12/06/2007

News / E-Passports Launched

The Bahamas is now in compliance with an international travel requirement and has joined the ranks of other countries using e-passports. The feat was achieved after years and years of delays and difficulties.
The launch of the new passports that will use biometric elements was held at the Passport Office on Thompson Boulevard Wednesday morning.

As he launched the e-passport project for New Providence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette said the special travel document will speed up the processing time for Bahamian travelers around the world and lead to more efficient border control.

South Carolina-based Indusa Global has produced the passports which will feature facial scans, fingerprints, digital signatures, chips and smart cards to address vices like fraud and identity theft.

Mr. Symonette said the New Providence e-passport launch is the second of four phases.

"The remaining phases will commence mid-January and will progress through to the end of July, 2008. During these two phases, we will implement the e-passport system in the passport office [in] Grand Bahama, administrators’ office in the Family Islands and in our overseas missions," he said.

"The implementation of the Visa Issuance System in our Consular Division in New Providence and our overseas missions will also occur in these phases."

Mr. Symonette said he anticipates that both the e-passport and Visa Issuance Systems will be fully operational by mid-2008.

"By that time, we expect to be able to fully service the 170,000 plus passport holders and 2,000 plus certificate of identity holders," he said.

"These persons will be able to apply for, and be issued with an e-passport or certificate of identity at 19 stations throughout The Bahamas and at our Overseas Missions. Foreign nationals will also be able to apply for and be issued with machine readable visas in New Providence and at our missions overseas."

The new passport system is fully automated.

According to officials, it will take about two weeks to process an e-passport, but no set price has been determined yet, although a $50 fee is being considered.

Minister Symonette also explained the process involved with obtaining the new passports.

"We’re asking persons whose passports are still valid that do not need to be renewed, to wait until the time for renewal comes in," he said.

"What we hope to do – as we did with the drivers’ licenses – is those persons whose passports are due [to expire] in January, they can start to come in now and we’ll renew their passports. If your passport is due for expiry in 2010, we’re asking the public to please wait until we have caught up with the 2008 [renewals] and then we’ll move on."

Mr. Symonette also said the new passports are very resistant to wear and tear and water.

He added, "If you’ve lost your passport, obviously you can come in and have it redone."

Officials at the Passport Office said not only does the machine-readable passport bring The Bahamas into compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s 2010 mandate, but the more secure travel document will also deter illegal immigration, fraud and potential criminal activities.

The system will also produce machine-readable visas, work permits, permanent resident cards, homeowners’ cards and resident spouse cards.

By Juan McCartney

Sources: http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=15085

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