Car storage in Armenia?

[steven]

Need a parking space for your car or motorbike in Armenia? Have a good tip? Please leave your thoughts below.

If you are wondering about the exact rules about leaving your car in Armenia, please post in Long-term vehicle storage in Eurasian Customs Union Q&A.

We sum up all tips and rules surrounding long-term parking across Eurasia in our article on Long-term vehicle storage on a Silk Road trip.

[VikingOnTour]

Hello Overlanders,

Well first the plan was to drive from Italy to Kyrgyzstan and park the truck there for the winter, as they will let you keep it there for up to 12 months. But that got scrapped due to Russia’s stupid visa rules.
Then the plan was to drive to Georgia and leave it there, but that will only be possible for up to 90 days, unless you go into an expensive customs compound. Then I found out that Armenia is actually also a member of the Russian Customs Union, so it’s possible to leave a car there for up to 12 months also.
So, voila we are off to Armenia. Next on the agenda is to find a place to park, and I want my truck inside and out of the weather for the winter, as I most likely will not pick it up again until April some time.

Does anyone here have any useful info on car storage in Armenia, or maybe just some local contacts in Yerevan ?? It’s a long shot, but worth a try……

Cheers, Ib.

[eurasiaoverland]

I'm afraid Armenia is probably not going to be your solution.

It may be part of the Eurasian Customs Union, but it had it's own customs policy for vehicles. After Turkmenistan, Armenia is the most expensive country to bring a car into in the Former USSR. It cost me about $130 to bring a Toyota Hilux in for one month. I am not sure what the limit for keeping a car in the country is, but I doubt it can be more than the 90 days for which the entry stamp is valid.

For information, the Eurasian Customs Union allows you to keep a vehicle for up to one year in for example Russia, but only if your visa is valid that long. So, last year I entered Russia with a 1 year visa with about 11.5 months left on it. My car was allowed in until the end date of the visa, not until the 1 year anniversary of me entering.

EO

[cristiano]

[...]
For information, the Eurasian Customs Union allows you to keep a vehicle for up to one year in for example Russia, but only if your visa is valid that long. So, last year I entered Russia with a 1 year visa with about 11.5 months left on it. My car was allowed in until the end date of the visa, not until the 1 year anniversary of me entering.

EO

I'm sure infos about your experience with russian TIP in Russia are accurate, as always your infos are, but I'm not sure it is the same for all Custom Union countries and borders.
Last year I saw with my own eyes a lot of TIP for Custom Union from people who entered from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan: most of them was valid for 12 months from the day of entrance. All those people were Europeans, so no Visa for Kyrgyzstan. I'm not saying this is everyone's experience, but it's Asia, and we know things can change quickly or with crazy motivation. A change of border guards can be enough for a change of rules and experiences...

[eurasiaoverland]

Hi Cristiano!

That's good to hear. I always felt Kyrgystan was pretty informal regards entry requirements. Once I entered and they didn't even have a rubber stamp at the border... no problem

But, if Armenia only allows you to stay for 90 or 180 days visa free, I doubt they will allow a vehicle to stay for one year.

[cristiano]

Yeah,
actually I don't know how Armenia is dealing with this kind of things: I entered there last time in 2010, so, a long time ago.

Probably this topic is not the best place to discuss about Custom Union rules, but maybe it can be helpful for Steven to collect some infos and put them alltogheter in an article, as vehicle storage is a frequent question.
And, yes, you are right about Kyrgyzstan: until 2014 it was easy. Since their entrance in the CU, things became a little bit more complicated, but probably still a bit more of flexibility exists, compared to Russia...

[steven]

I am trying to wrap my head around all the rules regarding vehicle storage, but to be honest, I cannot make sense of the rules. A lot of reports seem to contradict each other. A little country-by-country summary by an expert (hint, hint) would be very welcome

[cristiano]

Hi Steven, the problem with the expert is that nobody can be "expert" in this kind of things.
Both me and Daniel are frequent travellers in that areas but rules are...asian...

In years of travelling in Central Asia I had at least 5 different TIP forms: sometimes it was easy to get out from CU, sometimes not.
I always made it, but I would not say that there are clear rules.
What I can say is that your TIP will be requested at the exit, and expiration date will be checked, but nothing is set in stone.

As an example: in summer 2014 I exited from Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan was not yet in the CU. The Kazakh lady did all by herself with my bike "passport". Everything was easy, but I was sure she compiled the form wrongly. When I had to exit CU from Russia to Mongolia, the Russian custom agent noticed that in the "number plate" range, there was the Vin numer and not the plate number: everything went ok, as Russians were very easy to say that Kazakhs were stupid, and I was prepared for that show since days, but...

Last year I had to exit from Kyrgyzstan to China: the custom guards said that my documents were wrong: it took a long day to get out, but in the evening I was eating in Kashgar...

I can continue like this for a long time, but the answer is always the same: Asia...

[PetiteJeannette]

Hello
Can I reactivate this topic centered on Armenia?
EU citizen, We are planning to leave ou car in Armenia from June 2109 to May 2020.
Are there news on the real possibilities ?
Viking, did you manage to leave your car there last year?
Has somebody updated info or recent experience about this possibility of 1 year-TIP?

Thanx a lot in advance.
B.

[VikingOnTour]

Hi All,
I can confirm that it is indeed possible to leave a car or motorcycle behind in Armenia. Mine is there now, for the winter.
You can ask for a 12 month TIP at the border, and they will issue one free of charge. No special paperwork needed, just the car rego and your passport.
It's not important how long your visa is valid for.
PM me if you have questions.
And do yourself a favor and visit 3G camping outside Yerevan.....you'll love it !!
Cheers, Ib.