Armenia switches on biometric passports and ID cards from 1 November in its biggest step yet towards EU visa-free travel
Armenia starts issuing new biometric passports and identity cards today, 1 November 2026. Online pre-registration opened yesterday, 31 October, and 14 new offices across the country start taking fingerprints, photographs and signatures from today.
The change matters far beyond the queue at the passport office. Armenia is rebuilding its identity documents to meet European Union standards, as part of a long push to win visa-free travel to the EU for its citizens. The head of the country’s Migration and Citizenship Service has called the new system the most resource-intensive reform in that whole process. The government has set 2029 as its target for completing the reforms the EU requires.
For ordinary Armenians, the practical change is straightforward. The identity card becomes the document everyone aged 16 and over must hold, and you cannot get a new passport without one. Fees are higher than before, the application moves online, and a private company, HayPass, now runs the offices where your biometrics are taken. Your old passport still works until the date printed in it — but from today, no old-style passport will be printed any more.
At a glance
What happened: Armenia begins issuing new biometric passports and identity cards on 1 November 2026, with online pre-registration at haypass.am from 31 October and 14 HayPass offices open from today.
Why it matters: The new documents meet EU security standards and are the most expensive and far-reaching part of Armenia’s bid for visa-free travel to the EU, which the government hopes to complete by 2029.
What happens next: The office network grows from 14 to 23 in the first quarter of 2027, residence applications go digital from today, and citizenship applications follow from 1 January 2027.
What changes on 1 November
From today, Armenians apply for passports and identity cards through a new system built around biometric data — a photograph, fingerprints and an electronic signature, all checked against the State Population Register. The production and issuing of the new documents begins on 1 November, according to PAN.am, which reported the announcement by Nelly Davtyan, acting head of the Migration and Citizenship Service.
The biggest rule change concerns the identity card. Under the new law, the card becomes mandatory for every citizen aged 16 and older, and a passport will only be issued to someone who already holds one. The passport itself stays voluntary at every age: as Davtyan put it, if you have no plans to cross the border, there is no need to get a new biometric passport. Children can get an identity card from the age of six at a parent’s request.
The documents last for different periods depending on age. A passport for an adult aged 16 or over is valid for 10 years, for a child aged six to 16 it lasts five years, and for a child under six it lasts three years. An identity card is valid for five years. Biometrics also depend on age: a photograph is taken at any age, fingerprints from six, and a signature from 16.
Preparations began in 2023, and a package of laws on identity documents was passed earlier this year. The main law, HO-210-N, was adopted on 11 May 2026 and published on 29 May, replacing the 2011 laws on passports and identification cards. The fees are set by a separate law, HO-215-N. Both laws take effect no later than 1 November 2026, according to Vardanyan & Partners, a Yerevan law firm that has published a detailed guide to the reform.
How to get the new documents
The application runs in three stages: register online, visit an office in person, then wait for the decision.
First, pre-registration opens on the HayPass website, haypass.am, from 31 October 2026. The Migration and Citizenship Service announced on 5 October that 14 HayPass offices would open on 1 November, rising to 23 in the first quarter of 2027. The launch offices are in Yerevan — at Yerevan Mall on Arshakunyats Avenue and Megamall on Gai Avenue — and in Artashat, Yeghegnadzor, Kapan, Vagharshapat, Ashtarak, Abovyan, Hrazdan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Ijevan, Gavar and Martuni.
At the booking stage, the platform checks the details you enter against the State Population Register. If something does not match — a wrong patronymic, for example, or an out-of-date address — it has to be corrected by the Migration and Citizenship Service before you can book. People without internet access can pre-register at a HayPass office instead. Once the details match, you pay the state duty and choose an appointment.
Second, you visit the office to give your biometric data. The decision is notified on the 14th working day after that visit inside Armenia, or between the 14th and 45th working day for applications made through an embassy or consulate.
