Citizenship by Ethnicity
Ethnic Armenians qualify for citizenship without having to meet any language or residency requirements. You should note, however, that certain requirements have to be met to establish Armenian origin. Having an Armenian name or speaking Armenian fluently is not by itself sufficient. You will have to produce a document (birth certificate or other document) showing that you are (or your parent or grandparent or siblings are) an ethnic Armenian. In certain countries Armenian ethnicity is often mentioned in the government-issued documents (e.g. birth certificate, family records etc.).
Please note that your birth certificate must be certified by an apostille, and its translation into Armenian must be notarized. Notarized translations are not carried out in Armenia without apostille.
The most common way to prove Armenian ethnicity is to show a baptism certificate issued by a church organization that confirms your Armenian ethnicity. It is important that the document be attested (legalized) by the Armenian embassy/consulate in the country where the document was issued.
The list of churches the certificates of which are generally accepted by the government are published here (in Armenian, see Annex 4). If your church does not appear on the list or if there is no Armenian embassy in your country you may need to get an additional certificate from Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
If you need assistance with this process please contact us for more information.
Phone: (+37410) 58-91-55
Email: diaspora@gov.am