Ukraine: Biometric passports proposed

Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Klyuyev said here on Wednesday that biometric passports will be introduced in the country by the end of this year. “This is a very important task and, in my opinion, we will be able to resolve the issue till the end of the current year,” said Klyuyev at a meeting in Kiev.

The main purpose of the new passports introduction is to facilitate travel of Ukrainian citizens abroad. A new system of biometric verification and identification will enable to get visas faster. The new passports will be very close to the EU standards. They will contain a non-contact electronic data with passport biometrical data in accordance with international rules. An ID number, digital images and digital signature will be also the elements of the new documents.

According to preliminary calculations, biometric passport will cost about 92 U.S. dollars in Ukraine. While the average European price of biometric passports is about 62 dollars. Klyuyev, also minister of economic development and trade of Ukraine, stressed that the president and prime minister of Ukraine personally control the process of visa regime with EU liberalization.

A biometric passport, also known as an e-passport is a combined paper and electronic document that contains biometric information that can be used to identify the traveler’s features.