MP: Russia unprepared for scanning foreigners’ fingerprints

Russia is not ready to introduce obligatory fingerprinting for foreigners applying for Russian visas, State Duma deputy Leonid Kalashnikov said on Monday. "I do not think we will introduce fingerprint scanning soon, as the consular offices are not ready to collect fingerprints of foreigners coming to Russia," Kalashnikov said, commenting on the introduction of the obligatory fingerprinting for Russian citizens applying for Schengen visas. "But in any case our Foreign Ministry will consider this issue," he said. According to Kalashnikov, the introduction of obligatory fingerprinting for Russians will lead to the decline of tourist flow to the European Union. "Earlier citizens did not have to visit embassies for an interview, but now people are obliged to do this," Kalashnikov said. The Visa Information System has been introduced in Russia on September 14. The system works with biometric data, so once in five years those applying for Schengen need to have their fingerprints scanned.