Electronic passports contain a small electronic chip – an RFID chip – embedded in the cover that contains key information about the passport carrier such as their name, gender, date of birth and a digital photograph of the carrier.

Some electronic passports contain biometric information as well and require digital confirmation of physical attributes such as fingerprints and iris patterns, though the new St. Kitts and Nevis passports will stick to basic information.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security said the new passports will not only expedite travel for citizens between the two Carribean islands, but will also help prevent fraud and identity theft.

“The new document to be issued by the Government of St Kitts and Nevis is more secured and designed with specific imbedded features intended to enhance the integrity of the new E Passport and will facilitate more seamless travel by citizens and residents of the Federation,” the ministry stated.

St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the first countries in the region to use electronic passports.

“We are proud to be once again be leading the way in ensuring that citizens of our twin-island Federation are given an added layer of protection whenever they travel,” Elvis Newton, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Homeland Security told SKN List. “The new passports do cost more, but we are confident that nationals will understand the added cost of producing these digital passports, and will appreciate the expedited processing at various ports where they travel, when compared to those persons who do not have upgraded passports.”

Non-electronic passports are still valid in the region, though anybody requesting a new passport as of this month will be issued an electronic passport.

SOURCES:
SKN List: “New Passports Offer Added Security Features”
Caribbean 360: “St. Kitts Begins Issuing Epassports”

These passports were issued as part of a pilot project that began in 2009 to test the features of Canada’s new e-passports, which, to date, have yielded no problems.

Electronic passports contain a small electronic chip – an RFID chip – embedded in the cover that contains key information about the passport carrier such as their name, gender, date of birth and a digital photograph of the carrier. Some electronic passports contain biometric information as well and require digital confirmation of physical attributes such as fingerprints and iris patterns.

The new Canadian passports will not contain most of this biometric information.

According to an article published by the CBC, the chip on the new passports will contain “the holder’s photo and a country-specific signature that proves the passport was issued by the Government of Canada.” In addition, “the visible photo must match the photo stored on the chip, as well as the ghost photo printed in ultraviolet ink.”

However, the photo on the chip will allow facial recognition software to be used at check-ins where it is available, such as at London’s Heathrow airport who is gearing up to introduce facial biometric scanners at its international flight terminals.

The chip is an additional layer in Canadian passport security, Passport Canada said.
Initial plans were to have the new e-passport ready for the public by 2010 but this summer reports suggested they could be delayed until early 2013.

SOURCES:
CBC: “New E-Passport Price Tag Could Be Hefty”
Embassy Magazine: “E-Passport Roll-Out Delayed A Third Time”

The facial recognition scanners will be a second step in a security process installed at Heathrow. Currently, the airport uses the Atkins Passenger Authentication Scanning System (PASS) – a system that maintains passport security through low-level biometrics such as name identification, birthdate recognition and fingerprint technology.

Once an international passenger has checked in with their electronic passport – a passport that contains essential information such as the passenger’s name, age, sex, place of birth, nationality and, in some cases, fingerprints – using the PASS system, they will then be required to proceed to the facial recognition scanners to complete their check-in.

Using an infrared flash, the facial scanners will then take a photo of the passenger’s face and match the biometric information obtained from the facial scan with information contained on their electronic passport.

The scanning and verifying process should only take about 4.7 seconds, according to an article published by tech blog Singularity Hub.

More and more airports around the world are looking to increased biometrics as a way to make traveling safer and more efficient.

“There has been a drive over the past few years by governments – with e-passports and e-visas – to include a biometric in the travel document to make sure the person is the legitimate owner of that document,” said Sean Farrell, the Sita biometrics portfolio director during a webinar on aviation information technology last year. “We’re going to see biometrics grow very quickly from border management to other places at the airport.”

SOURCES:
Singularity Hub: “Heathrow Airport To Adopt Face Scanners To Screen Passengers”
The Transnational: “Experts: More Biometric Checks Coming To Airports”
Homeland Security News Wire: “Heathrow Deploys Face Recognition Scanners”
The Guardian: “New facial recognition scanners to be introduced at Heathrow”

“A proposed national roll-out of electronic passports in Canada has been pushed back for a third time,” according to a new article published by Embassy Magazine.

