an Armenian electronic digital signature also arises, creating significant complications and expenses. In this regard, we have previously proposed establishing an exception and allowing employment contracts to be signed with a simplified signature.