Repatriation pace grows, says official

The repatriation pace has increased in the last four years, an official in charge of Diaspora affairs said Monday.

Hovhannes Alexanyan, the Director of the Department of Repatriation and Integration at the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, said at a press conference that the number of citizenship applications has been growing since 2020. 

In 2020, he said, 7 to 8 thousand people applied for citizenship, while the figure has increased beyond 20 thousand in the recent period.

“Three to four times more people are applying for Armenian citizenship. They include those who are receiving citizenship for the first time, but also those who’ve had Armenian citizenship in the past but had renounced it and are now applying for it again. Dual citizenship holders comprise a large number. The intensification of the repatriation pace is associated with several factors, including geopolitical developments,” Alexanyan said.

Diaspora Armenians living in tense regions prefer to move to Armenia, he said.

Repatriation applicants are from 40 countries. Today, most applications are from Russia. In the past, most repatriates were from the Middle East.

“I’d point out post-Soviet countries, where our compatriots have been displaying great interest for repatriation. I have to mention European countries and the Americas. I’d like to underscore Australia, from where we have an active repatriation process. We have repatriates from Macedonia, Serbia, some Asian countries,” the official said.

The Center for Integration of Repatriates is offering support to repatriates, organizing free courses of Armenian language, IT courses and other consultative work. Repatriates work in various sectors such as services, agriculture, IT, construction, design, finance and education.