Armenian authorities have announced the start of large-scale printing of the country’s new biometric passports, which are expected to become available by autumn. While officials say the documents meet international security standards, both their design and the way they record the birthplaces of people born in Nagorno-Karabakh have sparked controversy.

The announcement was made by Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan, who shared a video on social media showing the first sample of the new passport and described it as ‘one of the world’s most secure documents’.

According to authorities, the new passports will improve document security, facilitate border crossings, and contribute to the free movement of Armenian citizens, including as part of Armenia’s visa liberalisation process with the EU, which has been underway since September 2024.

The passports feature enhanced security mechanisms, including ultraviolet protection layers. When the pages are flipped quickly under ultraviolet light, the hidden security features form the image of a flying dove, symbolising peace.

The design of the new passports was unveiled in late April during a meeting between Sargsyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. One of the most noticeable changes is the cover, which has been changed from blue to red ‘because this colour is one of the most widely used shades internationally’, including among EU member states.

Unlike the current passports, which primarily feature the Armenian coat of arms, the new design incorporates illustrations intended to reflect Armenian identity, the country’s historical, spiritual, and cultural heritage, symbols of statehood, the Armenian alphabet, and a map of the country.

The illustrations, however, quickly became the subject of public debate.

One of the most criticised images depicts the Khor Virap monastery without its iconic backdrop of Mount Ararat. Instead, the illustration shows mountain ranges located within Armenia. The choice of angle prompted widespread criticism, as Khor Virap is closely associated with panoramic views of Mount Ararat, which despite being located in present-day Turkey, has remained one of the most enduring symbols of Armenian national identity.

The criticism also acquired political overtones. Pashinyan’s government has stepped up efforts to normalise relations with Turkey and has increasingly emphasised focusing on Armenia’s internationally recognised territory, with his government appearing to seek to replace Ararat with Armenia’s highest peak, Mount Aragats, in its official symbolism.

Khor Virap monastery illustration for Armenian new biometric passports. Official photo. The baking of traditional lavash bread illustration for Armenian new biometric passports. Official photo.

Another illustration that attracted attention depicts the baking of traditional lavash bread. It also became the subject of ridicule online after users pointed to what appeared to be a piece of dough placed directly on the ground rather than on a tray, fuelling further speculation that the images had been generated using AI.

Alongside the introduction of the new biometric passports, authorities have also announced plans to introduce automatic, contactless border crossing systems, which they say ‘will significantly facilitate and accelerate the movement of citizens’.

The passports are being printed in the Netherlands by IN Groupe, while the first batch of new ID cards has already arrived in Armenia. Existing passports will remain valid until their expiration unless citizens choose to replace them.

Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians’ birthplace in new passports listed as Azerbaijan

The rollout of the new passports has also revived long-standing controversy over how the birthplace of people born in Nagorno-Karabakh is recorded.

The Armenian authorities had already announced that the new passports would comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, meaning place names are recorded according to internationally recognised geographical designations.

For people born in Nagorno-Karabakh, this means their country of birth is expected to be listed as Azerbaijan.

The issue has remained highly controversial among many refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, who object to having Azerbaijan listed as their birthplace. The confusion has been compounded by inconsistencies in previously issued passports, with people born in the same settlement receiving different birthplace designations — including Azerbaijan, Armenia or simply the name of their town or village.

RFE/RL reported in March 2021, citing Armenian authorities, that Armenia had generally listed the birthplace of people born in the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic as Azerbaijan since 1994 because it was how it appeared on Soviet birth certificates.

Although officials also allowed citizens, upon request, to instead have Armenia listed in their passports, the ministry acknowledged that this had no legal basis, and later created administrative and legal complications because passports no longer matched birth certificates.

For people born after 1991, passport authorities rely solely on birth certificates. Since these typically list the place of birth as ‘Republic of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’, their passports have generally recorded the country of birth as Armenia.

In April 2025, CivilNet reported that the Migration and Citizenship Service said people born in Nagorno-Karabakh could request that a specific locality from their birth certificate — such as their city, town, district, or village — be entered in the place-of-birth field instead of Azerbaijan. However, officials warned that such a designation could create difficulties at international border crossings.

The authorities say the new biometric passports are intended to fully comply with ICAO standards, including in the way geographical names are recorded.

For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

https://oc-media.org/armenia-begins-printing-new-biometric-passports-amid-design-and-birthplace-controversy/