Armenia to digitize residence permit issuance to foreigners, establish electronic oversight

YEREVAN, October 16. /ARКА/. Armenia is set to digitize the process of issuing residence permits to foreign nationals. The government approved the relevant amendments and additions to the Law "On Foreigners" on Thursday.

The purpose of these amendments is to streamline and enhance the efficiency of foreigner registration, clarify the types of resident status, and outline the mechanisms for granting this status.

The amendments also address matters concerning the issuance of work visas to foreign nationals. It suggests the creation of a unified electronic system for managing services offered to foreign citizens, which will be accessible to all pertinent government agencies.

The implementation of a unified electronic system for registering residence permits for foreigners will ensure oversight of the circumstances that justified the granting of the status, according to the decree from the Armenian government.

Plans are in place to ensure the identification of foreigners legally residing in the Republic of Armenia (RA) by defining the documents that confirm their legal residence in the RA and restricting the possibility of foreigners holding multiple documents that verify their legal residence. This measure aims to prevent foreigners from submitting varying personal data and engaging in fraudulent activities.

The introduction of a state fee for certain services provided to foreigners, including application processing fees, along with a reassessment of the policy for granting privileges based on residence status, will assist in partially offsetting the state's expenses for delivering these services and augmenting revenues for the RA state budget.-0-