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As of January 1, 2006 Russian citizens will start being issued a new generation of foreign travel passports containing electronic information on the passport's owner.
The Presidential Decree №1222 of October 19, 2005 establishes that new passports will start being issued in the Kaliningrad Region, and also in Russia's foreign missions in Germany and Lithuania. After they expire, old passports will be replaced by the new ones following a personal application by the passport owner.
The President charged the government with approving the sample forms and descriptions of the new generation of passports which should start being manufactured no later than November 10, 2005.
The fact that Russian citizens benefit from freedom of movement and the country's external openness requires the state to take due care of their safety while they are abroad. The introduction of new foreign travel passports is designed to help Russian citizens in all instances when a person must confirm their identity while outside of the country, for example when for receiving foreign visas. Issuing new foreign travel passports will draw Russia closer to a visa free regime with countries that are already developing similar passport programmes.
The President of Russia established deadlines for introducing the new passports based on the fact that in a year the majority of developed countries will change to electronic passports. The United States, the European Union, China, Japan and many other countries are successfully undertaking this task and, if Russia hesitates, its citizens will be in a worse position relative to foreigners with electronic passports while they are abroad.
The new Russian foreign travel passport will not change from the current one except that its title page will be made of plastic and be slightly thicker than usual. Passport data and the owner's photograph will be contained here, and the electronic chip inside this page will, at the present stage, only duplicate graphical passport data and contain the person's digital photograph.
The production of new national passports and visas is done in accordance with international standards whose plan and concept are approved by the country's government.
The introduction of new foreign travel passports will give rise to additional opportunities for expanding people's international contacts, providing for their security, and allow all interested states to cooperate in this process.
New foreign travel passports will function alongside the old ones. There is no time limit by which they must be replaced. They will be replaced in stages, during the necessary period to gradually exchange the foreign travel passports of all interested persons.