Ministry of Interior has completed the procedures for issuance of e-passports to UAE citizens.
Normal passports on expiry will be replaced with electronic ones from end-March next year, reported 'Al Bayan' newspaper.
Major-General Mattar Salim bin Mesaed Al Neyadhi, Director-General of Electronic Services and Communications at the Ministry who is also the head of the biometric passport project, said: "The ministry has completed the final specification of the design and security features of the models of all types of biometric passports for the UAE. It has also evaluated the release of the operational multi pre-systems of the project".
“March 2011 will be the deadline for the launch of e-passport, he added.
He said e-passport will be presented to UAE nationals upon renewal of their ordinary passports.
Major-General Al Neyadhi said the new biometric passports comprise latest technology and security features that comply with international standards. The high security features make the process of tampering and counterfeiting almost impossible, and allows experts to easily identify when they are tampered with. It also adopts the laset printing technology enhancing the clarity of the text.
The electronic chip contains a large storage capacity allows storage of text and barometric data enabling thorough examination.
The fees for issuing e-passport will be the same as that for normal passport, which will be collected during the application process, Al Neyadhi said and added that ordinary passports will be valid until five years of its validity from the date of issuance. The issuance of e-passports will not affect the validity of normal passports, as long as it is valid.
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