What is a biometric passport
A foreign biometric passport - is an ordinary booklet with 32 pages, just like a regular passport. The only major difference - it has an embedded chip containing a person's data: last name and first name, photo, citizenship, fingerprints and all the information that is contained in a valid passport. By the way, fingerprints are optional.
Why you need a biometric passport
Obvious advantage - security from fakes and fraud. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to use even a lost passport. And how do you like expedited border control when traveling abroad? In some international airports for passengers with biometric passports, there are separate corridors for passing through passport control.
The first samples of new Ukrainian foreigners have already been shown to the press, their mass production will begin on January 1, 2015.
How to travel to Europe without a visa
At the end of April, European Commissioner Stefan Fule said that Ukrainians with biometric passports would be able to travel to the European Union without a visa. Allegedly, this will only require a new biometric passport, the price of which is about 15 euros.
How things really are
Cancel visa regime to the Schengen zone is decided not by the Ukrainian government, but by the government of the EU countries. Besides, it should be their solidarity decision. Indeed, for many countries that have not even joined the EU, visa-free regime was introduced without biometric passports.
“From January 1, we will definitely not travel to Europe without visas. When that will be - I would not like to speculate. We must demonstrate that we are implementing the legislative acts that we have adopted,” said Yevhen Perebiynis, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry hopes that the visa-free regime will come into effect in September-October 2015. But all this is in theory, in practice the introduction of biometric passports is only one of the first steps towards a visa-free regime with the EU. In the meantime, the government of Ukraine is waiting for the next check of the EU commissioners, and we can only guess what assessment they will give.
Why is a biometric passport better than a regular one?
Advantage biometric document for travel abroad - very high level of protection. Also, if the document is lost or damaged, it will be very easy to restore it with biometric data. In case of theft, attackers will not be able to use it. Information with human biometric data will be stored in the Unified State Demographic Register.
What if I don't want such a passport?
Now the procedure for obtaining a biometric passport is not mandatory. If a citizen does not want to receive it, he can continue to use the old-style passport until its expiration date. However, the Migration Service does not expect much excitement with obtaining biometric passports: “The fact is that at the first stage, a biometric passport will not provide any advantages to its owners. Until a visa-free regime is introduced, its use will be no different from a regular passport.” A regular passport, as before, will be issued for a period of ten years.
The reforms we've been waiting for
Let's look towards Estonia, with its "Internet citizenship", Internet elections, a simplified taxation system and other goodies. In the modest Baltic state, they managed to defeat the paperwork loved by bureaucrats, and the experience of Estonians is cited as an example even in the USA and Japan. A biometric passport for Ukraine can become both a banal reporting to the EU commissioners, and one of the links in the chain of progressive reforms.
Photo from zn.ua
FROM today Ukrainians can apply for biometric passports. To do this, you need to contact the department of the State migration service in own city.
To finally clarify all the questions that may arise from citizens considering whether to issue a newfangled document or not, Vgorode publishes a list of the most popular questions and answers about biopassports.
How is it different from a regular passport?
The international passport looks like an ordinary international passport of the old type: blue and with 32 pages. This is not a plastic card. They will put the same as before, marks on crossing borders and visas.
The main difference between a biometric passport and a regular one is an embedded chip with additional data of the document owner, which is entered in order to identify him. The chip will be so small that it will not even be felt to the touch. The front page of the passport will also have an international stamp of the biometric document.
What if you don't change the old one?
Old passports are valid as before: no one is obliged to change them for new ones - this is done at their own request. Previously issued passports are valid until the end of the period indicated on their first page.
The one who wants to leave old passport, and get a biometric, can issue it as a second: the law allows it.
Why is he needed at all?
The introduction of this type of official documents is one of the conditions for the EU to liberalize the visa regime with the prospect of its abolition in the coming years.
The European Union insisted on this in order to increase protection against illegal migration, crime and terrorism: a biometric passport does not allow the violator to pass under a false name (for example, if he changed his name and appearance). Biometrics is used for similar documents in more than 90 countries around the world.
