EU to present Armenia with visa liberalization action plan in June -  RA MIA

ArmInfo.  The competition winner for  producing passports and ID cards must be registered in the state register. Following this, a corresponding agreement will be signed  with them. Nelly Davtyan,  the head of the visa and passport  department of the RA MIA,  announced this at a press conference on  April 7.

She noted that a consortium of French companies IDEMIA Identity  Security France and A.C.I. Technology S.a.r.l.  was recognized as the  winner of the competition. She also mentioned that during  a  competition committee meeting on March 31, the financial proposals of  the two consortiums were reviewed, with the French consortium scoring  the highest at 94.97 points. The consortium of German companies  AUGENTIC GmbH and Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda, S.A. received  79.24 points. Thus, the French consortium will be responsible for   producing biometric passports and establishing a passport  infrastructure. It is expected that the agreement with it will be  signed in the coming months, with the biometric passport system in  Armenia  set to fully operational by mid-2026.

The agreement will be based on a completely new concept. It envisions  the creation of a new passport infrastructure, which will include the  preparation of buildings and structures, server facilities, printing  equipment, and software solutions. Specifically, it is planned to  establish 23 offices in Yerevan and  the regions, where citizens can  apply for passports or ID cards. Stateless persons will also have the  opportunity to apply to these offices to receive the relevant  documents.

Davtyan mentioned that the introduction of the new passport system  aligns with the requirements of the visa liberalization process with  the European Union that has begun. She noted that the negotiations  officially started in December of the previous year. In June 2025,  the EU is expected to provide Armenia with a corresponding action  plan on this matter, requiring the republic to take action and submit  annual reports on the progress made. The entire process, as the head  of the department noted, could span from 4 to 7 years. At the same  time, there are no specific deadlines for the completion of the  tasks, as it will depend on the extent of work accomplished. Davtyan  noted that the EU has positively assessed the progress achieved by  Armenia, with more than 20 European experts evaluating the situation  in the country and preparing reports with specific assessments soon.  The EU pays significant emphasis on  managing migration processes,  safeguarding personal data, upholding human rights and enhancing the  efficiency of the law enforcement system.