Armenian parliament exempts Syrian Armenians from state duties for visa extension

YEREVAN, October 23. /ARKA/. Armenian Parliament amended the country’s law about “State Duties” Monday. Under the amendment, Syrian Armenians will be exempted fr om state duties while extending their visas or residence permits.

Today the state duty for visa extension is 500 Drams for each day, and from 105,000 to 140,000 Drams is to be paid for extending the residence permit, Armenian Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan said in introducing the bill. She also mentioned that the instruction to discuss the issue is given by the President himself.

“To ensure that the law provisions apply only to Syrian Armenians, we suggest to put down that only ethnic Armenians who are citizens of countries wh ere their life and health are at risk, are exempted from the state duty”, she said. Moreover, the law exempts them from the state duty for license registration, she added.

Rough calculations show that on-budget revenues will reduce by about 100 million Drams after the amendment is made, Hakobyan said.

According to the Ministry of Diaspora, more than 5,000 Armenians from Syria live in Armenia today and the number is changing every week. ($1=405.85Drams).  –0—