Electronic Passports to Launch in December

Starting December 1, 2021, residents of Moscow will be able to obtain an electronic passport. Across the rest of Russia, the procedure will be rolled out “as technical readiness allows,” but no later than July 1, 2023. This is according to a draft decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin, published by the Ministry of Digital Development on the portal for regulatory acts.

According to the document, the electronic passport will be a plastic card the size of a bank card, equipped with an electronic chip containing the holder’s personal and biometric data. This includes full name, photograph, fingerprint patterns, electronic signature, date of birth, registered address, marital status, and more.

In addition to the electronic passport, citizens will be able to activate a mobile application (the citizen’s mobile identifier) at a multifunctional center (MFC), which will serve as a digital passport.

Once an electronic passport is issued, the previous paper passport will be considered invalid.

The transition to electronic passports is part of the national “Digital Economy” program. Previously, the government announced that the issuance of paper passports in Russia would end in 2022.

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