The biometric passports in Moldova will go into series production on January 1, 2011, Info-Prim Neo reports. Under the plan of action for issuing biometric passports, which was approved by the Government, the necessary equipment will be purchased and installed in Chisinau, at state border crossing points and at the Moldovan embassies and consulates abroad. The passports will be bought by auction and there will be approved the tariffs for issuing biometric passports. Minister of Information and Communication Technology Alexandru Oleinic said the population is interested in obtaining biometric passports, the existence of which is a precondition in the process of simplifying the visa regime with the EU. According to him, the biometric passport is recognized by the EU as the safest document. It cannot be falsified if stolen. As to its price, Oleinic said the EU will provide a grant of €2 million to Moldova for modernizing the passport making equipment. “The tariff for issuing a biometric passport that will be approved by the Government will cover only the production costs. Anyway, it will be higher than the current one,” he said. Alexandru Oleinic also said that the non-biometric passports and the 3,000 biometric passports that have been already issued will be valid until their period of validity expires. The Government also introduced amendments to article 2 of the law on national identification papers, which say that different biometric data will be collected when applying for documents – the blood group, fingerprints, digital photo for passports, and the blood group, the height and color of the eyes for travel documents. Another modification says the passports of the children younger than 12 will not contain fingerprints. The biometric passports of the Moldovans and stateless persons will be valid for seven years, while of the children aged under 7 – for three years.