The holders of Soviet-type passports, including over 6,000 Transnistrians, will be issued with gratis identity cards of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports, quoting a relevant plan of action approved by the Government. The civil status certificates needed for obtaining identity cards and the certificate showing the blood group will be also issued free of charge.

The information was communicated by ICT Minister Pavel Filip. He said that there were 220,000 holders of Soviet-type passports on July 1. This figure last year was higher, but a part of the persons responded to the ICT Ministry’s call and applied for identity cards. Most of the holders are aged over 70. The persons who cannot move will be able to obtain documents by power of attorney.

As IPN reported earlier, the document replacement process will last until September 1, 2014. The costs are projected to total about 26 million lei. They will be covered with money from the budget.