Ukraine unveils plan for biometric border control

KIEV, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine will begin to gather biometric data from foreigners from Jan. 1, 2018 at the country's border control points, according to a statement posted on the government website on Thursday.

The government will collect biometric data from foreigners at two international airports in the capital of Kiev and 31 checkpoints on the border with Russia.

By the end of 2018, the data collecting systems are set to be installed at all 196 control points of the Ukrainian border.

Under the new frontier crossing rules, Ukrainian border guards will collect all ten fingerprints from international travelers entering Ukraine and check their passports against several databases, including the Interpol's database.

The checks will be compulsory for citizens from 71 countries, which are included in Ukraine's list of the states with high migration risk, and selectively for other travelers.

The leaders of foreign states, members of parliamentary and government delegations, children, cruise tourists, members of vehicle crew, diplomatic staff and officials of international organizations will be exempted from checks.

The border control system will cost the Ukrainian budget about 19 million U.S. dollars.

In September, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to start collecting the biometric data of foreigners entering the country in order to strengthen Ukraine's national security.

The decree was adopted at the request of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, who initially proposed to introduce biometric control for Russians who are allowed to enter Ukraine without a visa.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that the new system may harm people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Relations between Kiev and Moscow have soured since 2014 when Crimea joined Russia following a referendum, but Ukraine said the peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia and remains Ukrainian territory. Enditem