Pashinyan predicts EU visa-free travel soon

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nikol Pashinyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the Civil Contract party, said during a campaign event in Maralik that Armenia could obtain visa liberalization with the European Union within two years at the latest.

He noted that Armenian citizens have long complained about difficulties obtaining visas to travel to European Union cities, Sputnik Armenia reported.

“They tell us: you have such good relations with the EU, but you still cannot solve the visa issue. The reason is that between 2018 and 2025, the number of Armenian citizens traveling to the European Union increased by 500 percent. European embassies cannot cope with these flows anymore. Now they are telling us that within two years at the latest, we will have Armenia-EU visa liberalization,” he said.

The prime minister stressed that in the future, residents of Shirak Province would be able to fly to European countries from Shirak International Airport carrying only a passport and a valid airline ticket.

In April 2025, Head of Armenia’s Migration and Citizenship Service Nelli Davtyan stated that practical implementation of visa liberalization between Armenia and the European Union could begin no sooner than in four to five years. According to her, a clear action plan must first be developed to define the required steps.

On July 22, 2024, the Council of the European Union approved the launch of dialogue with Armenia on visa liberalization. On September 9 of the same year, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan announced the official start of talks with the European Union on visa liberalization.