The new dark red biometric passports will have a chip with an advanced operating system and increased security level that will considerably reduce the possibility of forging the document, the State Information Resources Center “Registru” said a response to an inquiry made by IPN News Agency.
The dark red passports will start to be issued in autumn. New methods for personalizing the information will be used to make them. There will be introduced additional security elements based on the properties of the colorants that differently reflect daylight, depending on the angle.
The blue passports, including the biometric ones, will be valid until their period of validity expires. Asked why a new type of biometric transport is needed, employees of “Registru” said the store of blue passports was used up and new passports had to be purchased. The company’s specialists are analyzing the rapidly advancing document making technology that was used in the new document.
The biometric passports, both the blue and the dark red ones, enable to easier cross the border through the e-Gate terminals, according to the ‘green corridor’ principle, which allows checking the passports in the arrivals area by using information technology, and simplify the border crossing procedure.
The charges for issuing biometric passports will be modified only if there are such objective factors as the modification of prices of the materials used or of the costs for remunerating employees. A biometric passport issued in 30 days now costs 700 lei. A passport obtained in three hours costs 2,280 lei, which is the highest price.
Only biometric passports have been issued in Moldova since January 1, 2011. The biometric passport has an international symbol on the front cover, which signifies the passport chip. The microelectronic processor contains information about the biometric data: the facial image and fingerprints of the holder. After the information is introduced with the help of a special mechanism, it is confirmed by the digital signature. This way the integrity of the person and correctness of the data included in the microprocessor are guaranteed.
