The use of new biometric data in visas will make it possible to verify the identity of citizens receiving visas with 'absolute accuracy'. Children under the age of 12 will not have to provide their fingerprints to obtain a visa, Interfax reports.
The new biometric visa system will undergo a series of tests in October this year. The issuance of biometric visas using this system will begin in 2010 at EU consulates in North Africa, and then in other regions.
It is worth noting that Europe has been experimenting with biometric visas for a long time. According to Travel.ru, since 2005 France has been issuing such visas in Annaba (Algeria), Bamako (Mali), Geneva (Switzerland), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Minsk (Belarus), San Francisco (USA) and Shanghai (China). Apparently, at this stage the program's testing was successful, and now the territory for the experiment will be expanded, simultaneously adding new technological achievements compared to the initial ones in 2005.