An official opening ceremony of the Representative Office of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Passport-and-Visa Directorate in Dushanbe took place on May 28. 

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population of Tajikistan, Ms. Gulnora Hasanzoda, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan, Mr. Ramazon Rahimzoda, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Kolokoltsev, and some other officials.     

From this day the representative office begins to function in the Tajik capital officially, giving citizens of Tajikistan to undergo, in particular, fingerprint registration and check for a ban on entering the Russian Federation.  

The representative office will also provide legal services on labor migration security issues and analyze migration risks and illegal migration prevention issues.  

The Passport-Visa Directorate began its existence in 1990, as an independent department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RSFSR. The Interior Ministry RSFSR took over all functions of the Interior Ministry USSR in Russia, including issuing passports and registering foreigners.  Until 1993 the bodies responsible for issuing passport and visas were part of the Passport-and-Visa Service of the Russian Interior Ministry, since reorganized and renamed.

In addition to issuing passports to Russian passport holders, the directorate is responsible for all legal and administrative issues pertaining to problems of citizenship, residence permits and registration of foreigners and stateless persons on Russian territory.  The directorate has a Passport and Visa Information and Statistical Center which gathers relevant information and distributes it to the Interior Ministry central and regional organizations as well as other special services-type organizations.