Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultation on the main directions for reforming Armenia’s migration management system, a component of the draft migration strategy.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan recalled that a similar group had discussed the citizenship component with the prime minister at the beginning of the year. That discussion focused on reassessing the institution of citizenship, linking it to the concept of Real Armenia, a genuine connection to Armenia and the country’s position as the centre of an individual’s interests. She said draft amendments to Armenia’s citizenship law had been developed within this framework and were now being finalised.
Addressing the main directions for reforming migration management, Sargsyan said clarification was needed because Armenia had become a destination country in recent years, with an inflow of people making migration management a key area of state policy.
“Clarifying migration management at the strategic level stems from two important factors. First, the more we tighten the conditions for obtaining citizenship, the more the flow of foreign nationals will shift towards residency, particularly when the main means of tightening those conditions is to introduce residence and permanent residence requirements.
“Second, migration trends in our country have themselves changed significantly, creating a new picture. After decades as a country of departure, Armenia has become a destination and transit country over the past decade, a trend that has been much more pronounced since 2022. Moreover, in 2025, we recorded a positive balance of border crossings by Armenian citizens for the first time, which continued in the first half of this year,” Sargsyan said.
She added that these circumstances had created new challenges for effective immigration management. The number of transactions and applications had increased across all migration processes, from border crossings to asylum, including residence applications and efforts to regularise residency.
The minister said this created a need, in particular, to combat illegal and irregular migration more effectively by incorporating preventive measures, increasing capacity and strengthening institutions and mechanisms.
To support effective migration management, the proposals envisage modern digital tools, particularly through continuous and stable interoperability between the Electronic Border Management System, the State Population Register and other digital migration platforms covering citizenship, residence, asylum and other areas.
Sargsyan said a strategic review of the border management model and its tools would complement the migration strategy.
The meeting then heard proposals for legal and institutional steps to provide unified strategic direction for managing migration flows and mobility, and ensure the state had the necessary visibility of those processes.
Details were also presented on measures to address several problems in the existing migration system and provide a comprehensive review of the management of migration flows and mobility.
The main directions for reforming Armenia’s migration management system were outlined: establishing a unified migration management system; creating a digital, interoperable and secure system; targeted reform of entry, visa and residence regimes; and strengthening border management and law enforcement capacity.
Participants discussed the reforms envisaged in these areas and presented various observations and proposals.
Pashinyan stressed that migration management was a key area of state policy and that effective management underpinned state security, economic development and the protection of people’s rights.
He said measures to improve migration management must be comprehensive, balanced and aimed at long-term stability. The prime minister instructed officials to make the necessary adjustments to the draft strategy based on the decisions taken during the consultation and ensure that the process of adopting it moved forward.
