One of the innovations of the Verkhovna Rada related to the gradual integration of Ukraine into the European Union was the introduction of biometric passports for citizens. The main document must now comply with a certain unified standard.
In 2015, the replacement of foreign passports with documents of a new type began, and recently the matter has come to internal passports. New passports were issued with or without a chip; fingerprints were necessarily scanned; information about children that was previously present in the document was not entered. A separate passport is now also required for a child to travel abroad. For minors, the document will have to be changed once every four years, and fingerprint scanning (only with parental consent) is carried out from the age of twelve.
From the first day of 2021, the issuance of a document such as a biometric passport officially began. Ukraine actually began their active registration in mid-January 2021. It is planned that the final transition to this type of passport will be carried out within five years, from 2021 to 2021 inclusive.
Biometric passport
The need for an identity card with an electronic contactless chip with the owner’s data is dictated not only by the development of technology. Accurate identification of citizens crossing the border is necessary primarily to minimize the threat of terrorism. That is why the biometric passport was first introduced into use in the United States, only a few years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011. Subsequently, similar requirements for documents of foreign tourists appeared in Western Europe, and then in Russia and Ukraine.
It is important to remember that the introduction of the requirement to have a foreign bio-passport is a forced measure, without which entry into the European Union, the USA and a number of other countries is impossible. This applies not only to residents of Ukraine, but also to Russians.
A new travel document cannot be issued without fingerprints, which are taken promptly, without the use of ink or any harm to the body. Recently, a biometric passport is also required to enter Ukraine. This also applies to Russian citizens. Unfortunately, it is prohibited to use an internal Russian passport to cross the Ukrainian border.
If a citizen has been issued a travel document with a five-year validity period, it makes sense to obtain a new biometric form in the future. This will make it possible to visit a significantly larger number of countries and will allow you to use the document for 10 years.
What does it look like
Since the issuance of biometric passports in Ukraine began only in 2015, many still have a vague idea of the appearance of this document. Some even confuse it with a plastic ID card.
If you pay attention to the photo of the biometric international passport of a citizen of Ukraine, then in appearance its sample is very similar to a regular identity card. Still the same blue cover with a trident. The only thing that catches your eye is the inscription in Latin letters UKRAINE PASSPORT, as well as a small sign that is an identifier of the biometric chip. There are no such elements on the cover of a general passport.
The travel document form has holographic symbols on its pages. There is no such degree of protection in a regular Ukrainian passport.
Advantages
The first to experience what it means to have biometric documents were tourists who crossed the border with the European Union on June 12, 2017. For the first time, legal obstacles to bilateral travel of citizens were eliminated between Ukraine, Germany, France and other European countries. Now the desire to travel depends only on whether a person has free time and the necessary funds.
How does a biometric form differ from a regular foreign passport? The difference between these documents is a longer validity period - 10 years, as well as the presence of digital information in the form of an electronic contactless chip, which allows you to instantly identify a citizen. In addition, a biometric passport has a greater degree of security than the old form. The new travel document consists of 32 pages.
What is fingerprinting and why is it needed?
Fingerprinting is a way of identifying a person by his fingerprints. This method was proposed in the 19th century by British police to search and identify people and is still widely used in forensic science. And now it is actively included in the everyday life of ordinary people (modern gadgets, biometric ID cards).
The high efficiency of this method is due to the unique papillary pattern of the fingers, which can be used to establish an unambiguous correspondence.
When applying for a foreign identity card, everyone undergoes a fingerprinting procedure, including children over 12 years of age. Prints are taken from the index fingers of both hands (Article 9 Chapter II of the Federal Law of August 15, 1996 N 114-FZ)
Children under 12 years of age, persons who are amputated, and government employees using a work visa are exempt from fingerprinting.
Not all countries are demanding in this matter, but they will definitely look at your fingerprints when entering the USA, EU countries, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Iran and Malaysia.
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Registration procedure
As before, to obtain a foreign passport, citizens of Ukraine must contact the territorial department of the migration service (SMSU). This must be done at the place of official registration.
