Armenia has adopted a new law, "On Identity Documents," which changes the list of details recorded in the passport and the identity card. The main change: the patronymic will disappear from passports.
According to the Armenian outlet Iravaban.net, under the new law an Armenian citizen's passport will indicate the surname and given name, place of birth (state), document number, sex, citizenship, date of birth, dates of issue and expiry, the issuing authority, and biometric data. The patronymic is absent from this list.
The patronymic will, however, be retained in the identity card. Besides it, the card will show the surname and given name, document number, sex, citizenship, dates, the issuing authority, and biometrics. Only the card will also contain the social services number.
The previous law, in force since 2011, required the patronymic to be indicated in the passport, but only in the Armenian-language version. The new law does not explain why the patronymic was removed from the passport.
The biometric data contained in both documents include a photograph, a signature, and fingerprints of both hands. Personal data in the documents will be recorded in Armenian and English on the basis of information from the state population register. Citizens will not be able to demand that any additional details not provided for by law be entered in the documents.
Letters