ANC Deputy Chairman: The cost of a biometric passport in Armenia exceeds that of most developed countries

ArmInfo. The state fee for a biometric passport, established by the government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, exceeds the rates in most developed countries and former Soviet Union countries. This was reported by Levon Zurabyan, Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC).

He noted that the current state fee for a biometric passport is 9.45% of the average monthly salary before taxes. "A citizen is not subject to fines," said one famous classic (Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - ed.), who loved to climb speed radar poles and cover the cameras with tape. Now, the state fee for a biometric passport, established by his government, is 28,650 drams, or 9.45% of the average monthly salary before taxes. "Almost 1/10 of a month's salary for one passport," Zurabyan noted on his Facebook page.

Comparing this figure by country, the politician explained the state duty in developed countries: Germany - 1.26%, Poland - 1.59%, Canada - 2.12%, the UK - 2.19%, France - 2.25%, and the US - 2.69%. "And in the countries of the former USSR: Belarus - 3.34%, Moldova - 5.07%, Azerbaijan - 5.44%, Russia - 5.98%, Uzbekistan - 6.21%, Kyrgyzstan - 6.71%, Georgia - 6.93%, Kazakhstan - 7.80%, and Tajikistan - about 30.45%. In this comparison, only Tajikistan's figure is higher than Armenia's. "Moreover, an Armenian citizen spends approximately 7.5 times more of their salary on a passport than a German citizen, and 36% more than a Georgian citizen," the ANC deputy chairman noted.

According to Zurabyan, this once again proves that for the Pashinyan government, an Armenian citizen is perfectly suitable material for fines, duties, taxation, and generally

for legalized fleecing. "And what happens? An Armenian citizen must shell out a significant sum from their family budget for

the benefit of a certain private company—whose deal with the Pashinyan government has yet to be verified—to remove the image of Mount Ararat from passports and bring Armenia closer to the EU, although, as former Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan admitted, they themselves understand that such rapprochement is unrealistic. This is Pashinyan for all his glory: luring people with deceptively lofty ideals, and then, accompanied by loud slogans, "technically" picking their pockets. The question is: for how long?," the ANC deputy chairman concluded.

It's worth noting that on October 31, Yerevan officially launched the production of new biometric passports and ID cards. They are being manufactured by a consortium of French companies, IDEMIA Identity Security France and A.C.I. Technology S.a.r.l., which won an international tender. According to the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs, 14 HayPass offices, tasked with issuing biometric passports, have opened in Yerevan and the regions. In Yerevan, the offices are located in the Yerevan Mall and Mega Mall shopping centers. The cost of a new biometric identification card will be 5,950 drams, and a passport will cost 28,650 drams. It is also interesting that while adult citizens receive a passport for 10 years, children receive one for three years. This means that Armenian citizens will now be forced to pay 28,650 drams every three years to obtain a new passport for their child.