Russia suspends applications for biometric passports

Russia’s official government services portal, Gosuslugi, announced Thursday that the government has temporarily stopped accepting applications for biometric foreign passports.

Goznak, the company that manufactures Russian passports, said on Telegram that the suspension is due to a “heightened volume of applications for the personalization of foreign passports,” which it said has caused a significant increase in demand for the microchips necessary to produce biometric passports. The company vowed that the “regular rate of production and personalization of foreign passports will be restored” within a month.

Russia’s Interior Ministry reported earlier this week that it issued more foreign passports in 2022 than in any previous year since at least 2014.