Russia looks to biometrics for foreign visa applications

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has proposed a process of capturing fingerprint biometrics for people applying for entry visas, starting this summer.

Reported in the Moscow Times, it is unclear which countries whose citizens will specifically need to give fingerprint data, but as a part of a pilot project, applicants at Russian consulates in Britain, Denmark, Myanmar and Namibia will take part.

Security is a major concern in Russia right now, ahead of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. So far, there have been many highly-publicized threats of violence made, and as well, two bombings in Volograd last month that killed nearly 35 people.

Also from the Moscow Times report, the country’s federal council recently approved a law requiring the submission fingerprint data for international passports, starting next year in 2015.

Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, Russia will also being issuing eID cards in 2015 to replace existing internal passports. These new eIDs will also include biometric data.

Article Topics

fingerprint  |  immigration  |  Russia  |  security  |  Visa