Armenian Deputy Prime Minister presents details of assistance to refugees from Karabakh who decided to get citizenship

YEREVAN, 24 May. /ARKA/. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan presented the details of the programme developed by the government to help refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh who decided to get Armenian citizenship and settle in the country. 

" Applicants will be able to apply for the first component - financial assistance to buy a ready flat or house," he said in an interview with Armenia's Public Television. 

Khachatryan noted that in a month - from 15 July - applications can also be submitted by those who want to use financial assistance for the construction of a new house or flat, and  applications for the third component - financial assistance to persons repaying a previously taken mortgage loan - will be accepted from 1 August. 

"The main condition for all three components is that the applicants have Armenian citizenship," he said.

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister explained that 2,000 forcibly displaced residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have already applied for Armenian citizenship and 1,400 of them have already received it. He also added that if adult family members have received citizenship, their children can go through the process through a simplified procedure.

"The amount of basic assistance to each family member is e 3 million drams. There are two lists (of settlements - ed.) approved by the government. The first one includes 242 settlements, and those who decide to buy housing in these places will receive assistance in the amount of 5 million drams, i.e. if a family consists of 6 people, the maximum amount of assistance can be 30 million drams. The second list includes 148 settlements, the amount of assistance is 4 million drams," Khachatryan said, explaining that this component covers a total of 390 settlements.

According to him, the settlements from the first list are in Tavush, Vayk (Vayotsdzor district), Syunik and Gegharkunik, while those from the second list are in other districts, including Aragatsotn, Shirak and Lori. 

He also explained that families with three minor children can apply first, as well as families with deceased family members and those with first and second degree of disability.

"Our study of the situation shows that there are only 4 towns where the cost of 1 sq.m. exceeds 200,000 drams - these are Abovyan, Dilijan, Tsaghkadzor and  Echmiadzin. In other settlements 1 square metre costs less than 200,000 drams. This means that our assistance will be enough to buy a house or a flat in such settlements," Deputy Prime Minister said.

"We have envisaged several approaches. If a family of 6 people, for example, has an opportunity to receive assistance in the amount of 30 million drams for building a house, then up to 3 million drams from this amount they will be able to allocate to purchase a land plot for building a house," Khachatryan explained. 

According to him, the list of settlements and the amount of financial aid is the same as for the first component, and in case of choosing a settlement outside the lists, the amount of aid is 3 million drams each.

According to Khachatryan, within the framework of the third component it is possible to allocate AMD 2 million per family member for repayment of mortgage loans registered in Armenia until 19 September 2023.  

"In terms of geography, assistance under this component is available everywhere, except for Yerevan's 1st and 2nd zones, where flats were purchased above a certain price threshold," he said. 

Khachatryan said that in the case of housing purchase, the maximum price threshold is no more than 55 million drams.  -0-