The new passport will be even more protected from forgery. Previously, fraudsters could peel off the laminate film from the first page of the passport and change the photo, correct the details of the document, or even stick a fake visa on the refusal page. Now the inner pages will be protected by watermarks with the coat of arms and historical images.
Also, yellow-blue fibers were used for protection, and page numbers were duplicated with watermarks for even greater reliability. The passport number is printed in red on the second page. The owner data page includes images that are only visible from certain angles. It's also impossible to fake a photo. The chip is designed in such a way that if you try to detach it, it will simply stop working.
What information will be in biopassports
Biopassports will contain information contained in current international passports - full name, gender, citizenship, date of birth, document number and registry entry number, code of the GMSU department that issued the passport, date of issue and expiration date, photo.
Of the innovations - a digitized signature, for which you will need to sign with a stylus on a tablet, and prints index fingers both hands. Both the signature and fingerprints will be on the chip.
How will fingerprints be taken?
They are removed using a special device - it is not required to lubricate the fingers and apply to the paper. You just need to put your index finger on the scanner: the whole procedure will take a few seconds.
In case of damage or absence of the index finger, paired prints of other fingers are taken.
For how long will biopassports be issued?
A biometric passport, like a regular foreign passport, is issued for 10 years.
If the visa-free regime is not introduced, it may have to be changed earlier - if the pages for visas and border crossing stamps run out.
Do I need a passport for a child
For children, even babies, you also need to make out new passport. From January 1, the children's travel document is no longer valid: now all children need to issue a full-fledged passport.
Children's passports for persons under the age of 16 must be renewed every 4 years.
Will it be easier to open a visa with such a passport or pass inspection faster
So far, no one has talked about the simplified procedure for opening a visa for holders of biopassports: they are on an equal footing with old passports. However, a number of consulates have already stated that holders of biometric passports will be treated more liberally, less carefully examined at the border, where compact fingerprinting devices have already appeared. The border guard applies a passport to him for identification, and also asks to touch index finger to a dedicated panel.
In addition, many international airports already have so-called electronic gates without long queues. They are a turnstile that can be passed through after the owner puts the first page of the passport to the reader and his palm to the touchpad.
Who can get personal data from the passport
According to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, biometric data is received by executive units of the State Migration Service, after which they are transmitted via secure communication channels to the computer center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where data sets for printing equipment are formed.
After that, information from the departmental information system is automatically withdrawn and destroyed, so the data is protected.
In the case of a business trip abroad or to go on vacation abroad, you must have a special passport. Currently, in the Russian Federation it is possible to obtain, at the request of a citizen, one of two types of foreign identity cards. To choose the right type of document, you need to understand what biometric passport different from the usual.
Before you go to the Office of Migration for clearance foreign passport, you need to weigh the pros and cons of the passports of the new and old generations. There are no restrictions on movement under an old-style document, citizens can safely leave the Russian Federation and enter other countries.
It can be argued that the biometric passport provides much more serious protection against possible forgery. Security issues are of paramount importance throughout the world today. And the document presented by citizens when crossing the border should be as invulnerable as possible from the point of view of compliance with the law.
A biometric passport contains a microchip, which is a repository of personal data of the person who owns the document. These data are reflected in the visual zone of the document, and they are duplicated on electronic media.
When figuring out what the difference is between passports with or without a chip, keep in mind that there are a few more differences.
The passport of the new sample contains an electronic medium on which the machine-readable zone of the certificate is copied. The first and second pages of the new generation document, unlike the old type passport, are an insert made of plastic. To apply the information indicated on the insert, laser engraving technology is used.
The number of pages in documents of different types is also what distinguishes the new passport from the old passport. There are forty-six of them in the new passport, and thirty-six in the old-style document.
There are fundamental differences between the photographs used in different types of passports. Thus, a digital photo for a new type of passport makes it possible to reliably identify the bearer. The distance between the pupils is used as a parameter that allows this to be done. Old-style passports use ordinary photographs that do not contain unique data.
