Russian authorities are preparing to implement fingerprint scanners at the country’s approximately 400 entry points for visa-free migrant workers, according to reports from local media outlets.
Details about the measure are currently scant, but there are indications that its main aim is to prevent the entry of individuals using assumed names, especially those who have previously been denied entry into the country. Current rules already require the fingerprinting of migrant workers within 30 days of arrival in the country, but the new scanners will be electronic, facilitating immediate scanning on a mass scale, and presumably with more advanced identity matching capabilities.
It’s a move that echoes similar measures being implemented by Russia’s neighbors in Europe, where a mass influx of refugees has helped to escalate border control concerns, especially around the Schengen area, a multi-state zone facilitating passport-free travel between its members. But it isn’t just about refugees; it’s part of a broader trend that has seen countries around the world seek to implement electronic and biometric border management systems with various rationales in play, ranging from administrative and efficiency objectives to concerns about national security.
Source: Sputnik International
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November 9, 2015 – by Alex Perala
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