Russian State Duma raises fee to receive biometric passport

Russia's State Duma has passed the third and final reading of a bill to increase the fee for receiving a biometric passport.

Under the new law, the fee will go from 5,000 rubles ($55) to 6,000 rubles ($67) for adults and from 2,500 rubles ($28) to 3,000 ($33) for children under 14. The government noted that the measure is intended to increase budget revenues.

The number of Russians applying for passports has increased significantly since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine. The Russian Interior Ministry issued over 5.4 million passports in 2022 — 1.5 million more than it issued in 2021.