Over 2,900 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh granted Armenian citizenship

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YEREVAN, September 3. /ARKA/. Around 4,300 forcibly displaced individuals from Nagorno-Karabakh have applied for Armenian citizenship, Armen Kazaryan, the Head of Armenia's Migration Service, reported on Tuesday./pp

Speaking at a session of the National Assembly’s State-Legal Affairs Committee, Kazaryan stated that over 2,900 of these applicants have already been granted citizenship./pp

Minors do not need to apply for citizenship. Once their parents are granted citizenship, they automatically become citizens of Armenia, Kazaryan explained./pp

He highlighted the efforts made by the authorities to expedite and simplify the citizenship process for those from Nagorno-Karabakh. While the legal procedure usually takes about 90 working days, in this case, the process has been shortened to around two months./pp

Additionally, Kazaryan noted that the applications from Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh are being processed at all regional offices, unlike applications from foreign nationals, which must be submitted to the Central Visa and Passport Department located in Yerevan. This measure significantly speeds up the process./pp

On September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military operation against Nagorno-Karabakh using artillery, drones, and combat aircraft. Following negotiations with the Azerbaijani side, Nagorno-Karabakh’s President Samvel Shahramanyan issued a decree on September 28 disbanding all state institutions of the republic, with the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ceasing to exist as of January 1, 2024./pp br/p