HEAD OF PASSPORT AND VISA DEPARTMENT DENIES RUMORS ABOUT GROWTH IN
NUMBER OF PERSONS LEAVING ARMENIA

YEREVAN, MAY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The number of persons returning to Armenia
exceeds 1,5 times the number of those leaving the country," head of the
RA Police Passport and Visa Department, Colonel Alvina Zakarian
declared at the May 7 press conference, denying the rumors about an
increase in the number of persons leaving Armenia. According to her, 54
families rejected so-called green cards (status of a permanent resident
of a country) in 2007, while 25 families rejected green cards in the
first 4 months of this year. 799 citizens have applied to their
department with the request to be granted Armenian citizenship in 2008,
most of them are citizens of Georgia, Russia, Lebanon, Turkmenistan and
the U.S. 188 citizens received dual citizenship under decrees of the
Armenian president, while after adoption of the RA Law on Dual
Citizenship, the department sustained 1,417 persons’ applications for
dual citizenship.

In her words, as was announced earlier, in 2010 Armenia intends to
introduce a new passport system but the current passports will be in
force until their date of expiry.

A. Zakarian provided explanations about some provisions of the RA Law
on Foreigners concerning the terms of residence permit and entry visas.
She underlined that without an invitation sent beforehand, residents of
not all countries may receive a visa to cross the Armenian border.
Among these countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, China,
Egypt, India, Iraq, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia,
Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Vietnam amd Syria.