A consultation was held under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during which the main directions of the transformation of the migration management system of Armenia, a component of the migration strategy project, were discussed.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Arpine Sargsyan, reminded that at the beginning of the year, the citizenship component was discussed with the Prime Minister with a similar composition, with the logic of revaluing the institution, connecting it with the Real Armenia, the real vital connection with Armenia, and RA being the center of interests and interests of the subject. According to the Minister, within the framework of this concept, the project of amendments to the Law on RA Citizenship was developed, which is now in the finalization stage.
Referring to the main directions of transformation of the migration management system, Arpine Sargsyan noted that it is important to make clarifications from the point of view of the migration sector, because in recent years Armenia has turned into a receiving country with the influx of people, which makes migration management a key direction of state policy.
“Clarifying migration management at the strategic level stems from 2 important circumstances. First, the more we tighten the conditions for obtaining citizenship, the more the flow of foreigners will be directed to the residence institute, especially when the main means of tightening is to establish residency and permanent residence requirements. Secondly, the migration trends themselves have greatly changed in our country, forming a new image. Being an exit destination for decades, RA has turned into an entry and transit destination in the last decade, which is much more pronounced since 2022. In addition, for the first time in 2025, we recorded a positive balance of border crossings by RA citizens, which was preserved in the first half of this year,” Arpine Sargsyan said, adding that new challenges for effective immigration management have arisen under these conditions. increased transaction and application rates across all migration processes, from border crossings to asylum, including residency applications and trends in legalization.
According to the Minister, in this context, there is a need to more effectively fight against illegal and irregular migration by integrating preventive actions, increasing capacities and strengthening institutions and structures. Accordingly, it is recommended to use modern digital tools in the effective management of migration, in particular, through the permanent and stable functionality of the Border Electronic Management System, the State Register of Population and other migration digital platforms (citizenship, residence, asylum, etc.).
In this context, according to the minister, the revision of the border management model and tools complements the migration strategy at the strategic level.
Next, the legal, institutional steps aimed at ensuring the necessary visibility for the state and the unified strategic direction of migration flows and mobility management were presented. Details were also presented on actions aimed at solving a number of problems in the existing migration system, which would ensure a comprehensive review of migration flows and mobility management. In this context, the main directions of the transformation of the migration management system of Armenia were presented, which are: the formation of a unified migration management system, a digital, interoperable and safe migration system. establishment of a governance system, targeted reform of entry, visa and residence regimes, and strengthening of border management and enforcement capacity.
There was a discussion about the planned transformations in the proposed directions, various observations and recommendations were presented.
Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized that migration management is the key direction of state policy and effective migration management is the basis of state security, economic development and protection of people’s rights. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan noted that steps aimed at effective management of migration should be comprehensive, balanced and aimed at long-term stability. The head of the country instructed to make appropriate adjustments in the draft strategy based on the decisions made as a result of the consultation and to ensure the further process of adopting the draft.
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