More than 34,576 people displaced from Artsakh have already received Armenian citizenship, Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan said during a discussion on the socio-economic integration of Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to the minister, the process of granting citizenship is continuing, and about 1,000 additional applications are currently at the Office of the President, 1lurer.am reported.

“About 1,000 applications — that is, draft decrees — are currently at the President’s Office. Within days, we will have decisions on another 1,000 individuals, which will allow us to accelerate this process,” she said.

Sargsyan also emphasized that no applications for citizenship have been rejected, which she said demonstrates the government’s commitment to speeding up integration.

“We had 28,000 displaced minors, and about 12,000 of them have already obtained Armenian citizenship through passport issuance, taking into account their parents’ acquisition of citizenship,” the minister noted.

Meanwhile, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Arsen Torosyan said that within the framework of the state housing support program for families forcibly displaced from Artsakh, 5,093 applications have been approved, Sputnik Armenia reported.

According to him, 2,239 housing certificates have already been issued, most of them to families with five or more members.

“We also observe that families with more members usually find it easier to use these certificates,” the minister said.

Torosyan added that from July 1 the government plans to launch a new initiative aimed at supporting smaller families and families with members who face work capacity limitations due to age or functional restrictions.

The initiative will introduce a long-term rental support program for at least 10 years, providing 40,000 drams per month per person to those who refuse the housing certificate while registering on the waiting list for social housing.

“If we have social housing available, we will offer it immediately. If not, we will provide this partial compensation until such housing becomes available,” Torosyan explained.

He noted that the government is aware of the main challenges raised during the implementation of the program. One of them is that housing prices vary significantly across settlements, and people’s choices are often influenced by employment opportunities in those areas.

For this reason, the government is trying to combine employment and housing programs. According to the minister, a self-employment support program has also been launched for citizens forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.

The program includes training, business support and capital investment components, but only for beneficiaries of the housing program who have received a certificate.

“If someone has received a certificate but faces difficulties using it — for example if the funds are not sufficient — we aim to provide them with employment opportunities so they can complete the purchase and sustain their livelihood,” Torosyan said.

He added that the application process for the program opened just two days ago, and more than three dozen applications have already been submitted.

The state housing support program for families forcibly displaced from Artsakh was launched in June 2024. Under the program, people purchasing housing in 242 settlements receive 5 million drams per person, in 142 settlements — 4 million drams, and in other areas, including Yerevan (excluding the first and second zones), 3 million drams.

According to Armenia’s Migration and Citizenship Service, 115,365 people were forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh after September 2023.