Biometric control of foreigners

Foreigners in Ukraine

28 Jun | 2023

2 The essence of the concept of biometric control in Ukraine

3 Biometric data fixation procedure at the border

4 A person who falls under the list of seventy countries in the risk category can cross the state border of Ukraine in three ways:

5 Points of entry across the state border are determined as the places of biometric data fixation:

6 Definition of the National System of Biometric Verification and Identification of Citizens of Ukraine, Foreigners and Stateless Persons

7 For biometric identification of a person, the interaction of the subjects of the national system is carried out in the form of requests and responses in the form of data sets, which may contain information about:

8 Legal features

Regulatory base

The essence of the concept of biometric control in Ukraine

Biometric control is a system of recording all biometric data of a person (including fingerprints and a digital photograph) at checkpoints across the state border of our country.

Biometrics is a system of recognizing citizens by one or more physical features for the purpose of identification and access control. Biometrics include fingerprints, retina, DNA, facial recognition. Biometric data (parameters) – digitized fingerprints, digitized facial image. According to the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons” “, foreigners and stateless persons are obliged to submit their biometric data for their registration during border control at checkpoints across the state border.

Biometric data (parameters) – digitized fingerprints, digitized facial image;

Fixation of biometric data at the border is a procedure for checking the biometric data of foreigners and stateless persons, which is carried out by the State Border Service of Ukraine at checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine. This is one of the subsystems of the departmental automated system of border control in order to ensure the national security of Ukraine. On August 30, 2017, Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 256 “On Decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated July 10, 2017 “On strengthening control over the entry into Ukraine, exit from Ukraine of foreigners and stateless persons, their compliance with the rules of stay on the territory of Ukraine”, which states that from January 1 In 2018, biometric data of foreigners and stateless persons are recorded at border crossing points (checkpoints, checkpoints with TOT ARC) during border control.

The fixation of biometric materials is carried out in order to strengthen control over the entry and exit of foreigners, their compliance with the rules of stay on the territory of Ukraine, and to strengthen national security.

Biometric data fixation procedure at the border

Mandatory recording of biometric data is applied in accordance with the list of 70 countries, including the Russian Federation, defined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, which are classified as at risk: the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Republic of Angola, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Republic Benin, Republic of Botswana, Burkina Faso, Republic of Burundi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Republic of Gabon, Islamic Republic of The Gambia, Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Republic of Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Independent State of Papua New Guinea , Republic of Djibouti, State of Eritrea, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Yemen, Republic of Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe, Republic of Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cameroon, Republic of Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Union of Comoros, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Ivory Coast, Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Lebanon, State of Libya, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Mali, Kingdom Morocco, Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Niger, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Palestine, Russian Federation, Republic of South Sudan, Republic of Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Kingdom of Swaziland, Republic of Senegal, Syrian Arab Republic, Federated Republic of Somalia, Republic of Sudan, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Tajikistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Togolese, Kingdom of Tonga, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Uganda, Central African Republic, Republic of Chad, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Regarding the rest of the foreigners, biometric data are recorded at checkpoints across the state border based on the results of risk analysis and assessment.

A person who falls under the list of seventy countries in the risk category can cross the state border of Ukraine in three ways:

give advance notice that she is going to Ukraine;
direct recording of data at the border, biometric passport or biometric data;
fixation of a person in the place where he plans to be.

Biometric data of foreigners and stateless persons are recorded when they enter Ukraine and pass border control at checkpoints/controls across the state border, entry-exit control points by authorized officials of state border protection units who perform duties in the border order “Checking documents” and conduct a standard check of documents (according to Instructions on the organization and implementation of document verification of citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons crossing the state border, approved by order of the Administration of the State Border Service of 06/05/2012 No. 407, registered in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 06/27/2012 under No. 1083/21395).

Points of entry across the state border are determined as the places of biometric data fixation:

at the passport control line;
in vehicles traveling abroad;
at the parking places of foreign-bound vehicles;
in the office premises of the State Border Service of Ukraine);
outside checkpoints (in places for checking persons;
in specially designated control zones on the territory of sea (river) ports, fishing enterprises, wharves (piers), in the office premises of the State Border Service of Ukraine.

The Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons” stipulates that foreigners and stateless persons are required to submit their biometric data during border control at checkpoints across the state border.

Biometric data (parameters) of a person are recorded by the subject of the national system in accordance with the granted authority using workstations and entered into the departmental information system of the subject of the national system.

Employees of the State Border Service use a reader to record the fingerprints of 4 or 5 fingers of the right hand of a citizen entering or leaving Ukraine.

