Biometric passport in Moldova is thrice more expensive than in Spain

The issuing of biometric passports is one of the major conditions that Moldova should fulfill in order to obtain a simplified visa regime with the EU, Minister of Information and Communication Technology Alexandru Oleinic said during a news conference on Tuesday, Info-Prim Neo reports. Alexandru Oleinic said that Moldova already made important steps towards fulfilling this condition. “On April 28, the Government approved a bill with amendments to article 2 of the law on the national identification papers and presented it to the Parliament for examination. From January 2011, the documentation center Registru will issue only biometric passports, but the ordinary passports will be still valid.” The bill says the passports will be valid for a period of seven years, while for children younger than seven – for up to three years. So far, the documentation center in Chisinau has issued about 1,500 biometric passports that include the blood group, fingerprints and digital photography. The biometric passport is recognized by the EU as the safest document. It cannot be falsified if stolen. A biometric passport issued during four hours costs 2,800 lei, during a day – 2,100 lei, while during 30 days – €75. In the UK, it costs about €100, while in Spain - €20 as the state there covers a part of the passport legalization costs. Biometric passports are now issued only in Chisinau. In the near future, all the documentation centers as well as the border crossing points will be outfitted with the necessary equipment.