Mircea Esanu
The most noticeable change will be the increase in the cost of obtaining a foreign passport through the standard process—from 650 to 790 lei. The new fee will take effect after the launch of the new passport model, which is scheduled for late September to early October.
Fees for expedited passport processing will also change. The costs will be as follows:
1,500 lei — processing in 10 days;
1,740 lei — within 5 days;
2,050 lei — within one day;
2,530 lei — on the day of application.
In addition, the fee for issuing, replacing, or reinstating a driver’s license will increase by 20 lei—from 420 to 440 lei. Processing within 10 business days will cost 880 lei, 1,320 lei for 5 days, 1,760 lei for 3 days, 2,200 lei for one business day, and 2,640 lei on the day of application.
ASP Director Mircea Ișanu explained that the rate adjustment is due to rising costs of forms, materials, and logistics services, as well as the introduction of new security features and document personalization technologies.
“As for identity documents and documents for travel abroad, the most significant change concerns the passport. Even after this increase, the cost of a passport in the Republic of Moldova will remain below the European average price for a document issued under standard procedures,” Esanu stated.
At the same time, the ASP is reducing certain fees related to licensing for the tourism industry. To stimulate the development of agritourism and rural tourism, the fee for issuing permits for accommodation facilities in these categories will be reduced by 50%.
Preferential rates will also apply to investors implementing strategic projects worth more than 1.7 million lei.
The head of the ASP noted that the agency will continue to subsidize approximately 35% of the services provided to certain categories of citizens, including young people obtaining their first identity document. Each year, the ASP provides approximately 1.9 million services at reduced or subsidized rates.
