Germany introduces passports with finger-prints
More security, faster processing
Germany - The second-generation electronic passport (e-passports) was introduced on 1 November. Each passport chip will now include two fingerprints as biometric identifiers. This makes Germany the first European Union Member State to fulfil all the requirements of the EC regulation on passports which entered into force in 2005.
Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble said of the new passports:
“Each individual’s fingerprints are unique. This technology will help us keep one step ahead of criminals. We want to make it impossible to enter the Schengen area using a counterfeit passport. With the new passport, it is possible to conduct biometric checks, which will also prevent authentic passports from being misused by unauthorized persons who happen to look like the person in the passport photo. And German citizens will benefit from the new application process: All applications will be submitted and sent to the passport producer in electronic form, which will reduce processing times. Following nation-wide testing, the federal, state and local governments are ready to start using the new procedures.”
Starting on 1 November, persons applying for a passport will need to place two fingers (usually the index fingers) briefly on an electronic recording device, a scanner. The fingerprints will then be sent with the passport application data to the passport producer, the Bundesdruckerei GmbH, where they will be stored on the passport chip. Data protection and security during this process are extremely important to the Federal Government. For this reason, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) supervised the development of standards for capturing and transmitting the fingerprints. The data are also securely stored on the chip. Only selected authorities will have access to these data. The fingerprints in particular are protected against ‘skimming’, or unauthorized access; Germany worked hard to ensure such protection at European level. The only countries that will have access to the fingerprints stored in the electronic passports of German citizens are those with special authorization certificates from the Federal Republic for their scanners.
The national legal foundation for all of the new features is provided by the amended Passport Act, passed by the Bundesrat in July 2007, and the related regulations. Apart from the introduction of fingerprints, the amended legislation covers further changes concerning passports and registration effective 1 November 2007, such as changes in the validity period for children’s passports. However, there is no need to make an extra trip to the passport office: All passports already issued will remain valid until their original date of expiry. And the passport fees have not changed.
You can find more information on German passports and identity documents at http://www.ePass.de
November 05, 2007
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