Security updates come sooner than that — those on "gray passport"-holders documents in January 2027, with those found on citizens' passports to follow in July. Existing passports remain valid until they expire.

The blue passport covers had been in use following the restoration of independence in 1991, but with accession to the EU in 2004 the familiar burgundy colored covers – an EU recommendation but not mandatory – came in.

Interior Minister Igor Taro (Eesti 200) said the idea of changing the cover color came up while preparing the updated passport.

"We had to review the design of the entire new generation of Estonian passports, and from there came the idea that, since the Estonian passport is a representative link between the state and its citizen in international communication and the main identity document when traveling, its visual form should also reflect the colors of the Estonian state," Taro told ERR.

Blue covers were first used on Estonian passports during the interwar period, when Estonia was first an independent state.

The security updates include a boulder-shaped, partly transparent window containing an oak-leaf-shaped chip antenna. The holder's signature image moves from the second page to the third.

Taro explained why the changes are being phased in rather than being done all at once:"This is because we have a so-called physical passport production contract valid until 2030. So that no additional cost or additional steps would need to be taken in connection with the color switch, it simply changes over naturally."

Personal data in the passport will not change, and applicants will not need to do anything extra. Existing passports remain valid until their original expiry date; the blue ones will enter circulation through natural renewal.

Opposition politicians: A cosmetic act ahead of elections

Some leading opposition politicians were critical of the changes.

Former interior minister Lauri Läänemets (SDE) said they were focusing on the wrong thing.

"Considering that we have to deal with preventing Russian hybrid attacks more and more, considering the challenges related to the staffing of the police and rescue services, considering the situation with migration, the interior minister's focus is in completely the wrong place," he told Postimees.

MEP Jüri Ratas (Isamaa), a former prime minister, said that while blue is a beautiful color and the EU's common color scheme is a recommendation rather than an obligation, the timing of dealing with passport color inevitably seems to him like pre-election distraction ahead of the Riigikogu election next March.

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