Ministry of Internal Affairs Responds to Rumors About Closure of Passport Services in Vardenis and Jambarak

The Ministry of Internal Affairs' Migration and Citizenship Service has addressed the circulating rumors regarding the potential closure of passport services in the Vardenis and Jambarak communities of the Gegharkunik province.

According to clarifications provided to Armenpress, deep reforms have been initiated in the migration sector. It is noted that the goal of these reforms is to transform territorial passport services into subdivisions where not only passport services will be offered, but also other services, including the acceptance of applications for residence statuses and asylum requests, as well as applications for acquiring or renouncing Armenian citizenship.

This approach will allow citizens and foreigners to utilize services in a more flexible manner, eliminating the need to approach the main office in Yerevan for these applications. It should also be emphasized that the need to use passport services arises only once every few years for each citizen; a passport, for instance, is issued, under standard procedures, for a 10-year term. The requirement to stamp passports with validity markings was abolished as of January 1 of this year, further eliminating the necessity to visit passport services annually.

A new system for biometric passports and identification cards is being implemented under a state-private partnership project, which aims to establish one passport subdivision in each province. This will involve optimizing the number of subdivisions from 63 to 47.

In this context, it is planned to connect all passport services in the Gegharkunik region to the passport service in the Martuni community. As a result of these changes, the service will be rebranded as the Migration and Citizenship Service's Martuni Division.

It is worth recalling that the closure of the passport services in Vardenis and Jambarak was highlighted by member of the Armenian Parliament from the “I Have Honor” faction, Taguhi Tovmasyan, who stated that she has raised the issue with the Minister of Internal Affairs, and the response will be published.