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On May 3, the National Assembly began the work of the regular sittings. The parliament approved the agendas of the session and the regular sittings. Some draft laws will be debated with a special procedure. The debate in the second reading will be held within twenty-four hours after the adoption in the first reading.

The draft law on Amending the Law on Making Amendments and Addenda to the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Armenia was debated in the first reading. The Deputy Head of Police Ara Fidanyan informed that the decision of the Government defines the procedure for acquiring RA citizenship, as well as the submission of documents necessary for termination of citizenship, the procedure for reviewing applications and the list of religious structures, the baptism certificate issued by them is considered a certificate confirming the Armenian origin. However, the Government of Armenia has not yet been given that authority by law. Taking this into account, the draft proposes to authorize the RA Government to approve the procedure, deadlines for acquiring RA citizenship, as well as for reviewing applications to terminate citizenship and the list of religious structures, the baptism certificate issued by them is considered a certificate confirming the Armenian origin.

The deputy Gevorg Papoyan inquired about the number of people who applied for the RA citizenship in March-April of this year compared to the same period of time.

The Deputy Head of Police Ara Fidanyan informed that 8591 persons applied for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Armenia in 2021, of which there were 1611 applications in the first quarter. 1898 applications were received during January 1-April 20 in 2021, and 941 applications from February 24-April 20. The Police received 3206 applications in the first quarter in 2022, 4696 applications only in January 1-April 20, and 3278 applications from February 24-April 20. In other words, the number of persons wishing to acquire citizenship of the Republic of Armenia has increased about 3 times this year compared to the previous year.

The draft was debated in the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs and endorsed.