300,000 biometric passports to be issued by yearend

Biometric passports to about 300,000 people will be issued by the end of this year. All the document issuing offices work in a satisfactory way. On July 27, the offices in Balti and Chisinau started to work in one shift as there is no need to work in two shifts as at the start of the year, director general of IS “Registru” Sergiu Railean said in a program on Radio Moldova, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. “The persons can apply for a passport beforehand, electronically. Besides, the tax for the passport can be paid by bank card, through the website registru.md. The document issuing process goes smoothly and there is not need to force things. The people apply for documents when they need, when they have to go on a trip,” said Sergiu Railean. He also said that all the border crossing points are to be outfitted with biometric readers. Modern technology will be soon implemented at the Chisinau International Airport, which will enable the holders of biometric passports to cross the border in a very short period of time. As many as 156,000 biometric passports have been issued so far this year. Only biometric passports have been issued in Moldova since January 1, 2011, this being a condition stipulated in the plan of action agreed with the EU for liberalizing the visa regime for Moldovan travelers.