Anatomy of a Process: Armenia’s Biometric Passport Journey

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In 2024, Armenia and the European Union agreed to launch the visa liberalization process for Armenian citizens. The path to visa-free travel within the Schengen Area is long and complex. Armenia must fulfill a broad range of technical and institutional requirements before its citizens can bypass the tedious and uncertain visa application process. In Armenia’s journey toward visa-free travel to the EU, biometric passports are a key requirement.

Talks on visa liberalization with the EU and the need for biometric passports come at a time when Armenians are traveling abroad far more frequently than a decade ago. Living standards have improved for many despite economic challenges, especially for younger people with higher incomes who actively pursue travel opportunities. This trend has been accelerated by budget airlines now offering direct flights from Yerevan to several European cities. While planning a weekend trip to Vienna or Prague may seem straightforward, Armenian citizens must typically begin preparations months in advance due to the lengthy and unpredictable Schengen visa process.

Beyond convenience, visa liberalization carries political and economic significance for Armenia. It reflects the country’s deepening ties with the European Union and its broader European aspirations.

Starting this fall, tiresome and frustrating visa application processes will not be the only nerve-wrecking experience for Armenians wishing to travel to the EU. Beginning in October, the European Union will implement its new “Entry/Exit System” (EES), replacing traditional passport stamps with biometric verification at Schengen borders. Travelers will have their passport chip data, facial scan and/or fingerprints recorded and stored for up to three years. For subsequent visits, identity verification will require just one biometric marker—usually facial recognition. Armenia’s capacity to issue biometric passports is therefore directly linked to its citizens’ future access to the EU.

The stakes are high, both for the Armenian state and its people. While the EU is expected to publish its formal visa liberalization roadmap for Armenia later this year, biometric passports will at least make it easier for Armenian citizens to enter the EU with a visa until visa liberalization is complete. Armenia’s handling of this task will likely indicate both its broader capacity for institutional reform and how quickly its citizens will be able to travel to the EU without a visa.

Armenia’s previous experience with biometric passports, including their initial launch, subsequent suspension, and current reintroduction, serves as a cautionary tale. It highlights the dangers of implementing policies without long-term planning and depending on institutions that lack the stability to maintain initiatives.

Enter Biometric Passports: Phase 1 

History seems to be repeating itself: Armenia’s first attempt to introduce biometric passports was linked to efforts to ease travel for Armenian citizens to the European Union. Additionally, global efforts to enhance border security and prevent passport forgery and identity fraud played a role.

In 2010, the EU introduced stricter requirements for Armenian travelers. Schengen countries announced they would no longer accept visa applications from Armenian citizens whose passports were more than ten years old or set to expire within three months of their planned return.

At the time, Armenian passport offices could extend passport validity by five years using a special stamp, saving citizens from applying for a new document. However, this practice became unacceptable to the EU, which cited Armenia’s failure to introduce biometric passports as a key reason for tightening entry requirements. 

Two years later, in 2012, Armenia began issuing biometric passports and electronic ID cards. The Armenian Government signed a contract with a Polish company to print the passports and ID cards. Until 2014, obtaining a biometric passport or ID remained optional. After that, it became mandatory for new applicants, although older passports remained valid until expiration.

Armenian officials at the time stated that biometric passports would help facilitate the EU visa application process. They emphasized that these documents would reduce forgery and enable automated identity verification. ID cards would specifically allow citizens to access public services online, reducing direct contact with government officials and lowering the risk of corruption.

Then–Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan described the rollout of biometric passports as a step toward strengthening Armenia–EU relations and moving closer to visa-free travel. He also noted that the new documents would offer greater identity protection.

Armenia’s biometric passports were less secure than those issued in most European countries. While European passports typically featured a hard plastic information page with an embedded chip, Armenia used laminated paper. The most visible difference was that the photo was digitally printed into the page, rather than glued on as in older versions. This design made Armenia’s biometric passports more vulnerable to data theft and forgery.