When the plans for a national e-passport were unveiled in early 2010, Passport Canada said they expected to have them available to the public by as early as 2012. Embassy Magazine reported this week that a new strategic planning document released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said the passports could be delayed until early 2013.

Electronic passports contain a small electronic chip – an RFID chip – embedded in the cover that contains key information about the passport carrier such as their name, gender, date of birth and a digital photograph of the carrier. Some electronic passports contain biometric information as well and require digital confirmation of physical attributes such as fingerprints and iris patterns.

The new Canadian passports will not contain biometric information. Monique Bolvin, a Passport Canada spokeswoman, told CBC last year that Canada chose not to include fingerprints and iris scans, which weren’t needed to comply with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“Right now the ICAO standard is the facial image,” she said.

Currently, over 80 countries around the world use e-passports and Canada is the only G8 country that has fallen behind the trend.

SOURCES:
Embassy Magazine: “E-passport roll-out delayed a third time”
CBC: “New Electronic Passports Unveiled”

The ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that sets the standards for international air transport to ensure safe travels and orderly growth. In 2004, when countries like the UK, Australia and Singapore began introducing e-passports to enhance security measures at border crossings, the agency implemented a recommendation that every country convert to these kinds of passports by 2010.

The lag in timeline isn’t necessarily a bad thing though.

Because some countries have yet to adopt electronic passports, when they do, they are more likely to jump to the second-generation passports, which provide even more security features and ensure safer travel.

First generation e-passports contain the holder’s information in a small Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip embedded in the passport cover. This information includes name, date of birth, height, weight, age, etc – all the details you would expect to find in a non-electronic passport. First generations can also carry biometric information, such as fingerprints, iris scans and DNA recognition.

Second generation e-passports contain all the same information but are simply increased in capacity for both information and safety. Second generations have a more powerful chip with increased storage space (nearly double than that of the first generation’s), which improves processing speeds. The new chips also offer greater protection against unauthorized reading, only allowing access when synced at terminals.

“The high levels of security and authentication provided by second-generation e-passports translates directly into increased efficiency and convenience for governments and their citizens, with secure contactless technology helping to make passport-based identity checks simpler, faster and more secure,” wrote Adam Tanguin, Sales Director of E-Government for EMEA, HID Global in a recent article.

Though the globe hasn’t met the e-passport target set out by the ICAO nearly six years ago, the agency is still confident that the recent moves toward electronic passports are a step in the right direction to developing safer travel across borders for every citizen in every country.

“This represents a first step in bringing global state travel document systems and technologies more in line with 21st century border control, facilitation and security objectives,” a spokesperson said.

SOURCE:
Contactless News: “The E-Passport Revolution: The Next Generation of Travel Security”

Though the previous UK passport was already equipped with a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip – the device that makes an electronic passport electronic (read more here) – the redesign ensures a larger degree of safety and protection for the chip.

Once apparent on the outside of the passport, the new UK passport design moves the chip to the inside of the passport cover where it will no longer be visible also ensuring additional physical protection of the chip that contains a holder’s personal information such as name, age, height, birth date and place of birth, among other details.

Moving the chip to the inside of the passport covers also means it will be harder for counterfeiters to replace the chip without physically damaging the passport cover.

Other new security measures include a secondary image of the holder printed onto the observations page, a new transparent covering which includes several holograms to protect the holder’s personal details, and images of well-known UK scenes – including the White Cliffs of Dover, the Gower Peninsula, and the Giant’s Causeway – stretched across each page of the passport.

“Through a combination of physical and electronic security features, the UK passport remains one of the most secure and trusted documents in the worlds, meeting rigorous international standards,” Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service told BBC. “The new design is part of our strategy to stay ahead of criminals who look to fraudulently alter or copy passports.”

The new UK passport will start being issued in October, and will be valid for a period of ten years.

