Finland agrees to US request to add biometric ID to passports next year

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Elaine -HFB- Ashton <elaine () chaos wustl edu>
Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 05:49:18 -0600
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Re: [IP] Delta CAPPS-2 watch: decrypt boarding passes!

Dave Farber [dave () farber net] quoth:
*>I asked Johns concent to send this and he added:
*>
*>You can add that San Jose has been identified as one of the
*>Delta CAPPS-2 cities (by the Oakland Tribune).

Are you aware of the requirement for EU passports to carry biometric
information as well as passenger information on /all/ passengers flying
into the US? I'd guess that if the EU makes the change to smart passports
the US won't be far behind from requiring its own citizens to carry such
passports. Credit checks are really only the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20030213IE4


Finland agrees to US request to add biometric ID to passports next year
 Price of passports to rise in autumn 2004


Finland hopes to include biometric identification on passports issued after
October 26, 2004. The move comes at the insistence of the United States.
   
The US wants all passports issued by countries whose citizens can travel to
the US without a visa to have a bio-ID of some kind. European Union
passports issued before that date will still be accepted for visa-free
travel to the United States as long as the passports themselves remain
valid. 
   
The move is one of a number of measures taken in response to the terror
attacks in September 2001.
   
A passport which identifies the bearer by facial features, fingerprints, or
the patterns in the iris of the eye, is more difficult to forge than present
travel documents. 


Pasi Nokelainen of the Ministry of the Interior
says that the information for biometric identification would probably be
included in a microchip included on the passport.
   
The deadline set for Finland and other EU countries is not an easy one to
meet. In Finland four different working groups are involved in the planning
of the change. 
   
In the coming months, the various countries that are affected will decide on
which biometric characteristics to take into use, after which Finland must
pass the necessary new legislation and make the changes to its passports.
   
Nokelainen admits that a passport with a bio-ID will cost more than today's
passports, but he will not yet speculate on how much.
   
It is possible that the old kinds of passports will be made available to
those who want to save money and not travel to the United States. The
Ministry of the Interior has not heard if any other countries will be
requiring biometric identification on passports of foreign travellers.
   
Nokelainen is also not certain that the new system will be ready in time. He
says that the schedule depends on many factors beyond Finland's control -
such as what technology is finally chosen. "The timetable is difficult, but
not impossible", he says.
   
Holders of passports issued after October 26, 2004 without biometric
identification will need a visa for travel to the United States.


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