Pashinyan: Armenia should not pay benefits to citizens living abroad

Armenian citizens residing abroad should not receive state benefits, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting on November 20.

Labour and Social Affairs Minister Arsen Torosyan, presenting proposed changes to child-birth benefits, noted that such payments are currently received even by families living outside Armenia, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media.

The ministry has proposed that starting next year, benefits be granted only if the child holds Armenian citizenship and resides permanently in the country.

“This is the correct approach. Otherwise, we end up financing emigration, which makes no sense but has continued for many years. If a person does not bind themselves to Armenia, why should the country pay them anything?” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister added that pensions are a different matter, since they are earned through work history and should not be taken away in case of emigration: "People earn their pensions through their years of service, so it is hardly right to deprive them of their pensions when they emigrate."

"But with benefits, the issue is clear-cut, including old-age benefits, which are paid if a citizen of retirement age has no or insufficient work experience. This is social assistance, and the state should not provide it to those who live in another country, Pashinyan added.

By Khagan Isayev