Translated material
20 days later
FMS promises to speed up the process of obtaining foreign passports
The Federal Migration Service continues to look for ways to cope with the influx of Russians wishing to obtain a foreign passport . And they promise to respond to criticism from citizens who are faced with queues when filling out forms, and then wait for months for the coveted document giving the right to travel outside of Russia. As FMS press secretary Konstantin Poltoranin told Vremya Novostey yesterday, in the near future in Moscow the maximum period for issuing a foreign passport will be significantly reduced. “The procedure for obtaining a foreign passport will be simplified and accelerated. 20 days is the new maximum period, although most likely the process will go even faster,” Mr. Poltoranin assured.According to him, a new electronic approval system between departments responsible for checking citizens should speed up the registration process. New technology and software should relieve employees of the Federal Migration Service and other departments from paperwork, and citizens from the tedious waiting that is inevitable if their completed forms pass through the hands of officials for weeks. Now, Mr. Poltoranin claims, documents between departments will not be sent by regular mail, “all papers will be transmitted electronically.” “The equipment necessary for this is already part of the equipment for producing biometric passports,” explained the FSM representative, noting that the new system will operate regardless of what kind of passport is being produced: a regular one or with an “implanted” chip.
The electronic approval system, according to the FMS press secretary, was tested in six metropolitan service branches. And, apparently, the results of the experiment differed significantly from the citywide picture - after all, in a number of passport and visa offices that switched to “biometrics” in January of this year, not only the queues increased, but also the processing time for passports, which clearly exceeded those specified in the legislation 30 days. In any case, yesterday at the FMS board the work of the electronic document management system was approved by the service’s management. “The decision was made to expand this practice. “Gradually it will be introduced throughout Russia,” said Konstantin Poltoranin, but found it difficult to specify when exactly. “At the moment, only points in Moscow are equipped,” he explained.