Ukrainian President signs law on biometric passports

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signed Law No. 5492-VI on the single state demographic register and identity documents, the presidential press service has reported.

The law, in particular, envisages the introduction of electronic passports for Ukrainian citizens from January 1, 2013.

Passports will be issued, starting from birth, regardless of age, for every ten years. Domestic passports will be produced in the form of contactless electronic cards and foreign passports - in the form of books, with a contactless electronic data carrier. These passports will consist of a soft cover, 32 pages and a data page.

The passport will include the name of the state, the name of the document, the full name of the person, the holder's gender, nationality, date of birth, place of birth, a digital image and signature of the person, a unique number in the register, the number of the document, the date of the document's expiry, the date of issue of the document, and the name of the agency that issued the document.

As reported, on November 20, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a new law on biometric passports with proposals from the president. The recommendations mainly concerned a guarantee of the right to refuse to receive biometric passports due to religious beliefs.

Adapted from Ukrinform