Germany approves biometric passports plan
Germany’s upper house of parliament today approved a plan to introduce passports with biometric data, clearing the way for the country to start issuing the documents in November.
The so-called “ePass” will contain a chip that initially will hold a digital photo of the holder’s face. Starting in March 2007, fingerprints also will be stored on the cips.
Today’s approval by the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament means the passports can be issued from November 1.
“The bomb attacks in London demonstrate in a terrible way the current threat from international terror,” said Interior Minister Otto Schily. “One aspect of combating terror is the security of travel documents.”
The chip in the new passports “allows an electronic check of whether the person using the document is actually its holder,” Schily said.
The new passports are to be phased in, with machine-readable passports issued before November remaining valid for up to 10 years.
New technology will be phased in gradually at border control points to handle the chip passports, with full coverage expected by 2008.
