Kazakhstan introducing compulsory fingerprinting program
By 2021, Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry plans to create a national fingerprint database that would include details on all the country's citizens.
The initiative will cost 36.8 billion tenge ($107 million). Kazakhstan is drawing on the experience of the European Union, where member nations of the Schengen zone are required to provide fingerprint information to obtain travel documents.
Under the new rules, the chip incorporated in the document will also include prints from two fingers. The rules will also apply to foreign citizens living in Kazakhstan.
DNA registration will be mandatory for people convicted of serious crimes. Refusing to register details will be punishable by a fine.