Third, you collect the document yourself. The HayPass frequently asked questions page says only the applicant can pick up their biometric document, and collection is at the office where the biometrics were taken. A document not collected within 12 months of the notification that it is ready loses its force.
What it costs
The new documents cost more than the old ones. A ten-year passport applied for in Armenia now carries a state duty of 28,650 Armenian drams, up from 25,000 drams for the passport issued before the start of 2024 — a rise of 3,650 drams, or 14.6 percent. At the exchange rates used in reporting during 2026, the new passport costs roughly 74 to 80 US dollars. An identity card costs 5,950 drams, or roughly 15 to 16 US dollars.
Davtyan has said the new documents cost more to produce because they are built to the highest international standards, and the new offices are meant to offer a visibly better service than the old passport departments.
Prices for faster service have not been finalised: the acting head of the Migration and Citizenship Service said on 22 October 2026 that expedited prices had not been set, and no surcharge for home biometric capture has been published either.
Fees are higher still if you apply from abroad. A passport applied for through an Armenian embassy or consulate costs 65,000 drams for an applicant aged 16 or over, and 30,000 drams for someone under 16.
Your old passport still works — for now
There is no need to rush to replace a document that is still in date. Passports and identity cards issued before the new system starts stay valid until the expiry date printed in them, and the Migration and Citizenship Service confirmed on 14 October 2026 that no immediate replacement is required. You can also apply for a new biometric document at any time, even if your current passport has years left to run.
What ends today is the printing of old-style documents. The state will simply stop printing old-style passports from autumn 2026, Davtyan told Armenpress, and from today only new-law documents are issued. Demand has been heavy: about 185,000 old-style passports were printed in the first half of 2026, and about 160,000 ID cards in the same six months — roughly as many ID cards as in the whole of 2024.
One group faces a longer wait. Armenian embassies and consulates suspended passport issuance and exchange from 5 October 2026, including the video-link route, and no restart date had been announced as of 27 October 2026. Armenians abroad cannot get a new passport through a mission until the service restarts, and there is no exception to the card-first rule for citizens abroad: a citizen overseas who holds no identity card cannot skip the card and apply for a passport at a mission.
The private company running the counters
One of the most striking features of the new system is who runs it. The offices, the biometric equipment and the production and delivery of the documents are handled by HayPass, a private company set up by a consortium involving the French identity technology provider Idemia and A.C.I. Technology, through a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Under the law, the decision to issue or refuse a document stays with the state. Intake, document checks, biometric processing, printing and handover can be delegated to the partner, and the partner may use the data only for issuing the document. ID Tech reported on 29 October that Armenia’s Cabinet had formalised the executive regulations for this arrangement, setting the official launch date of 1 November.
HayPass is not a household name, and its ownership has already changed once: IN Groupe later acquired Idemia Smart Identity, the part of Idemia that helped establish HayPass. The model is becoming common around the world for digital identity projects, with governments keeping the legal decision while a private partner builds and runs the technology and the service centres.
Why this matters: the road to visa-free travel in Europe
The new documents are a means to a much bigger end: visa-free travel to the European Union for Armenian citizens. Armenia’s visa liberalisation process with the EU has been under way since September 2024, and the European Commission formally presented the EU-Armenia Visa Liberalization Action Plan to Armenia in November 2025, Biometric Update reported.
The biometric documents cover only a small part of that list, but they are the hardest part to deliver. Davtyan told Armenpress that by introducing the new biometric passports and identity cards, Armenia would cover only one to three actions under the visa liberalisation process with the EU, “but in terms of the resources required, this is the most extensive reform”. Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan, who is leading the negotiations with the EU, has described carrying out the plan as a government priority. Armenia has set 2029 as the target date for completing the reforms required under the action plan, and European officials have highlighted the identity project as one of the areas where Armenia has made rapid progress, Biometric Update reported.
