kontulib
February 16th, 2003, 05:34 AM
Finland agrees to US request to add biometric ID to passports next year
Price of passports to rise in autumn 2004
Finland hopes to include biometric identification on passports issued after October 26, 2004. The move comes at the insistence of the United States.
The US wants all passports issued by countries whose citizens can travel to the US without a visa to have a bio-ID of some kind. European Union passports issued before that date will still be accepted for visa-free travel to the United States as long as the passports themselves remain valid.
The move is one of a number of measures taken in response to the terror attacks in September 2001.
A passport which identifies the bearer by facial features, fingerprints, or the patterns in the iris of the eye, is more difficult to forge than present travel documents.
Pasi Nokelainen of the Ministry of the Interior says that the information for biometric identification would probably be included in a microchip included on the passport.
The deadline set for Finland and other EU countries is not an easy one to meet. In Finland four different working groups are involved in the planning of the change.
In the coming months, the various countries that are affected will decide on which biometric characteristics to take into use, after which Finland must pass the necessary new legislation and make the changes to its passports.
Nokelainen admits that a passport with a bio-ID will cost more than today's passports, but he will not yet speculate on how much.
It is possible that the old kinds of passports will be made available to those who want to save money and not travel to the United States. The Ministry of the Interior has not heard if any other countries will be requiring biometric identification on passports of foreign travellers.
Nokelainen is also not certain that the new system will be ready in time. He says that the schedule depends on many factors beyond Finland's control - such as what technology is finally chosen. "The timetable is difficult, but not impossible", he says.
Holders of passports issued after October 26, 2004 without biometric identification will need a visa for travel to the United States.
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Price of passports to rise in autumn 2004
Finland hopes to include biometric identification on passports issued after October 26, 2004. The move comes at the insistence of the United States.
The US wants all passports issued by countries whose citizens can travel to the US without a visa to have a bio-ID of some kind. European Union passports issued before that date will still be accepted for visa-free travel to the United States as long as the passports themselves remain valid.
The move is one of a number of measures taken in response to the terror attacks in September 2001.
A passport which identifies the bearer by facial features, fingerprints, or the patterns in the iris of the eye, is more difficult to forge than present travel documents.
Pasi Nokelainen of the Ministry of the Interior says that the information for biometric identification would probably be included in a microchip included on the passport.
The deadline set for Finland and other EU countries is not an easy one to meet. In Finland four different working groups are involved in the planning of the change.
In the coming months, the various countries that are affected will decide on which biometric characteristics to take into use, after which Finland must pass the necessary new legislation and make the changes to its passports.
Nokelainen admits that a passport with a bio-ID will cost more than today's passports, but he will not yet speculate on how much.
It is possible that the old kinds of passports will be made available to those who want to save money and not travel to the United States. The Ministry of the Interior has not heard if any other countries will be requiring biometric identification on passports of foreign travellers.
Nokelainen is also not certain that the new system will be ready in time. He says that the schedule depends on many factors beyond Finland's control - such as what technology is finally chosen. "The timetable is difficult, but not impossible", he says.
Holders of passports issued after October 26, 2004 without biometric identification will need a visa for travel to the United States.
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