From Jan 27, our Artsakh compatriots will also need  Temporary  Protection Certificate to travel, in addition to identity document -  Ghazaryan

ArmInfo. From January 27, our Artsakh compatriots will also need a Temporary Protection Certificate to travel, in addition to an identity document. Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Republic of Armenia,  Armen Ghazaryan, stated on January 15 at a press conference at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia on the results of 2023.

According to him, this requirement comes into force in accordance  with the decision of the RA government of October 26, the current  one. At the same time, he informed that over 35 thousand Artsakh  residents have already received such certificates. "The rest,  apparently, do not yet plan to travel or do not want to take such a  document," the head of the service noted.

He noted that this refugee certificate stating that the specified  person is under the protection of the Republic of Armenia, enjoys  international protection and cannot be transferred/deported to  Azerbaijan. Ghazaryan added that this certificate is additional  protection for persons deported from Artsakh while traveling.  At the  same time, he emphasized that a simplified procedure for obtaining  Armenian citizenship is in effect for Artsakh residents and over 700  people have already applied for it.

Regarding the queues that Artsakh residents face at passport and visa  services, the head of the service assured that these issues are being  resolved to the extent possible by using additional service windows.   Moreover, on Saturdays, the subordinate bodies also work throughout  the country.

To clarify, maybe the migration service should issue temporary  passports to Artsakh residents so that they can get a job and receive  social benefits. Ghazaryan noted that this is not necessary, since  Artsakh residents can find work in Armenia using their passports,  except for those positions for which RA citizenship is a mandatory  condition.

"As for social payments, we have already registered over 42 thousand  of our compatriots from Nagorno- Karabakh. And in the registration  process, priority was 63+. That is, we gave priority to pensioners,  and today over 13 thousand of the abovementioned number are people  over 63 years old. This is actually the entire pension fund of  Nagorno-Karabakh," added Ghazaryan.