Armenian passport ( hy, Հայկական անձնագիր, Haykakan andznagir) is a

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

issued to Armenian citizens to enable them to travel outside

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, and entitles the bearer to the protection of Armenia's consular officials overseas. Armenian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 65 countries and territories as of 2022. Between the years 1994 and 2005, all

Soviet Union passport The Soviet passport was an identity document issued pursuant to the laws of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) for citizens of the USSR. For the general purposes of identity certification, Soviet passports contained such data as name, ...

s were completely replaced with Armenian passports, invalidating Soviet Union passports' use in Armenia since 2005. Today, Armenian passports are also used as proof of identity within the country, along with Armenian ID cards.

Physical appearance

An ordinary Armenian passport is dark blue, with the Armenian coat of arms emblazoned in gold in the center of the front cover. The words "Republic of Armenia" and "Passport" in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

languages also appear on the front cover. The passport is valid for 10 years from the time of issue, with the further possibility of extending validity for an additional 5 years. The possibility of extending the passport by 5 years was eliminated in August 2017. It contains 32 pages for special notes and visas, and information about its holder in both the Armenian and English languages. Since 1 June 2012, two new ID-documents were introduced, which replaced the ordinary passports of Armenian citizens. One of the documents – the ID card — to be used locally within the country, and the second document – the

biometric passport A biometric passport (also known as an e-passport or a digital passport) is a traditional passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip which contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of the pa ...

— to be used for traveling abroad. An electronic chip on the passport will contain digital images of fingerprints and photo of passport holder. Both biometric passports and eID cards are produced by Polish Security Printing Works (Polska Wytwornia Papierow Wartosciowych). Old style (non-biometric) passports were re-introduced in 2016 on a temporary basis (until January 1, 2019), and currently Armenian citizens can acquire both biometric and regular passports.

Identity information page

Armenian Passport includes the following data: * Անձնագրի սեփականատիրոջ լուսանկարը / Photo of Passport Holder * Տեսակը (P) / Type (P) * Երկրի կոդը (ARM) / Country Code (ARM) * Անձնագրի համարը / Passport No. * Ազգանունը / Surname (1) * Անունը/անունները / Given Names (2) * Ազգությունը / Nationality (3) * Ծննդյան ամսաթիվը / Date of Birth (4) * Սեռը / Sex (5) * Ծննդավայրը / Country of Birth (6) * ամսաթիվը թողարկման / Date of Issue (7) * Ամսաթվի թողարկումը / Date of Expiry (8) * Կատարող մարմնի կոդը / Issuing Authority code (9)

Limitations on passport use

As a result of the

first Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

between Artsakh,

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, Azerbaijan refuses entry to holders of Armenian passports, as well as passport-holders of any other country if they are of Armenian descent. It also strictly refuses entry to foreigners in general whose passport shows evidence of entry into the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

, immediately declaring them permanent personae non gratae.

Gallery

Паспорт Армения.jpg, Non-biometric passport (1994-2012), front cover Паспорт Армения 2.jpg, Non-biometric passport (1994-2012), bio data page TarjetaIDArmenia.jpg, Armenian ID card

Visa requirements

* In 2020, Armenian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 65 countries and territories, ranking the Armenian passport 78th in the world according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index. * As of 2020, holders of an Armenian passport may enter all

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

and

Eurasian Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of some post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The Treaty on the Eurasian Econo ...

member states without a visa. * The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski stated that, the action plan for beginning visa liberalization between Armenia and the EU will be on the agenda of the next

Eastern Partnership The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) together with the EU, its member states, and six Eastern European partners governing the EU's relationship with the post-Sovi ...

summit in 2017 and dialogue for visa-free travel of Armenian citizens to the EU's

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

will begin in early 2018. The Ambassador also stated that Armenian citizens could be granted visa-free travel to the EU by 2020. * As of 1 January 2013, Armenia dropped the requirement of entry visas for citizens of all 27 EU member states as well as the 4 members of the

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...

(Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). By approving the unilateral abolition of visas for EU and EFTA citizens, Armenia seeks to accelerate negotiations with the EU on

visa-free travel A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...

for Armenian citizens travelling to the

in return. According to the planned agreement with the EU, the current procedure for obtaining Schengen visas for citizens of Armenia would be relaxed, until visa-free travel is finalized. The new simplified procedure is provided for members of official delegations, researchers and students, journalists, those in sports or the arts, and for close relatives of citizens legally residing in the EU. It is also intended to reduce visa costs by 35 euros or free for these categories, as well as for children and pensioners. For more info see
E-visa system

References

{{Identity cards