Police Response to Lawmaker's Allegations

The Police of the Republic of Armenia has issued a clarification in response to the remarks and concerns raised by Edgar Araqelyan, a member of the 'My Step' parliamentary faction, during his speech.

Specifically, the clarification states:

“Today in the National Assembly, lawmaker Edgar Araqelyan made several allegations regarding the organization of passport service operations.

The Armenian Police clarifies the following:

1. Regarding the issue of photocopying:

The head of the Police of the Republic of Armenia had given instructions to resolve the issue. This is being implemented in two phases. Although the equipment was to be supplied later under the contract with the organization that won the tender, negotiations have resulted in an earlier provision of photocopying equipment (on May 15) to the Passport and Visa Department. The passport services in Yerevan have been equipped with photocopying devices. Other necessary materials will also be provided within a very short time, and starting from June 3, the Yerevan passport services will have photocopying capabilities in the initial phase.

A draft decision on reallocating off-budget funds has also been circulated, which, upon approval, will allow for the purchase of more durable photocopying equipment using the saved resources, which will be provided to all passport services (62 in total), including those in Yerevan.

As a long-term and sustainable solution (requiring no additional costs in the future), the technical requirements of the competitive documents for acquiring biometric passports and identification cards will include the possibility of electronically storing the documents submitted by citizens through scanning methods.

2. Regarding queues:

It should be noted that, due to the holiday season, there is an unprecedented increase in the number of citizens applying for passport services from May to August. Additionally, during these months, there is a sharp increase in the number of requests for registration certificates for schools and kindergartens, and also this year, due to the introduction of a new system, there is an increased number of applicants for obtaining public service numbers.

Nevertheless, the regulation of queues is a strategically significant issue for the Police of the Republic of Armenia. Currently, a draft government decision is in circulation, according to which it is proposed to install queue regulation systems in 35 passport services. Moreover, if the government's decision is accepted, the State Budget of Armenia would save 60 million dram. Under the corresponding investment program, the commercial organization will not receive servicing fees for 6 years.

In addition, alongside this measure, return equipment will be installed in all passport services, which stems from the anti-corruption strategic action plan. Furthermore, it is planned to reduce the on-site service fee from 300 dram to 100 dram through terminals and to install cashless payment terminals on-site.

3. Regarding citizens' awareness:

Hundreds of calls are received daily through the 'Hotline' service of the Passport and Visa Department, which are mainly informational in nature. The Facebook page of the Passport and Visa Department operates 24/7 without holidays, providing legal information and promptly responding to citizens' inquiries.

A trilingual official website for the Passport and Visa Department will soon be operational.”