Russia to issue only biometric passports starting from March 1
12:50, 27 January 2010
MOSCOW. January 27. KAZINFORM. Russia will issue only biometric external passports starting from March 1, says a government resolution posted in the Wednesday issue of the newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.
"That will bring identification documents of Russian citizens in correspondence with international standards," the newspaper said.
"Prior to that, Russian citizens had a choice between biometric and regular passports. There will be no such choice now. New external passports will be issued to average citizens starting from March 1, while diplomats and other officers will receive new passports starting from October 1," the newspaper said.
Holders of average passports will not have to exchange them before the passports' validity expires; Kazinform cites Itar-Tass.