On the initiative of the Migration Service of Armenia and with the support of the UN International Organization for Migration, an interdepartmental meeting was held today on the introduction of an effective, simplified work permit system for foreigners.
The new system will be launched in January 1, 2022. The project will be put up for public discussion in the near future. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs currently grants a foreigner a work permit, on the basis of which the foreigner applies to the Passport and Visa Department of the Police to obtain work-based residence status. With the new system, these processes are integrated and become electronic. Thus, the burden of the employer is facilitated, as the work permit is issued to the foreigner on the basis of the employer's application, in case the vacancy is not filled by a candidate for Armenia’s citizenship. With the introduction of the new platform, the terms of the process are reduced, the adoption of the necessary documents is facilitated, and the state structures of the sphere gain electronic access to the same platform.
Representatives of the Ministries of Labor, Social Affairs, High-tech Industry, Economy, Education, Science, Culture and Sports, National Security Service, Police, e-Government Infrastructure Implementation Office, as well as Migration Service staff, UN IOM, project authors and electronic system developers participated in the discussion.
During the meeting, an active discussion took place on different scenarios of system operation. The participants shared their experience, possible difficulties, expressed their concerns, and the authors of the initiative suggested possible effective solutions to the issues raised and took note of the suggestions made. By the end of the year, the Migration Service will initiate a series of meetings with employers with experience in attracting foreigners.
The experts will present the functions of the system, record the suggestions and opinions of the beneficiaries.
