Biometric British Passports - Id Cards

[Rinrada]

On Last trip I found myself discussing the new Thai passport with the Bio identifiers,whistles and bells and thought it might be worth digging a bit deeper .

Everyone knows about them but nobody seems too sure if and when....so...

Anyway they are it seems going to be quite a big deal and it looks as though we better keep an eye on whats happening with them cause it looks as though we going to need them sooner than later. .

Couple facts from the PP office.

ID cards-unique biometric identifiers

On 11 November 2003, the Home Secretary announced plans for a compulsory national identity cards scheme. The scheme is to be phased in over a number of years and will include basic personal information and biometric identifiers. These unique biometric identifiers (such as iris pattern or fingerprints) will help prevent people's identities being stolen and also will securely confirm a person's identity when a card is checked.

The introduction of the first identity cards will, on current plans, start from 2008.

For many UK citizens the identity card will be issued as passports come up for renewal or for first time applications.

The Home Office, the UKPS and other government departments will now start to lay the foundations for the scheme, which will establish a more secure means of proving people's identity.

As part of this process, the UKPS will progress its major anti-fraud and secure identity initiatives including the addition of a biometric to the British Passport.

The Identity Cards Bill was introduced to Parliament on 29 November 2004.

Biometric British Passports

The UKPS is planning to implement a facial recognition image biometric in the British Passport book from late 2005/early 2006.

The biometric can be derived from a passport photograph and will be in accordance with international standards.

The facial image biometric will help to counter identity fraud (e.g. duplicate issues), and to verify the identity of the holder against the document. From the introduction of ID cards, all passports for British Citizens will be renewed or issued to the ID card standard.

The UKPS constantly seeks improvements to the security features in the British Passport and in the issuing process.

The use of biometric information to link a person to a passport will enhance security.

Security features within a passport serve a dual role. Firstly, they allow for detection of counterfeit or manipulated documents and secondly, confirm the identity of the individual.

The UKPS has been supporting the work of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to develop international standards for biometric deployment. ICAO nominated facial recognition as the primary biometric for travel documents with iris pattern and fingerprint as secondary but not mandatory.

In line with ICAO recommendations, the UKPS will deploy contactless integrated circuit media (i.e. a computer chip) of sufficient capacity to facilitate storage of the facial image and at least one additional biometric identifier. A contactless chip includes an aerial to allow close proximity readings, i.e. without being swiped through a reader.

Modern contactless chips are paper-thin and therefore particularly suited to being incorporated in passport books or passport identity cards.

also

Welsh and Scottish Gaelic in UK Passports

The UK Passport Service is including Welsh and Scottish Gaelic in passports for the first time when the new biometric passports are introduced from autumn this year.

This means that the languages will appear in the newly designed passport alongside other EU member state languages.

Although The Welsh Language Act 1993 does not require passports to contain this information and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill is still going through the Scottish Parliament, UKPS have decided that the two languages should be included with other design changes.

These changes have been made without any increase in the cost of the passport and they have been welcomed by both the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

The new passports will include an embedded chip containing facial biometric information that can be scanned electronically.

This will meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation standards which are aimed at reducing misuse by organised crime and the threat of international terrorism.

embedded chips .......but no haggis suppers

[khunlungphudhu]

Should not think the language changes would cost more!

They are already talking about the whole thing costing well over 300 quid, after starting at between eighty and ninety.

Hate to think what the cost will be by the time they arrive.