188 New 'Dual Citizens'

"The Armenian Weekly", Volume 74, No. 18, May 10, 2007

YEREVAN (Armenpress)—Some 188 people have been granted Armenian citizenship, Alvina Zakarian, head of the police department on passports and visas told reporters on May 7.

One-thousand Armenians from the diaspora have applied for Armenian citizenship ever since legislative changes in 2007 codified a law on dual citizenship. Dual citizenship was not permitted in Armenia until 2005, when a constitutional referendum reversed the ban on holding more than one citizenship.

The president of the republic has the exclusive authority to grant dual citizenship. Applications have to be endorsed by the police and a special presidential commission headed by Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian before being considered by the head of state.

According to Zakarian, mostly ethnic Armenians have been granted Armenian passports since the measure took effect last year. She said almost 800 other applications are currently being considered by relevant state bodies. She added that most of the applicants are citizens of Russia, Georgia, Iran, and other countries with sizable ethnic Armenian communities.