NEW GENERATION PASSPORTS TO BE ISSUED FOR ARMENIAN RESIDENTS FROM FEBRUARY 2007

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 17 2006

Passports of the new generation will be issued to Armenian resident
form February 2007, Alvina Zakaryan, Head of the Passport-Visa
Department of Armenian Policy, said at the press-conference today.

She pointed out that the centralized system of passport printing is
being tested. It is planned that the new passports will start being
issued for children and teenagers starting from the next week.

Ministry of Transport and Communication will maintain a special
connection with regions of the republic from January 2006. Through
it all necessary data on residents will be passed to Yerevan head
office for issuing the passports.

A. Zakaryan says that the new passports will have a better protection
system. Photos on this passports will be printed out on a color-printer
and not glued as it was previously. It is done according to the
international standards.

The new-model passports will be automatically given to those whose
passport expires. The new passports will also have the 10-year
validity term. People whose passports are still valid can prolong
them for the next 5 years without changing it for the new one.