Passports with biometrical data to be introduced in the country with the purpose of raising their protection level from probable forgery, improvement of efficient and precise personal identification mechanisms when crossing a state border, provision of international civil air navigation security and raising the quality and effectiveness of international air transportation.

The decree approved the order of the phased exchange in population of the current passport of a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the biometric passport. Thus, the first stage will be conducted during the year 2010 for ministries, bodies and organizations’ employees, individuals leaving for abroad or residing beyond the country’s borders as well as citizens who reached a particular age or according to some other reasons stipulated by the law. According to the decree, the rest of the citizens should receive biometric passports through 2015.

With the purpose of implementation of the centralized production and effective registration of biometric passports and timely provision of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan with them a special State Personalization Center (SPC) will be established under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It will be located on the territory of the biometric passport form producer – the State Production Association (SPA) Davlat Belgisi of the Central Bank.

We will remind that introduction of biometric passports is stipulated by the Chicago convention on international civil aviation (December 1944) and resolution of the Montreal Assembly of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted in 2004. The ICAO member states should provide the introduction of biometric passports containing electronic information medium about personal biometric parameters and identification data of their owners and having high protection level no later than 2010.

Being an ICAO member, the Republic of Uzbekistan carries out a systemic and successful work on provision of air traffic security, raising the aviation technics reliability and its competitiveness in the world market, creating highest possible conveniences for passengers using the air transportation services, airports’ infrastructure development, training personnel for this sphere and other measures. 

By the present time passports with biometric parameters produced using the latest information technologies are introduced in more than 100 countries of the world.