In large cities, due to the residence of a significant number of citizens who have permanent registration in other localities, additional service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been opened. And although this has greatly simplified the process of obtaining a biometric passport in Ukraine, the applicant may still face an unplanned increase in the time required for the production of the form. Typically, this situation arises due to an increased influx of people wishing to quickly issue a travel document.
We also read: Do you need a foreign passport to Ukraine? Checking the readiness of a foreign passport in Ukraine
The accelerated method allows you to receive a passport within 7 working days. However, it is worth considering that this option will cost a little more than with standard design.
Online
Usually, citizens apply to the State Migration Service at their place of residence to issue a foreign passport. If circumstances do not allow this, then the application can be submitted to the service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to order the form online in Ukraine, since there is no local analogue to the Russian State Services service here yet.
Required documents
In addition to the desire to receive “biometrics,” a citizen is required to provide a number of certificates and certificates along with the application. Failure to comply with this rule will result in refusal to issue the form even if the state fee is paid.
In particular, you will need to provide the following documents for a biometric passport in Ukraine:
- general passport;
- application form (to obtain a travel document issued in the name of a child under 16 years of age, the form must be filled out by one of the parents);
- birth certificate;
- receipt of payment of state duty;
- a valid passport (if available);
- identification code (for citizens over 18 years of age).
For a child
Registration of a travel document for persons under 12 years of age requires the additional provision of two photographs measuring 35 by 45 mm. A children's biometric passport in Ukraine is produced without scanning the child's face. Instead, parents must provide one 10 by 15 mm photograph of the minor, which will then be converted to a digital image.
Fingerprinting of a child is allowed only from 12 years of age. Parental or legal guardian permission is required for this procedure.
If a child under 16 years of age lives only with his mother or father, then in addition to the birth certificate, one of the following documents will need to be attached to the application form:
- court decision on deprivation of parental rights;
- death certificate of the second parent;
- a court decision declaring the father (mother) missing or incompetent;
- a certificate of registration of the child’s place of residence with one of the parents.
The presence of a biometric passport issued in the name of a minor does not eliminate the need to obtain permission to travel abroad from the second parent. As in Russia, this document in Ukraine requires notarization.
How to apply for a foreign passport – Ukraine: list of documents
Everyone over 16 years old needs to prepare:
- passport of a citizen of Ukraine (for persons over 14 years old) or birth certificate (if it is necessary to issue a foreign passport for a child);
- application form (submitted personally or by a legal representative);
- receipts for payment (consular fee) or the original and a copy of a document certifying exemption from such payment;
- for those over 18 years of age - a document confirming registration in the State Register of Individuals - Tax Payers, if there is one (this is an identification code - IPN).
You can take a passport photo on the spot. You are allowed to bring ready-made photos of 10x15 cm with you - only if the document is being drawn up for a child under 12 years of age or for a person who cannot move due to health reasons (but an appropriate certificate is required).
If a person previously had a foreign passport, it is worth taking it with you: the pages with visas from it must be returned to the client.
How to get
The procedure for obtaining a biometric passport is quite simple. To begin with, select the nearest branch of the State Medical University of Ukraine. You can also submit an application to one of the service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Here the choice is allowed regardless of the place of registration.
Then the documents are prepared and the state fee is paid. Payment details can be found on the SMSU website or at the city (district) office of this service.
It is important to remember that there is only one way to obtain a biometric passport in Ukraine. It involves personally submitting a package of documents to the State Medical University or service center. Mailing or uploading scanned images via the Internet is not permitted.
If a citizen does not know how to take photographs that would meet the requirements of the State Medical University of Ukraine, it is better for him to order them from a professional studio. Making digital images yourself is not recommended.
If there is a need to replace a previously issued passport due to its damage, you will have to order a new document and go through all the necessary procedures. It is not possible to issue a duplicate to replace a lost or damaged form.
Who can apply
All citizens of Ukraine have the right to receive a biometric passport, regardless of their place of official registration. This also applies to residents of Crimea and the non-government-controlled part of Donbass. Citizens of Ukraine located in these territories can take advantage of the opportunity to obtain the documents they need in any nearest city where the SMSU branch operates.