SOURCES:
SecureID News: “UK’s E-Passport Has New Security Features”
BBC: “New UK Passport Design Unveiled In Fight Against Fraud”

Using devices like retina, finger and facial scans, biometric checks not only provide a speedier check-in, but also ensures a higher degree of security.

“There has been a drive over the past few years by governments – with e-passports and e-visas – to include a biometric in the travel document to make sure the person is the legitimate owner of that document,” said Sean Farrell, the Sita biometrics portfolio director during a webinar on aviation information technology back in July.
Biometric passports include more passenger information than standard passports. Though they still contain essential information such as the passenger’s name, age, sex, place of birth and nationality, biometric passports can also contain fingerprints, facial patterns, DNA info, and iris scans. All of this information is stored on a microchip embedded in the passport called a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chip.

Some governments have already required that new passports for citizens include biometric information – usually facial scans or fingerprints.

In February, London’s Stansted airport introduced facial scanners called “Autogates” where a live image of the passenger standing at the gate is captured and biometric technology then compares this with the image stored on the chip embedded within the passport by measuring specific facial points. If there is a match and they clear security, the automatic gates allow the traveler across the border.

“We’re going to see biometrics grow very quickly from border management to other places at the airport,” Farrell said, noting the various expedited security clearance programs now in place. Referring to the program at Ben Gurion Airport, he explained that El Al’s frequent flyers can “use their credential at all the various points where they interact with the airline and the airport: checking in, immigration and boarding the flight.”

As of October 2009, over 79 countries had introduced biometric passports and over 100 million e-passports had been issued globally. With over 70 million new e-passports being issued every year, it is estimated that over the next ten years, most of the 750 million passports currently in use will be replaced by electronic passports.

SOURCES:
The Transnational: “Experts: More Biometric Checks Coming To Airports”
Global Paper Security: “London Airport Introduces Biometric Scanners”

Turkey will begin issuing biometric passports on June 1, 2010.

Though all citizens are not required to switch to the new passports right away, those who wish to do so can begin the application process as soon as May 23.

Turkey’s biometric passport will contain information about the holder’s facial features such as the distances between eyes, nose, mouth and ears as well as the passport holder’s personal details such as the holder’s name, date of birth, country of origin, height, etc.

All of this information is accessible to security officers at borders and airports through a small RFID chip embedded somewhere on the passport – typically on the front or back cover.

To retrieve the information from the chip, it must be scanned – in the same way a credit card must be swiped to access its information. Unlike credit cards, however, RFID chips can be scanned via no-touch systems that run on radio frequencies.

The overall appearance of Turkey’s new electronic passports won’t change. Standard passports will be red, diplomatic passports will be black, and special passports will be green.

Currently, around 5 million people hold passports in Turkey, and the country’s foreign ministry renews almost 2.3 million Turkish passports every year.

As of October 2009, over 100 million e-passports had been issued globally.

SOURCES:
Today’s Zaman: “Biometric Passports Set To Arrive In June”
Global Paper Security: “What Are RFID Chips?”

Acuity projects Europe’s market shares to drop in the industry from 49 per cent to 20 per cent in the next four years, but says the Asian market will experience the most market share growth increasing from 25 per cent to almost 50 per cent of annual market revenues by 2014.

The strongest revenue growth will bi in South America where the compounded annual growth rate will reach 117 per cent, and revenues will increase to nearly $US540 million by 2014.

The Acuity research also shows market expansion in Africa, the Middle East, and regions in the Pacific.

As of October 2009, over 100 million e-passports had been issued globally. With over 70 million new e-passports being issued every year, it is estimated that over the next ten years electronic passports will replace most of the 750 million passports currently in use.

SOURCE:
Security Document World: “E-Passport Revenues To hit US$7Bn by 2014”

To learn more about e-passports read some of our previous blog posts like “What are E-Passports?”, “What are RFID Chips?, and Fortress Paper Gets Electronic Passport Contract.

SOURCE:
YouTube: “New Zealand Passport Gets A Makeover”