In the Vitebsk region, 2.4 thousand more passports were issued in March

April 5, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The citizenship and migration services of the Vitebsk region issued 2.4 thousand more passports in March of the current year than in March 2009, Tatiana Romashova, head of the citizenship and migration department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Internal Affairs Directorate, told a BELTA correspondent. In general, in the first quarter of 2010, more than 20 thousand residents of the region received new state identity documents. The increase in passport issuance is due to changes in the rules of entry into the European Union countries and an active information campaign that the regional citizenship and migration services continue. Specialists conduct explanatory work through the media, meet with work collectives, and actively respond to citizens' calls. Answers to frequently asked questions can be found on the official websites of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Internal Affairs Directorate. The citizenship and migration department of the Regional Executive Committee's Internal Affairs Directorate draws the attention of all those intending to travel to EU countries to exchange their main document in advance if necessary. In addition, traditionally in April-June, there is an influx of 16-year-old citizens who are obtaining a passport for the first time and want to do so before registering for centralized testing. Meanwhile, there will be no increase in staff or additional technical support in the citizenship and migration departments. Currently, in the Vitebsk region, a passport can be obtained or exchanged within two weeks, although legislation sets a longer period for issuing the document - up to one month. In 2009, the region's citizenship and migration services issued 84.2 thousand passports. As BELTA reported, the new Visa Code of the European Union comes into force on April 5, 2010. According to Article 12 of this document, Belarusian citizens will have to enter the EU with passports that contain at least two blank pages. The passport's validity must not expire earlier than three months after the intended date of departure from the EU. If a citizen has obtained a visa for multiple entries, the validity must not expire earlier than three months after the last intended date of departure from the territory of an EU member state. Also, the passport must have been issued no more than 10 years ago. -0-