The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia is considering introducing a paid service for issuing passports with so-called “golden” numbers. This was announced by Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan. The service will be voluntary, and the ministry intends to agree on the mechanism for distributing the collected funds with the private operator of the biometric system.
In early 2027, the authorities also plan to discuss subsidizing the cost of new documents for certain social categories. In particular, the possibility of specialists visiting homes to collect biometric data from the elderly and citizens with disabilities is being considered. Currently, issuing a new passport costs 28,650 drams (around $77), and an ID card costs 5,950 drams (approximately $16).
According to Sargsyan, the cost of the documents is related to the expenses of their production and the implementation of additional security layers. The state receives no revenue from these payments. The private operator of the biometric system has already invested €20 million in the infrastructure and intends to continue investments that it will need to recoup.