Armenia’s government has approved the rules for issuing new biometric passports and identification cards through a private partner, with the new documents to be issued from Nov. 1.
The Cabinet decision, adopted on Thursday, sets the procedures for issuing and refusing passports and ID cards, the applicable deadlines and fees, and expedited issuance for an additional fee, and provides for a private partner’s involvement in the process. Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan said the new documents will comply with European Union standards. Armenia began developing the system for its new biometric passports in 2023, and officials describe it as the most resource-intensive reform under the country’s visa liberalization process with the EU.
Under the new procedure, citizens first pre-register on a digital platform and pay in full online. The Ministry of Internal Affairs then checks each applicant against the State Population Register, and only after the state approves the application can the person visit the private partner’s office, using a QR code sent by email. There, applicants provide fingerprints and have their photograph taken. Self-service kiosks will also let applicants take their own photographs and provide fingerprints without interacting with staff.
Pre-registration opens Oct. 31 on the websites of the Migration and Citizenship Service and Haypass, the private company providing services for the process. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said 14 offices would operate across Armenia from November, including two in shopping malls in Yerevan, and that the country’s passport departments will close.
A biometric ID card will cost 5,950 drams and a biometric passport 28,650 drams. Documents will be ready on the 14th working day after biometric data is submitted and are collected at the office where the data was provided; a document not collected within 12 months of the readiness notice loses its validity. For an additional fee, biometric data can be collected at an applicant’s home.
Citizens whose current passports or ID cards are still valid can keep using them until they expire, while those who want biometric documents sooner must surrender their existing ones. Sargsyan said Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 were the last two days of operation for the old system.
Pashinyan said work is under way to let biometric passport holders pass through Zvartnots Airport and border checkpoints by placing their passports on a reader, while similar arrangements abroad would depend on agreements such as data exchange with France or the EU. “Those holding biometric passports in Armenia will be able to cross the border without any contact with a border guard,” he said.
Sources: Armenpress, NEWS.am, Public Radio of Armenia
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
