Revenue from number 0000001
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suggested the government auction the first new biometric passport bearing the number 0000001 during a Thursday government session. I find his proposal to treat the unique number as a source of revenue for the Republic of Armenia or its infrastructure to be a practical way to manage high interest. During that session, Pashinyan raised the question of who should receive the passport bearing the number 0000001, noting that his society has a particular fascination with such numbers and they should generate revenue for the Republic. While Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan suggested a fixed price for the passport, Pashinyan noted that if a "long queue" exists, the government could change its approach to a public auction. The cabinet discussed approving the new procedure for obtaining the passports, adding that the passport would require an additional fee to cover costs. Pashinyan argued that anything with interest has value, meaning the government can generate revenue for the Republic’s infrastructure through such sales. He suggested the government should adopt this approach more broadly to generate revenue wherever possible, noting the proceeds would go back into the passport system. The decision to auction the number follows Pashinyan’s observation that the government should generate revenue for the Republic.
| Passport Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| First Passport Number | 0000001 |
| Issuance Month | November |
| Design Unveiling | Late April |
Design and birthplace controversy
The new biometric passports will become available starting this November. The government unveiled the design in late April, but the rollout faces criticism because the images exclude Mount Aratat and list Azerbaijan as the place of birth for those born in Nagorno-Karabakh. This change replaces old passports that used inconsistent birthplace designations. In those old documents, people born in the same settlement received different birthplace designations, such as Azerbaijan, Armenia, or simply the name of their town or village. I think the decision to exclude Mount Aratat from the images is a poor choice that ignores local sentiment. Authorities in Yerevan have already started an offline campaign, which includes statues of the new passport in Republic Square and posters displayed throughout the city to promote the new design.
