People who have a residence permit from Estonia or another European Union member state and are currently using a non-biometric Russian passport, have until September 30, 2025 to apply for a biometric passport.

Russia issues both biometric and non-biometric passports, but the ministry said those issued without a microchip do not meet the International Civil Aviation Organization standard and "entail various security risks."

"Non-biometric foreign passports do not contain electronic data carriers, which is why it is not possible to compare the personal data of the passport holder with the data on the microchip," it said in a statement.

"Unlike with the biometric passport issued by Russia, the issuing institution of the passport is not that easy to determine, which makes it harder to identify non-recognised documents (i.e., those issued in occupied areas). Russian passports (including biometric) issued in non-recognized regions are not accepted as travel documents by the Schengen countries."

Non-biometric Russian passports are not recognized or recognized conditionally also by Denmark and Czechia, the ministry said.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!