The path is a familiar one in Europe’s neighbourhood. Before their citizens received visa-free access to the EU, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine each had to meet similar blocks of requirements, according to The California Courier. Armenia must clear similar tests before any visa-free decision can follow — and the new passport is only the first of them. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said in October that Armenia is moving towards Europe, and The California Courier reported her saying Armenia is the only country the EU is currently discussing visa liberalisation with.
What is still unclear
Several questions remain open, and readers should treat the launch as the start of a process rather than a finished product.
First, the implementing rules were still being finalised days before the launch. The government decisions on document design, the issuing procedure and biometric processing went through public consultation in September 2026, and Vardanyan & Partners reported that their adoption could not be verified as of 27 October 2026.
Second, Armenians abroad are in limbo. Embassy passport services have been suspended since 5 October, with no restart date announced as of 27 October, and the new system is designed for offices inside Armenia first.
Third, the population register behind the whole system is still being rebuilt. The data for every new document is drawn from the State Population Register, so a missing or wrong entry there will stop a booking before it starts. A separate law reforming the register takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to replace my current Armenian passport straight away?
No. Passports and identity cards issued before the new system stay valid until the expiry date printed in them, and the Migration and Citizenship Service has confirmed that no immediate replacement is required.
Can I get a new passport without an identity card?
No, not if you are aged 16 or over. Under the new law, a passport is only issued to a citizen who already holds an identity card. The identity card is mandatory from the age of 16, while the passport itself is voluntary and mainly needed for travel.
How much do the new documents cost?
A ten-year passport applied for in Armenia costs 28,650 drams, roughly 74 to 80 US dollars, up from 25,000 drams for the old passport. An identity card costs 5,950 drams, roughly 15 to 16 US dollars. A passport applied for through an embassy costs 65,000 drams for adults and 30,000 drams for under-16s.
How long does it take to get the new documents?
The decision is notified on the 14th working day after the visit at which you give your biometric data, for applications made inside Armenia. Applications made through a diplomatic mission are notified between the 14th and 45th working day. Prices and timings for an expedited service have not been announced yet.
Where do I apply, and do I need to go in person?
Pre-registration is online at haypass.am, and opened on 31 October 2026. You then visit one of 14 HayPass offices in person to give your photograph, fingerprints and signature. The network is due to grow to 23 offices in the first quarter of 2027.
Does the new passport mean Armenians can now travel to the EU without a visa?
No, not yet. The new documents are one step towards visa-free travel, covering only one to three of the actions in the EU-Armenia Visa Liberalization Action Plan. Armenia has set 2029 as its target for completing all the reforms the EU requires, and visa-free travel would only follow a separate EU decision after that.
Conclusion
Armenia’s new biometric passports and identity cards are more than a new design. They change who issues the documents, how you apply, what you pay, and what you must hold before you can travel. The identity card becomes the foundation document for every adult, the application moves online through HayPass, and the fees rise to pay for documents built to EU standards.
The launch is also a test of delivery: fourteen offices, a new online platform and a population register still being rebuilt must all work together from day one. If the system works, it brings Armenia one large step closer to its 2029 goal of visa-free travel to Europe. If it stumbles, the queues at the new offices will be the first sign.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources
- https://www.biometricupdate.com/202610/armenia-prepares-to-launch-biometric-ids-as-eu-visa-reforms-advance (Biometric Update, 26 October 2026)
- https://www.biometricupdate.com/202608/armenia-sets-fees-rollout-for-new-biometric-id-under-ppp-model (Biometric Update, 19 August 2026)
- https://armenpress.am/en/article/1258029 (Armenpress, 14 August 2026)
- https://www.pan.am/en/626193 (PAN.am, 2026)
- https://www.thecaliforniacourier.com/armenia-tightens-residency-requirements-amidst-eu-visa-liberalization-talks/ (The California Courier, 9 October 2026)
- https://idtechwire.com/id-tech-digest-october-29-2026/ (ID Tech, 29 October 2026)
- https://armenian-lawyer.com/passport-application/ (Vardanyan & Partners, October 2026)