But the answer to the question, what is the difference between a new and old passport, does not come down only to the difference in the materials installed in the microcircuit document, the number and thickness of the pages. There are also differences in the use of different types of passports. They relate to the validity of the passport, the ability to enter children in the certificate and other aspects.
Comfortable filing
There is no single answer to the question of which is better: a new passport or an old one. Proceed to the collection and submission stage required documents it is possible after the tourist understands all the differences and chooses the best option.
A few years ago, in order to get an appointment with the officer responsible for issuing passports, it was required to queue up early in the morning. It took several hours to submit the documents. This problem was especially acute during the holidays. Today the situation has improved significantly. There are several options for how to submit documents.
You can, as before, collect the required package of documents and appear in person at the office of the Office of Migration. Although the queues today have become much smaller, such a visit will take significant time. An authorized employee will check the papers received from the applicant, if necessary, take a biometric photo. This method is familiar to most Russians. 
If you use the State Services portal, the option of applying through this site seems to be very convenient, regardless of your decision as to which is better to issue a passport - a biometric or a regular one. After all the necessary data are filled in the electronic application, information will be sent to the applicant on what date and at what time he must come in person to present copies and originals of documents. In this case, you will be guaranteed to get rid of queues when submitting documents.
A few days after the visit, the applicant receives a notification about the readiness of the document. The issuance of a passport, as a rule, occurs promptly and you do not have to stand in line for a long time.
Another way to apply is to contact the MFC. Pre-registration in this case is also carried out on the site. But it will not be possible to issue a new-style passport in this way in most departments of the MFC - there is not enough special equipment. In addition, if for some reason it was not possible to sign up remotely, you will have to stand in line for an electronic ticket.
You can also always contact a company that provides paperwork services. This method will incur additional costs. But, when there is no time to prepare papers and wait in queues, and it is impossible to postpone the issue of registration, it is quite reasonable to contact an intermediary company. After all, if the coveted certificate is not issued on time, the trip may not take place at all.
How to save time
There are often cases when the time of the desired trip is just around the corner, but there is no passport yet. In such a situation, the issue of obtaining a document as soon as possible comes to the fore. And for the applicant it is very important when choosing the type of document to know for sure which passport is made faster - the old or the new sample.
Processing time depends on several aspects. In addition to the standard thirty-day deadline set for most cases, there are extended processing periods. In addition, in emergency situations, a passport can be issued more quickly.
Issuing a travel document for a child
Parents are often perplexed about why when traveling abroad little child you need your own passport. The fact is that in the absence of a personal passport, the child will be able to travel only with the parent in whose document it is entered. Thus, a trip, for example, with a grandmother will become impossible. Without issuing their children their personal passports, parents run the risk of getting into an unpleasant situation associated with the refusal of a child's possible trip on vacation, accompanied by other relatives. 
Children grow up, their passports will need to be changed from time to time. But, despite these difficulties, the option of obtaining a separate travel document more reliable.
How is the entry of children into the passport
If travelers who decide to take children on a trip want to take advantage of the opportunity to save money required for issuing a separate document, they can add their child to the passport received by one of the parents. In this case, certain conditions must be met. So, for example, it will not work to enter a child in a biometric passport.
The passport in which one or more children are intended to be entered must be valid. In addition, the child must have Russian citizenship. There is also a requirement regarding the age of children. They must be no more than thirteen and a half years old on the date of application.
Validity of documents
One of the differences between the passports of the new and old generations is the period during which they are valid.
A biometric document has a validity period that is twice the validity period of a regular one, that is, ten years.
An old-style passport issued for five years is better to issue in some cases. For example, if the owner of the document changes his last name, he will also have to change his passport, even if it is not expired.
Registration cost
To obtain a passport, the applicant must first pay a state fee. A receipt confirming the fact of payment will need to be presented when submitting documents. You can pay the required amount through the service of the State Service. This will give you a 30% discount.
Depending on the type of document chosen by the applicant, the amount of the fee also differs. Also, the amount of payment depends on whether a document is issued to a child or an adult.
Getting a passport has become easier and faster: Video