The Verkhovna Rada adopted at the second reading the bill No. 4355, which increases the status of the use of digital passports in the Diia application at the legal level.

A total of 302 MPs voted at the second reading for the bill On Amendments to the Law On the Unified State Demographic Register and Documents Confirming Ukrainian Citizenship, Identity or Special Status, at an extraordinary plenary session of parliament on Tuesday.

According to the bill, e-passport and e-passport for traveling abroad are issued free of charge. Their electronic copies can be submitted and used in the same cases when the legislation provides for the provision and use of copies of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine and a passport for traveling abroad. They are presented instead of and without additional presentation of the corresponding paper passports, documents on the registration number of the taxpayer's registration card, documents on the place of residence.

E-passports are generated by means of the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services.

The corresponding law comes into force on August 23, 2021.

"Ukraine is the first country in the world to launch digital passports and legally equate them with ordinary documents. Diia users will no longer face situations when a digital passport is not accepted. This is not just an important event in the history of modern Ukraine and a big step towards the introduction of the 'paperless' regime, it is a unique global case that we can and should be proud of," Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said, quoted by the press service.

The ministry says that the biometric passport and ID-card in Diia will become a complete analogue of paper and plastic counterparts at the legislative level from August 23, 2021.

Digital passports can be presented on the territory of Ukraine for identification and confirmation of citizenship, except for cases of crossing the state border, entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

The bill also defines terminology, in particular the use of e-passports.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation launched digital passports in the Diia app in April 2020. By now, about 20 million Ukrainians can use them - more than 5.5 million of them have an ID card and another 18 million are owners of foreign biometric passports.