If a foreigner has biological features (injuries, birth defects, etc.) that do not allow for the recording of biometric data, the passage of these persons across the state border is carried out without recording such data, and a corresponding act is drawn up, which is approved by the head of the state border protection body.

Next, the information is sent to the biometric data processing subsystem based on several databases — the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine. In addition, it is sent to the National Biometric Verification and Identification System of Ukrainian citizens, foreigners and stateless persons of the State Migration Service of Ukraine through the interdepartmental information and telecommunication system “Arkan”. They also check passport documents of foreigners, including at Interpol bases at 126 checkpoints.

If a foreigner (a stateless person) refuses to scan fingerprints with such persons, a second line control is carried out, based on the results of which a decision is made regarding passage (not passage) across the state border.

When a person crosses the border again, the process of his identification will be carried out. Accordingly, the inspector reviews whether a person has submitted his biometric data. In case of data mismatch, such a person will be sent for additional control to clarify the circumstances.

In accordance with clauses 4, 5 of Article 16 of the Law of Ukraine “On Legal the status of foreigners and stateless persons” defines the categories of foreigners and stateless persons who are exempted from recording biometric data. These are primarily heads of state and government of foreign countries, members of parliamentary and government delegations, persons who have not reached the age of 18, cruise tourists, members of crews of vehicles, diplomatic personnel, officials of international organizations and other persons, the list of which is exhaustive.

Definition of the National System of Biometric Verification and Identification of Citizens of Ukraine, Foreigners and Stateless Persons

According to Regulations on the national system of biometric verification and identification of citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons, approved by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 27.12.2017 No. 1073, the national system of biometric verification and identification of citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons is an automated system created in the interests of national security , economic well-being and human rights, which ensures the identification of foreigners and stateless persons entering Ukraine, leaving Ukraine, monitoring their compliance with the rules of stay on the territory of our country and the fulfillment by subjects of the national system of powers and tasks defined by the Law of Ukraine “On the legal status of foreigners and persons without citizenship”.

Biometric identification – performing a one-to-many search by recognizing and comparing one or two biometric data (parameters) of a person with the biometric data (parameters) of persons in the departmental information systems of the subjects of the national system.

Biometric verification – performing a one-to-one search between the biometric data (parameters) received from the person at the moment and the biometric data (parameters) available in the departmental information systems of the subjects of the national system .

For biometric identification of a person, the interaction of the subjects of the national system is carried out in the form of requests and responses in the form of data sets, which may contain information about:

surname, first name, patronymic (if available);
date of birth;
gender;
place of birth;
passport document and its electronic form;
biometric data (parameters);
crossing the state border;
other information.

Access to the information of the national system is granted to authorized officials and employees of the State Migration Service, the State Border Service, the National Police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine and other agencies defined by the document using an electronic digital signature. The functioning of the national system is ensured by the State Migration Service, and it was introduced on January 1, 2018.

Processing of personal data in the national system, including their storage, is carried out in compliance with the requirements Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection”.

Biometric verification of foreigners is carried out by scanning prints from one to five fingers of the right or left hand.

Legal features

As for legal features, Ukrainian laws provide for liability for violations of biometric control rules. For example, if a foreigner enters the territory of Ukraine with an attempt to bypass biometric control, he may be refused entry or may be deported from the country.

As for court cases that might be amusing, here are a few:

A foreigner who crossed the border with a fake passport was detained and brought to court. However, after it was explained to him that he had broken the law, he stated that he did not understand the Ukrainian language and laws, so he needed an interpreter.
Another foreigner, who was trying to get a residence permit in Ukraine, forgot his father’s name. The court rejected his application because he could not provide reliable information.
The foreigner who tried to pass the biometric control was wearing gloves, because of which he failed to take fingerprints. He complained about the complexity of the procedure and refused to remove them. He was sent for a repeat procedure and again sent for biometric control without gloves.

A foreigner who tried to cross the border with Ukraine turned out to be very unsuccessful in falsifying his passport. His passport said he was born in the “Юнітед Стейтс”, not the United States. He was detained and brought to court for violating migration laws.

If you have problems with biometric control in Ukraine, Despacho Internacional “Intereses legítimos” is ready to help. We offer a wide range of legal services related to immigration and migration, which are provided remotely for the convenience of our clients. Our company provides a sense of security, confidence and stability for our clients and their families.

Also, our lawyers recommend following the laws and regulations when crossing the border and biometric control to avoid unpleasant situations and violations of the law.