According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, which set global standards for machine-readable travel documents, security features should incorporate multiple layers of protection to prevent unauthorized data access. Armenia’s paper-based passports failed to meet these standards, leaving the chip data more susceptible to tampering and unauthorized reading.

These security flaws, along with logistical and contractual problems, eventually brought the first phase of Armenia’s biometric passport program to a halt. The process began faltering in summer 2016 when the initial stock of passports printed by the Polish company ran out. In 2017, when the contract with the company expired, the government officially discontinued their issuance. 

The government resumed issuing the older version of passports, citing citizens’ preference for the cheaper non-biometric option that cost only 1,000 AMD compared to 25,000 AMD for the biometric one.

The government also announced that it would not renew the contract with the Polish supplier. Officials stated they intended to modernize the biometric passport system, explaining that Armenia needed higher-quality biometric documents––a requirement beyond the scope of the original 2011 tender.

Authorities promised to launch a new tender in 2016 and again in 2017, but neither materialized. Meanwhile, the government returned to issuing standard, non-biometric passports. Even after the 2018 change in government, the new administration continued issuing non-biometric passports while assuring the public that biometric documents would return.

Enter Biometric Passports: Phase 2 

After years of delay, the Armenian government has announced plans to roll out a new generation of biometric passports in the second half of 2026. The government finalized the decision to relaunch the system in 2023, issued an international tender in 2024 and signed a contract with the winning bidder in April 2025 to implement the new biometric passport and ID card system.

The new passports will feature both an updated design and significantly enhanced security standards. The Minister of Internal Affairs stated that they are rebuilding the entire system to comply with international best practices and fix vulnerabilities present in the previous version. Unlike the earlier system managed by the police, a private French company with 23 regional offices across Armenia will now issue and service the new biometric passports.

According to Nelly Davtyan, Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service, Armenia is pursuing this reform both as part of its commitment to modernization and in preparation for the upcoming EU visa liberalization action plan, expected for release in September or October 2025. She emphasized that because the process is directly tied to EU visa liberalization, Armenia must adhere to all required standards.

Officials say Armenia’s new biometric system is being built from scratch despite having a previous system in place. According to Davtyan, the earlier system was substandard and failed to meet international requirements in several areas. She explained that previously collected biometric data was essentially unusable––stored as strings of code that could not be meaningfully extracted or used for identification. The data served no practical purpose within government systems and did not help reduce paperwork or simplify procedures.

The new system prioritizes functionality and data integrity. While a private company will manage the technical and logistical aspects of passport issuance, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will maintain exclusive control over biometric data collection and storage. The private operator will only have access to the minimum information necessary to complete the service process.

A pre-enrolment system has been introduced to strengthen security. Applicants must complete an online registration before visiting a passport office. This process allows the government to verify and approve the applicant’s identity before granting them access to services at regional centers. People cannot simply show up and request a passport; they must first receive official confirmation that their data is valid and complete.

According to Davtyan, this process will also help the state gradually verify and update the national population registry, which has long suffered from inconsistencies. Each step in the new system reinforces the link between biometric data, digital governance, and secure identity verification, laying the groundwork for a more resilient and modern public administration system. 

How to Fail a Nation  

Starting in October 2025, Armenian citizens will face not only the familiar frustration of applying for Schengen visas but also longer delays at EU external borders. As part of strengthened security measures, the EU will require non-EU travelers to present biometric passports for entry. Those without these documents will have their biometric data collected manually by border officials, resulting in even more time-consuming procedures.

Armenia has had 15 years to prepare for this new reality—yet the government has failed to deliver due to poor planning, lack of strategic vision, and ineffective institutional capacity. This has led to repeated delays and missed opportunities. The failure to implement a reliable biometric passport system on time has unnecessarily burdened Armenian travelers while revealing systemic shortcomings in government planning and execution.

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