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. The new […]

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. The permits will replace the multiple documents employers in the country use to ensure their employees are […]

As part of the U.S. Department of State’s initiative to simplify and streamline customer service interactions and processes, the Office of Passport Services has started a 90-day pilot program for online passport card applications. Adult U.S. citizens living in the United States and Canada who currently hold a valid 10-year U.S. passport book may participate […]

After a nearly three-year delay, the Algerian government has finally launched its biometric passport program. Magharebia reports that the biometric passports, which contain a contactless smart card chip that holds a digitized photo, fingerprints and signature, were supposed to be released in 2009. But the documents were delayed due to complexities with the operation of […]

Human recognition Systems announced a partnership with the Olive Group, a provider of safety, security and technology solutions, that will see the Olive Group distributing HRS’s solutions in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Among the upsides for both companies are that Olive Group already has a significant client base in the areas and […]

Privacy advocates in Canada have been raising concerns over the risk involved in two new biometric programs from the government that result in the sharing of private biometric data with other countries’ governments and possibly private corporations, according to an Embassy Magazine article. The new programs are modeled after similar programs around the world that […]

The U.S. government has settled an infringement case with Leighton Technologies by agreeing to license its smart cards. Leighton Technologies, a subsidiary of General Patent, filed a case against the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in January 2010. Leighton alleged that 54 federal agencies used its six smart card patents without […]

Border control automation challenged by complex interoperability issues By Nigel Reavley, Sales Director EMEA, FIME The use of biometric technology in identity credentials is increasing. It aims to enable countries to implement robust security measures at border crossings and make it difficult to produce fraudulent travel documents. Today, more than 90% of passports deployed include […]

CBP denies report A Canadian man uses a scanned image of his passport from his iPad to get past Customer and Border Protection officials, according to a report from the AP. The man was going to drop of Christmas presents when he realized he forgot his passport. Instead of making the multiple hour trek back […]

The 25,000 VIPs, including athletes, coaches and officials, arriving for the summer Olympics in London through Heathrow International Airport will have a dedicated passport lane just for them when passing through immigration, according to a Daily Mail article. The UK Border Agency, however, is worried what the dedicated traffic lane will mean for non-VIP travelers […]