Estonia plans return to blue passport covers by 2030

Estonia plans to bring back blue covers for its citizens’ passports from 2030, while new security features will be introduced next year, ERR reports. Existing passports will remain valid until they expire.

The Interior Ministry’s draft plans to update the design of Estonian passports and add security features. The changes will be introduced in stages: security updates are planned for foreign national passports in January next year and citizens’ passports in July.

The new features include a partly transparent window shaped like an erratic boulder, with an oak-leaf-shaped chip antenna. The image of the passport holder’s signature will move from the second page to the third. The personal data recorded in the passport will not change, and applicants will not need to take any additional steps.

Interior Minister Igor Taro told ERR that the idea of changing the cover colour emerged during preparations for the new passport design. He said the document’s appearance should reflect Estonia’s national colours. Blue covers were used on Estonian passports before the Second World War and on passports issued after the country regained independence.

The colour change is planned for 2030 because the contract for passport production runs until then. Taro said the transition would happen as passports are renewed, without a separate replacement campaign. Passports issued under both designs will remain valid in parallel.

Former Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets criticised the proposal, saying the ministry should focus on other challenges, including preventing Russian hybrid attacks, staffing issues at the police and rescue services, and migration. European Parliament member Jüri Ratas said the EU’s common colour scheme for passports is recommended, not mandatory, but described the focus on passport colour as a pre-election distraction.