By Alexander Pracht
A European Union expert mission began its second visit to Armenia today to assess the country’s progress toward visa liberalization with the bloc, according to Nelly Davtyan, head of the Migration and Citizenship Service at Armenian Interior Ministry.
This follows a previous visit last month. Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan, Davtyan emphasized that introducing a biometric identification system is one of the core requirements for advancing in the visa talks with the EU.
“Biometric systems are a direct requirement from our European partners. For Armenia, this has become a strategic direction that would enable our citizens to enjoy freedom of movement,” she said.
Production of biometric passports and IDs is set to begin in the second half of 2026. A consortium that includes a French company will carry out the project for Armenia, with a contract expected to be signed in the coming month.
Davtyan acknowledged that implementing a biometric system is one of the most complex requirements Armenia is facing. Once all conditions are met, the country could receive a visa-free regime with most European countries. Armenia previously issued biometric passports from 2012 to 2017, but stopped after its contract with a Polish company expired, as the government struggled to secure a new service provider.
Additionally, Armenia’s new border management system will go live in one or two months enabling the exchange of biometric data with other countries. This is expected to minimize delays at border checkpoints by allowing documents to be scanned instead of manually checked. Travelers without biometric documents would have to provide their biometric data on the spot.
Addressing concerns over privacy and data security in outsourcing biometric document production to a private foreign company, Davtyan said the legal framework will be revised.
“To protect legal identity and prevent data theft, we plan to significantly raise the level of infrastructure security to meet international standards,” she concluded.
The European Council agreed to allow the European Commission, the EU’s main executive body, to launch visa liberalization talks with Armenia last July. The European Commission’s Deputy Director General for Migration and Home Affairs, Johannes Luchner, and Armenia’s Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan launched visa liberalization negotiations in Yerevan later in December. The process is expected to take several years before visa requirements for short-term travel are lifted.
Currently, Armenian nationals must apply for a Schengen visa in advance before traveling to Europe, typically through an embassy or visa application center. The process costs money, takes time, and often requires the applicant to submit their passport for days or even weeks, preventing them from traveling abroad during that period. Booking an appointment to simply apply for a visa is also a challenge, as high demand and bureaucratic hurdles create long waiting times and limited availability. A visa-free regime with the EU would remove this barrier, allowing Armenian citizens to travel freely across 29 European countries, including some that are not EU members, as there are no internal border controls within the Schengen Area.
Many countries outside the European Union already enjoy visa-free travel to the Schengen Area, including Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia’s neighbor Georgia. These countries have secured visa liberalization through separate agreements with the EU, allowing their citizens to travel freely for short stays without a visa.
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