In an effort to streamline passenger security, Jakarta, Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport has opened the country’s first biometric immigration gate.

Fingerprint biometric identification provider BIO-key International, Inc. and Oakwell Engineering Limited partnered to create the new gate, designed for use by passengers with electronic passports. Passengers submit their e-passports and authenticate with a fingerprint.

Elyctis, an electronic ID solutions developer based in France, has announced the release of ID BOX, a new compact e-passport reader.

According to Elyctis, the ID BOX provides a much cheaper alternative to current e-passport verification equipment, enabling more border control and law enforcement officers to read all the features of electronic and biometric passports, including facial, fingerprint and iris scans.

Kosovo has begun issuing new biometric passports powered by chip technology from Switzerland’s Trüb AG.

The Balkan nation of 1.7 million has contracted the Austrian State Printing House (OeSD) to manufacture the new passport booklets and integrate Trüb’s the polycarbonate film datapages, which contain an ICAO-compliant antenna and chip module that stores the document holder’s personal data, a facial image and two fingerprints.

The UK Border Agency has announced intentions to require applicants applying for six-month stays from outside the European Economic Area to use biometric residency permits starting at the end of February 2012, according to an HR Magazine article.