In 2022, the last paper general civil passports will be issued in Russia. They will be replaced by an electronic document. Residents of Moscow will be able to become its first owners, where the introduction of the new passport format in a pilot mode will begin in July next year.
The government decided to accelerate the introduction of an electronic passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation. By 2024, Russians should make full use of the modern form of identification, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday at a meeting to implement the electronic document.
- It is obvious that we can quickly abandon the use of paper passports, - said the head of the Cabinet of Ministers. - There is a proposal to do this two years earlier than originally planned, that is, somewhere in 2023.
Paper passports will be discontinued in 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov said following the meeting. By this time, the number of points for issuing a new sample of the document will be brought to 3 thousand. For the first e-passports, you will need to apply to the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; gradually, it is planned to include a network of multifunctional centers for the provision of public services in the system.
The pilot project starts in Moscow. “We will start this work on behalf of the Prime Minister in July next year,” Akimov said. This decision was made because the digital infrastructure in the capital is more developed than in other regions, and if any questions arise, it will be quite easy to resolve them with the city hall.
It is important that the government does not abandon the use of paper documents familiar to many. “An ordinary passport, naturally, will be valid,” Dmitry Medvedev assured. "We plan to gradually move to innovation only after the necessary preparations."
“Many people, especially older people, have a certain distrust of technical innovations of this kind,” the prime minister emphasized. - This should be treated with attention and respect. We need to make sure that the transition for such a category of people is comfortable and painless.
At the meeting, a fundamental decision was made - everyone who has paper passports and does not want to change them for some reason can continue to use them. If the document was issued after 45 years, when the law provides for the last term for its replacement, then the paper "format" can be kept for yourself further. The rest of the citizens will receive an electronic sample within the established time frame for its replacement: upon reaching the age of 20 and 45. Anyone will also be able to replace their paper ID with a digital one. “No coercion, no obligation, no campaign is envisaged here,” said Maxim Akimov. “There are many people who, probably, are not very comfortable living in this electronic world, there are people who from birth get used to control the screen, there are people who are not used to it.”
The electronic identity card will include many documents that now have to be stored in different forms. “An e-passport must contain all the data about a person, his electronic signature. Plus, it will combine several documents that are important for any person, about which there has always been a discussion, ”Dmitry Medvedev said. “I mean both a driver's license and SNILS, you can combine some other documents.”
The Prime Minister drew attention to an important point - security. “If we translate all our personal data into“ digital ”, we must make sure that they are most reliably protected from hacking and manipulation," he said.
Russians will make full use of digital ID by 2024
The e-passport will be of two types. As in many countries of the world, the "main" document will be a plastic card with a chip. In shape, it resembles a modern driver's license. The document can be carried with you like a usual paper passport. Its validity period is 10 years.
Maxim Akimov demonstrated a sample of an electronic ID with a photo and printed information that does not change during a person's life. This is the last name, first name and patronymic, date and place of birth, personal signature, passport number, date of issue and expiration date. The rest of the data will be written to the chip. “This is an extremely secure document with a holographic image, with Russian cryptography, with a QR code,” he explained. “Forgery of a document will cost immeasurably more expensive and security will be an order of magnitude higher than in the field of circulation of paper passports.”
If a new ID is lost, it can be blocked in a matter of minutes. For this, the deputy chairman of the government explained, it is enough to call the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the multifunctional center. If someone finds the document, he simply cannot use it. When accessing the databases, information about the card blocking will be displayed. “Therefore, if I were fraudsters, I would not dare to do this,” Akimov emphasized.
For advanced citizens, it is proposed to introduce an additional option - a passport in the format of a mobile application on a smartphone. This has also been implemented in some countries around the world. In this case, they also promise to provide security at the proper level. The mobile application "My Passport", said Deputy Prime Minister Akimov, cannot be hacked, altered or counterfeited regardless of the mobile platform of the phone.
Using the application - through an electronic signature - it will be possible to perform many different operations. “For example, for presentation at the airport, at the railway station at the ticket office. You won't have to carry this light document in your pocket all the time. It will be necessary to present a mobile application, ”the Deputy Prime Minister outlined the prospects.
All technical aspects for the introduction of an electronic passport have been worked out. Foreign components will not be used either in the cryptoalgorithm, or in terms of software, or in the production of the chip, Akimov emphasized.
