The Interior Ministry recalled the rules for replacing the passport

Russians do not need to apply for a new passport when replacing their internal passport at the age of 20 and 45. This was announced on September 18 by the migration service of the Russian Interior Ministry.

"When replacing an internal Russian passport <...>, it is not required to issue a new foreign passport instead of the existing one," the TASS service said.

The department explained that the passport is valid regardless of the replacement of the internal document. It certifies the identity of a Russian citizen outside the country and is used when leaving the Russian Federation and returning back.

The Interior Ministry clarified that the passport must be replaced after its expiration date, personal data changes, as well as in case of damage or contamination of the document pages.

You will also need to issue a new document if an error or typo is found in the current passport. Another reason for the replacement is the lack of free pages for visas and border stamps.

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Lawyer and human rights activist Ekaterina Kutuzova told "Izvestia" on September 15 that the border guard service could seize the passport if it considers the document unsuitable for further use. In particular, the reason may be incorrect photo design, for example, image mirroring, which has changed the location of individual facial features.