The Ministry of the Interior and the state-owned company IdentiTek Sh.A announced on Tuesday a series of updates aimed at simplifying the procedures for equipping Albanian citizens, both inside and outside the country, with biometric identification documents.

Among the most important changes is the elimination of the need to physically purchase coupons at post office counters for passports and ID cards. Citizens can now make payments online, avoiding in-person visits to the post office.

IdentiTek also announced the offering of an expedited identity card production service, available within 1 to 3 days.

Interior Minister Ervin Hoxha and IdentiTek’s administrator, Freskida Halilaj, visited one of the application offices to observe the functioning of the new platform.

“The Ministry of the Interior and IdentiTek are today launching two very important processes that will assist citizens by easing all procedures related to the online application for obtaining a coupon and continuing the process for producing ID cards,” Minister Hoxha stated.

According to him, the coupon and ID card application can now be done entirely online via the IdentiTek platform.

Another key aspect is the improvement of document security. Administrator Halilaj announced that Albania has become the 99th member of the Public Key Directory (PKD) within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), ensuring that Albanian passports are now more secure and internationally recognized.

“Our current passports are automatically verified as genuine or not, making forgery nearly impossible,” said Halilaj, adding that the security standards are now closely aligned with those of the European Union.