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According to amendments, entering into force on August 6, acquisition of biometric passports will no longer be mandatory until January 1, 2019, head of passport and visa department of the Armenian police, Mnatsakan Bichakhchyan told Parnoama.am.

“As there were people refusing to receive biometric passports and IDs on religious and other matters, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia appealed to the Constitutional Court,” Bichakhchyan said.

According to him, the Constitutional Court has decided not to force people to receive online documents, submit fingerprints, etc. “Amendments were introduced in order to exercise these rights.”

Currently one may acquire a biometric passport for AMD 25.000.

“The government will try to find solutions until the deadline, which is set to January 1, 2019. If it fails to find any solutions, the deadline will be postponed or the issue will be withdrawn,” the police representative said.

Bichakhchyan noted that those with the old passports will still be able to travel abroad. Yet it’s a different matter whether the state they’re leaving for will let them.