For Crimeans, the service of obtaining a biometric passport is available in Kherson, Genichesk or Melitopol. For ATO residents, travel documents are issued in Bakhmut, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Mariupol, Konstantinovka or Pokrovsk. In addition, any citizen can obtain a travel document in Kyiv or another city where service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs operate.
Which international passport will be issued faster?
The time it takes to produce a document becomes relevant if an identity document for traveling abroad is urgently required. In this case, the main question becomes which international passport is made faster - the old or new type.
Let's see what the Administrative Regulations say about this (Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated November 16, 2017 N864). It is important that this part of the legal act does not focus on the type of document. The production time depends on the place of application. If this is the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for migration issues or the MFC at the place of residence - no more than one month; and at the place of residence - no more than three months. Citizens with security clearance will have to wait the same amount of time, as well as when processing a document at a diplomatic mission or consulate.
Urgent registration of a foreign passport within three working days is possible only in the presence of documented circumstances: the need for emergency treatment, illness or death of close relatives. Urgent processing applies only to old-style international passports. Unfortunately, biometric documents cannot yet be made so quickly.
The production time begins from the day the application is accepted.
Deadlines
All citizens are well aware that their internal passport does not need to be changed. It is only necessary to paste new photographs after reaching a certain age. In contrast, a biometric form is issued not on a permanent basis, but on a temporary basis. The validity of this document is only 10 years.
When answering the question for how long a foreign passport is issued, you will have to take into account the age of the person in whose name it is issued. For children and adolescents under 16 years of age, the form remains valid for only 4 years. Then the passport must be reissued.
Reasons for refusal
The issuance of a travel document usually takes place without any misunderstandings. Problems often arise only with the timing of receipt. If there are a large number of applications, the processing of a foreign passport may take several weeks beyond the deadline.
Refusals to issue a form rarely occur. The reasons why the State Medical University cannot issue a biometric passport are as follows:
- the applicant did not submit any document from the required list;
- a discrepancy between the data in the questionnaire and information from other documents was discovered;
- there is a court decision prohibiting a citizen from crossing the border;
- the state duty has not been paid in the prescribed amount.
Entry into Schengen countries
Despite the fact that having a biometric passport is the main condition for crossing the border with EU countries, this does not relieve citizens from the need to comply with certain formalities. And although a Schengen visa is no longer needed for Ukrainians, it is worth considering that if there is any doubt about the purpose of the trip, foreign border guards may ask the tourist to present a certain amount in euros or other currency as proof of financial solvency.
However, you should not be overly concerned that in the absence of significant funds, entry into Europe will be automatically closed. As a rule, only those persons who raise suspicions of vagrancy are denied entry across the border. According to the EU Delegation in Kyiv, published on September 19, 2021, in the first three months of the visa-free regime, only 61 Ukrainians out of 295 thousand who entered (0.026% of the total) were refused to cross the border with an EU country.
How to check the readiness of a document
Considering that the period for obtaining a foreign passport may well be delayed, it will be useful for citizens to learn how to independently find out the status of the form being issued. This can be done on the SMSU website at any convenient time.
We also read: How a foreign passport is tracked by the migration service in Ukraine Refusal of Ukrainian citizenship
To check the readiness of a biometric passport of a citizen of Ukraine, you need to go to a special section of the migration service’s Internet service, a link to which is available from the main page. Then, after selecting the type of document to be drawn up, you need to enter the number and series of the identity card. As a rule, information is entered from the internal passport of a citizen of Ukraine. After entering the data, the applicant will receive a response about the current status of readiness of the travel document form.
Where can I get a biometric passport?
A special electronic queue has been created for citizens of Ukraine who wish to issue and receive electronic passports. An electronic queue for a biometric passport is issued online or through a terminal at the branch of the State Migration Service, which first issues a coupon with a serial number.
In addition to the State Migration Service, this type of international passport can be obtained by contacting the state enterprise “Document”. It is part of the management of the State Migration Service of Ukraine and has several territorial divisions that, at the legislative level, ensure the acceptance of applications and the issuance of relevant documents.
