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Russia to issue first biometric passports with fingerprints in 2012

The chip will contain the prints of pointing fingers of both hands

MOSCOW, November 29 (Itar-Tass) —— The first biometric passports with the bearer’s finger-prints will be issued in Russia in 2012, the press-secretary of the Federal Migration Service (FMS), Zalina Kornilova, told the media on Tuesday.

She recalled that now work is in progress to create a second generation foreign travel passport, whose chip will contain extra data – the holder’s finger-prints.

Kornilova said that technologically the work on the creation of such passports will be completed by the end of the year.

“As early as next year we shall begin the test operation of documents with fingerprints,” the FMS official said.

The chief of the FMS visa and registration department, Alexander Aksyonov, said that the project would remain in the testing phase for a long while.

“It does not mean that we shall start issuing such documents as of January 1, 2012,” he said.

To mass-issue foreign travel passports it is necessary to make amendments to the applicable legislation.

“We expect that most probably we shall start issuing the foreign passports with finger-prints as of 2013,” Aksyonov said.

The chip will contain the prints of pointing fingers of both hands.

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