RFID chips consist of a microchip and a tiny antenna that
transmits data from the chip to a reader. The reader is activated
whenever the antenna comes into range and the data can be used to
trigger an event – such as ringing up a purchase, ordering more
stock or, in this case, providing identification details to border
control officials.
The new plans are the latest stage of the US administration’s
campaign to increase internal security, and will complement changes
to the Visa Waiver Program, which allows the citizens of 27
countries, including the UK and 14 other EU Member States, to enter
the US without a visa.
The system is designed to follow the biometric standardisation
developed in 2003 by the International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) – a UN-level body that acts on behalf of governments to
create international standards for airline navigation, safety and
security. This provides that the initial international biometric
standard for passports is facial mapping, although additional
biometrics such as fingerprinting can be included.
But there have been difficulties in developing the technology
quickly, and the US has decided to pre-empt matters by insisting
that all US passports issued from next October contain an RFID
chip, to which fingerprints or iris scans can be added later.
The chip, according to reports, will contain the usual details
printed in the passport, together with a digital photograph.
In order to counter fears that the chipped passports will allow
holders to be tracked or fall prey to identity thieves, the State
Department has announced that the covers of the passport will
contain an anti-skimming device to block casual access. It also
proposes a security system that will ensure that the chips only
provide the data to recognised readers.
Meanwhile, citizens from the 27 Visa Waiver countries will need
a digital photograph in their passports or an
integrated chip with information from the data page if getting a
new passport from today, otherwise they will need a visa. Existing
passports that are machine-readable will still be valid for US
entry without a visa.
Is your passport machine readable?
A British passport is machine readable when there are two lines
of letters, numbers and chevrons () printed
across the long edge of the page with the photograph and personal
details. The machine-readable text will appear on a white strip on
older passports and directly on the pink page of newer passports.
If there are no such lines of text on the personal information
page, the passport is not machine-readable.
The UK Passport Office is already able to issue passports
containing a digital photo. According to reports, the new
requirement is likely to affect travellers from France, Italy and
Austria, countries which have not yet put the appropriate systems
fully in place.
Travelling to the US will be complicated still further next
year, when travellers under the Visa Waiver Program holding
passports issued after 26th October 2006 will only be
allowed entry without a visa if that passport contains an embedded
chip.
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