The Government of Armenia has adopted a decision to tighten the procedures for entering the territory of Armenia for the citizens of India, Iraq and Egypt. The issue was included in the agenda of non-reportable issues of the session of the RA government on October 24.
The draft proposes to issue electronic visas to the citizens of India, Iraq and Egypt for the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, the Russian Federation, Japan, the countries of the European Union, the countries of the Schengen Agreement and the Persian Gulf Cooperation. in the case of temporary or permanent residence status or a valid entry visa in the countries of the council. Or, a person who is a citizen of the above-mentioned countries and who applies for an entry visa to the Republic of Armenia must submit a plane ticket (with a return ticket) at the stage of examining the entry visa application. as an evaluation criterion, it is important to have a return plane ticket, not a one-way ticket, as proof of the intention to return within the specified time.
The next requirement is the invitation (application, letter, petition) of the given foreigner, the party interested in visiting the Republic of Armenia, a legal entity operating in the Republic of Armenia, a state body, a diplomatic representation of a foreign state or an international organization. In practice, there are many cases when the E-VISA system does not include an invitation from a travel company, but an invitation from a party interested in the foreigner's visit to Armenia, which is no less important and supporting document for assessing the credibility of the real purpose of the visit. It is offered by the citizens of the mentioned countries as E - To apply through the VISA system, a necessary condition is to establish the presentation of the grounds for the availability of financial resources (bank statement, other evidence), which is not only an approach accepted in international practice, but will also be of significant importance in this case, because in the case of problematic applications, it is generally not possible to present such evidence. to be, which is a decisive criterion for evaluating the credibility of applications.
It is also recommended to establish the existence of health (travel) insurance as a prerequisite for receiving an electronic visa. This problem is more relevant because the Ministry of Health of RA has recorded confirmed cases of tuberculosis in a number of Indian citizens.
It is noted that in the last two years, the number of Indian citizens who entered RA by obtaining an electronic entry visa (E-VISA) and who continue to stay in the territory of RA without legalizing their residence after the expiration of the visa has increased dramatically.
A certain increase was also recorded in the case of the arrivals of Egyptian citizens. The volume of entry of Iraqi citizens is also problematic. Despite the fact that in this case the volume of entry has not increased, the number of asylum requests submitted by citizens of this country has increased. The average period of visa overstay is more than 90 days. Studies show that 70% of Indian citizens who have overstayed their visas. visas were received on the basis of invitation-guarantees of Armenian tourist agencies. Despite the fact that the invitation-guarantees submitted by the tourist agencies to the Consular Department of the RA MFA, as a rule, there is an assurance that the invited person will not apply for residence status or work permit, will leave RA within the specified period, the picture in reality is completely different, and in fact, only the existence of invitations from travel agencies cannot be considered a sufficient basis for the approval of visas, because in 70% of cases, they do not actually guarantee the real purpose of the tourist visit and departure from RA within the specified period.
It is noted that the lack of a readmission agreement with India, Egypt and Iraq is a problem, which hinders the full implementation of the institution of post-return. implementation, as well as their risk of being trafficked. On the other hand, the possibility of turning the territory of RA into a transit zone for illegal migrants to move to European countries is increasing, which can have a very negative impact on the process of visa liberalization with the EU.
Currently, the migration and citizenship service of the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs received the results of the study of the current situation of migration flows carried out by the RA National Security Service. As a result of the study, it was found that 11,965 citizens of India, 658 citizens of Egypt and 255 citizens of Iraq arrived in RA between 01.01.2024 and 22.08.2024 and are currently living illegally in RA," the project's rationale states. .
