Armenian citizenship to become harder and five times more expensive under Interior Ministry draft
New requirements for obtaining Armenian citizenship
The procedure for obtaining Armenian citizenship could change. If parliament approves the draft, obtaining citizenship will become not only more difficult but also more expensive.
The Interior Ministry proposes increasing the state fee for obtaining Armenian citizenship fivefold and the fee for renouncing it tenfold. Applicants will have to pay 250,000 drams ($690) to obtain Armenian citizenship and 1.5 million drams ($4,143) to renounce it.
The ministry has already published its draft on the electronic platform where legal acts are made available for public discussion.
The authorities justify the proposed changes by the need to “rethink” the institution of citizenship:
“In recent years, the number of people without a sufficient factual connection to Armenia has increased. These are people who have never visited the country or lived there for a significant period, but obtained Armenian citizenship for practical benefits, including when planning trips.”
The package of amendments includes not only changes to the state fees but also procedural changes. The government expects the amendments to take effect on 1 January 2028.
Between 1 January 2021 and 31 August 2026, 110,219 people obtained Armenian citizenship. Over the past 15 years, 250,000 people have obtained Armenian citizenship. Most of the new citizens did not live in the country permanently.
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Those who renounce Armenian citizenship will not be able to regain it for five years
Applications to obtain or renounce Armenian citizenship will be submitted electronically. If necessary, applicants will then be able to schedule an appointment and submit their documents in person.
Under the new procedure, applicants must have legally resided in Armenia for the past five years to qualify for citizenship. They must also have spent at least 915 days in the country during that period.
Ethnic Armenians will face less stringent requirements. They will need to have legally resided in Armenia for the past two years and spent at least 366 days in the country.
A special commission within the Interior Ministry will verify ethnic background. Applicants will have to provide the relevant documents and archival records. The commission may also request certificates from religious or community organisations.
“People who have previously renounced their citizenship may apply to restore it only after five years have passed. They must also have lived in Armenia for at least 366 days during the two years preceding their application,” the draft’s explanatory note says.
Under the current legislation, people who have renounced Armenian citizenship can restore it without observing a minimum waiting period.
A presidential decree granting citizenship will take effect within one year of the applicant signing the oath. From now on, applicants will be able to take the oath only on the territory of Armenia.
If the authorities deny citizenship on grounds related to threats to national security or public order, the president’s decision cannot be challenged or changed through administrative or judicial proceedings.
The project aims to strengthen the standing and stability of the institution of citizenship
The authors of the bill say they have identified numerous applications to restore citizenship shortly after applicants renounced it. They cite the example of a parent who renounces citizenship to terminate their sons’ Armenian citizenship, allowing them to avoid compulsory military service.
The same person may then seek to restore their citizenship and regain the relevant rights and privileges. The amendments would make this impossible.
The authors justify the five-year restriction by arguing that the restoration of citizenship must not become a “situational mechanism”:
“Citizenship is not merely a formal legal status, but a long-term legal and political bond between the state and the individual.”
According to the drafters, the five-year restriction will promote:
- “the stability of the institution of citizenship;
- preventing its use for opportunistic purposes;
- viewing citizenship as a long-term bond with the state”.
They stress that restrictions on restoring citizenship also apply in the Scandinavian countries, as well as in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Specialised commission to verify Armenian ancestry
The draft says that the system for making decisions on citizenship matters will also change. In particular, the interagency commission that reviews applications for the granting or termination of citizenship will be abolished.
The Interior Ministry considers that the commission’s work provides little practical benefit. It has almost never reviewed negative decisions or changed the administrative body’s preliminary position.
A specialised commission will be established in its place. Its task will be to verify applicants’ ethnicity, including their Armenian ancestry.
Until now, the authorities have based the verification of ethnicity solely on the availability of certain documents.
However, the Interior Ministry has concluded that applicants’ documents do not always provide a reliable basis for confirming Armenian ancestry. There have been cases in which people submitted forged or altered documents to take advantage of the simplified citizenship procedure available to ethnic Armenians.
According to the ministry, more than 70 such cases were identified between 2023 and 2026. The number of such incidents has also tended to increase each year.
“There were five such cases in 2023, 21 in 2024, 26 in 2025, and 19 in the first half of 2026 alone,” the Interior Ministry reports.
New requirements for obtaining Armenian citizenship
