YEREVAN. - Armenian parliament adopted a bill on biometric passports on the first reading. The bill sets out the basic provisions on the issuance of biometric passports and ID cards. The latter will serve for the identification of a person inside the country. Passports will serve for overseas trips. 

304,000 passports and 1 million IDs are planned to release in 2011-2016. ID will be valid for 10 years and will include all the information that was once in the passports in addition will include father’s name, nationality and the group of blood.

Passports will include the same information, with fingerprints. Passports will be valid for 5 years for adults and for 3 years for 16 years old and below.