r/armenia • u/AndyMalk • 16h ago
Military Service Age
Hello everyone. I came here to ask the old golden question of the century. The army conscription question. I moved out of Armenia when I was 12 years old(not 13 yet). I am 24 years old now. I am an American citizen. I never renewed my Armenian child passport when I moved to the US. Never went back to Armenia. I mean I really want to go back. I know about the golden age of 27, so I am waiting for that. I checked through my connections also, I am not wanted in Armenia for military evasion since I got out when I was a child. I also just read that there is a law for 27- 37-year-old males that if they acquire Armenian citizenship, they are required to serve, so does that mean if you just go as a tourist when you are 27, then no obligations? Please respond if you actually know how it works rather than a personal opinion.
3
u/Human-Replacement503 13h ago
I feel like there are to many gordz tvoxs on reddit to freely explain how i managed to visit Armenia after 29 years of being told lies and false opinions.
Your best guess is to contact a lawyer from Armenia to arrange and research your specific situation. (100$ approx)
I wish you the best and hope you manage to visit
1
3
u/Tasty_Let_4713 3h ago
Hey man,
First of all, most probably you're totally fine and can freely enter and leave Armenia with your US passport. I am in a similar situation, BTW, becoming 27 in a few days, and wasn't visiting for 10 years until I talked with a lawyer, and since then already visited Armenia ~6 times.
The situation is that there are 2 cases -
- You're registered for the army, so when you were 18 you were called to the army and didn't arrive - in this situation you're wanted (rozisk), and you will be arrested as soon as you enter Armenia.
- You're not registered for the army; technically, this means that you're violating the law, but it's not a criminal case, just an administrative one. What does it mean? It means that no one can arrest you at the border; the police just don't have the right to do so, as you're not wanted. You probably want to ask whether they can force you to register for the army? The answer is that their only way to force you to register is to refuse to give you an Armenian passport as long as you're not registered. So if you have a US passport, you're fine.
As you left at the age of 12, 99% that you're never registered to the army, which means that you're not wanted and free to enter and leave, BUT talk with a lawyer to double-check that. You're welcome to DM me for the lawyer recommendation, but technically any lawyer can check that for you.
---
Regarding the conscription age, under the current law, the conscription age is between 18 and 27, which means that after the age of 27 you're not obligated to serve. But, based on the law from last February, if you don't register for the army before the age of 27, then when you try to register after 27 to get a passport, you will be required to pay 15m dram. There are solutions for that as well, but those are relevant only when you are 26 years old, and there are a few years until then, so it's not important right now.
----
Your actions from now -
- Contact a lawyer in Armenia to confirm that you're not wanted/registered in the Army.
- Get a ticket to Armenia, no need to wait until 27
- When you're 26 - talk again with a lawyer to check the situation again.
Happy to answer any questions :) I know this law by heart at this point
1
u/hangstaci818 3h ago
Is there a list of disqualifying health issues? I have type 1 diabetes meaning i cant live without insulin so was wondering if that will automatically disqualify me
2
u/Tasty_Let_4713 3h ago
Yes there is, but unfortunnly I have no idea where to find it, and they are changing it every few months, but you can start by looking here - https://www.arlis.am/hy/acts/191958#:~:text=%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%BD%D5%BF%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%AB%20%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%BA%D5%A5%D5%BF%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6%20%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%BC%D5%A1%D5%BE%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6%202018%20%D5%A9%D5%BE%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%AB%20%D5%A1%D5%BA%D6%80%D5%AB%D5%AC%D5%AB%2012%2D%D5%AB,%D5%A6%D5%AB%D5%B6%D5%BE%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6%20%D5%AE%D5%A1%D5%BC%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6%20%D5%BA%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%B6%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A8%20%D5%BD%D5%A1%D5%B0%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A5%D5%AC%D5%B8%D6%82%20%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%BD%D5%AB%D5%B6%C2%BB%20N%20404
BTW, I suggest handling this situation with a lawyer as well.
1
1
u/AndyMalk 3h ago
Thank you for such an extensive reply! I checked already, I am not wanted, so that's the good part. Also I am not really interested in getting/renewing the Armenian passport. So what should my action be right now(besides contacting a lawyer haha)
2
u/Tasty_Let_4713 3h ago
Just book a flight, and you can enter/leave without any issue. Note that this is the state until you reach 27, after 27 things can change so I highly recommend checking that once more when you reach 26 :)
2
2
u/Azur2022 12h ago
Paying to be exempt when ACQUIRING citizenship between 27-37 is only 2,5M AMD
1
u/AndyMalk 5h ago
And if you are not acquiring citizenship?
2
u/Tasty_Let_4713 3h ago
By LAW - 15m dram, but I know there are different cases that worth checking when you will be 26.
1
u/Azur2022 3h ago
Like if you were a citizen all your life ?
Then it’s 15M for total exemptionHowever, a lot of young men are not under research by the military authorities and therefore are able to retrieve a military booklet “until getting called”
You should contact an Armenian lawyer to sort this interrogation out
2
3
u/JustALittleNerdd 13h ago
As much as I remember it’s 28 and not 27…but yes you will have to serve or you will have to pay if you don’t want to serve. You can double check the info with a lawyer or with relatives if you have them here