Who is Granted Temporary Protection Status and for What Duration: Clarification

The Ministry of Internal Affairs regularly informs about the rights protection related issues of individuals forcibly displaced from Artsakh. They have announced that there will now also be separate discussions addressing frequently asked questions regarding this topic.

Who is granted temporary protection status and for what duration?

On October 26, 2023, the Armenian government adopted Decision No. 1864-N on "Establishing the Description of the Document Certifying the Person Receiving Temporary Protection and the Procedure for its Issuance to Individuals Forcibly Displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh," thereby placing the following individuals under temporary protection:

1. Individuals registered in the population registry of Nagorno-Karabakh;
2. Individuals located within the territory of Armenia or outside of Armenia whose last registered address was in Nagorno-Karabakh;
3. Individuals who were not registered in the Nagorno-Karabakh population registry but resided in Nagorno-Karabakh and were registered by the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia following their forcible displacement due to military actions initiated by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh starting from September 19, 2023.

At the same time, it should be noted that this decision does not apply to individuals who hold citizenship of another state, including the Republic of Armenia, as they, as citizens of that state, are already enjoying protection from their country of citizenship.

Temporary protection is granted for a period of one year, with the possibility of extension.