The entry procedure for India, Iraq, and Egypt citizens will be tightened to regulate migration flows to Armenia and prevent illegal migration flows.
According to the reasons for the decision, 11,965 Indian citizens, 658 Egyptian citizens, and 255 Iraqi citizens arrived in RA between January 1 and August 28, 2024, and currently live there illegally.
“It is proposed to issue electronic visas to the citizens of these countries for temporary or permanent residence status of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Russia, Japan, European Union, Schengen Agreement countries and the countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council. (or a valid entry visa) in case of availability. Citizens of the mentioned countries will be issued a visa even if they have a return flight ticket,” the justification for the decision states.
According to the justifications, the following requirement is the invitation (application, letter, petition) of the given foreigner, the party interested in visiting the Republic of Armenia, a legal entity operating in the Republic of Armenia, a state body, a diplomatic representation of a foreign state, or an international organization. In practice, there are many cases when the E-VISA system does not include an invitation from a travel company but an invitation from a party interested in the foreigner’s visit to Armenia, which is an equally essential and supporting document for assessing the credibility of the real purpose of the visit.
The decision’s justifications also tell us that in 2023, 86,942 applications were received from Indian citizens to obtain an entry visa to the Republic of Armenia. Last year, in 2022, the number of applications was 34,199; that is, the figure for 2023 is 155% or 2.5 times more than the previous year. Of the applications received, 67,628 (78%) were granted entry visas.
Additionally, 8,364 Indian nationals were prosecuted during 2023, accounting for 12% of all visas issued to Indian nationals. Among the total number of administrative offenses, the share of Indian citizens is 54.4%.
