Changes in the housing program motivated refugees to take Armenian citizenship

The number of applications for Armenian citizenship from refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh has doubled, the displaced persons themselves call the change of passport a forced measure, but the housing program, for which citizenship is required, does not take into account the increased prices for real estate.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, by July 2025, 9,346 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh received Armenian citizenship. The forced migrants were reluctant to submit applications for citizenship, believing that they were already citizens of Armenia, and also hoping to return to Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian authorities made citizenship a mandatory condition for participation in the housing program.

The Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia announced an increase in the number of internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh applying for citizenship. According to the department, the number of such applications has doubled. Citizenship is granted to refugees in an accelerated manner within two months; to date, about 10 thousand internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh have already received citizenship, the Migration and Citizenship Service told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

In January 2025, about 400 refugees applied for Armenian citizenship, in February - 550, in March - 540, in April - about 650, and in May - 850. In June, 1,500 applications were submitted, and by July 22, about 1,400 applications had already been accepted, the Armenian publication Step1 reports.

The increase in the number of refugees wishing to obtain Armenian citizenship is due to the fact that the government made changes to the housing program, but real estate prices in Armenia have increased since then, "therefore, it is unknown whether refugees will be able to purchase real estate," a representative of the Council for the Protection of the Rights of the People of Nagorno-Karabakh reported.

“It is possible that the reduction in social support for refugees also had an effect, since from July 1 only refugees from vulnerable groups receive monthly support of 30 thousand drams, and this support will only last until the end of the year. But from our meetings with refugees it follows that the desire to obtain citizenship is not so great, they say that accepting citizenship is a forced measure. Many families are thinking of leaving Armenia in search of a socially secure life, where there is work, and rent is not so expensive. We have recorded that there are more people leaving than returning,” the Council representative told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

The family of Karine Khachatryan from the Martuni region of Nagorno-Karabakh has six people, they rent housing in one of the villages of the Ararat region. The woman said that the family’s entire income goes to rent and tuition for their children.

“We were thinking about getting citizenship to take advantage of the government’s housing program for refugees. We looked at several apartments, but the prices are so high that it will be impossible to buy them with a certificate. And we can’t go to remote settlements, since our life here is already established: adults have had difficulty finding work, and the children are studying. We can’t take out a loan from a bank, since we won’t be able to pay it back. And we don’t want to leave Armenia, since we hope to return,” Karine told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

The family of Ararat Grigoryan from Stepanakert is preparing documents to apply for citizenship, since they hope to take advantage of the housing program.

“It’s hard to pay rent, since the “40+10 thousand drams” social support program is no longer in effect for our family and we are not part of the vulnerable group. Of our entire family, I was the only one who found a job with a stable salary, but it will all go towards renting a place to live. Although it will take us at least two months to get citizenship, and many months will pass before we find a place to live and formalize the purchase and sale. We will have to survive somehow,” the man said.

Vigen Petrosyan drew attention to the fact that real estate throughout Armenia has become more expensive due to changes in the housing program. “As soon as rumors began to circulate that changes had been made to the housing program, real estate in Yerevan and throughout Armenia again became more expensive by several thousand dollars. The apartment we had our eye on in the city of Sevan to buy with a certificate became more expensive. The bank did not give us a loan because our family’s income did not match it. I am simply at a loss as to how to get out of this situation. We are also looking for rented accommodation because the owner of the apartment has raised the rent. I'm afraid that soon my family will end up on the street, but with a certificate in hand," he complained.

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