Photo source: CivilNet.am

Visa liberalization is not only—or even primarily—about making it easier to travel to Europe. It is also a comprehensive program aimed at modernizing Armenia’s state institutions, security systems, and legislation.

According to the Action Plan, Armenia is required to fully transition to biometric passports that comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and to phase out old-style passports within clearly defined deadlines.

Armenian citizens will soon begin using the new biometric identification document system. We have spoken about this project many times over the past few years, and today I can say that its launch is truly near. The biometric system will become operational this autumn. In the first phase, 14 service offices will open, and by next March their number will increase to 23.

Once the transition to the biometric system begins, old-style identity documents will no longer be issued. As a result, when an old-style passport expires, citizens will be required to obtain a new biometric document.

Read the full article on CivilNet.am.

The author of this article is Arshaluys Mghdesyan, a journalist from Civilnet.am within the framework of the “EU–Armenia Strategic Partnership and Visa Liberalization Dialogue” program, implemented jointly by the Public Journalism Club and the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia.

It should be noted that on March 26–27 of this year, Arshaluys Mghdesyan participated in a two-day seminar in Aghveran under the same program title. Within the framework of the seminar, 11 representatives of Armenian media outlets met with Vassilis Maragos, Ambassador of the European Union to Armenia, as well as ambassadors and consuls of EU member states and representatives of Armenian state institutions, to discuss the progress of EU–Armenia cooperation, including visa-related issues.