Biometric Passports

[ncmurray]

I missed the attached paragraph when I last posted. It seems to confirm that the new Irish passport contains the biometric chip. I have compared my passport (issued May 2007), and my children's passports (issued May 2006), and the only difference is that there appears to be a small dimple in the right hand corner of mine, almost as if the plastic has melted a little. I suppose this is where is chip is. It is not very obvious, though.

Nuala




In October 2006 the Passport Office began issuing the new Irish electronic passport (ePassport). This technology represents a major development in identity verification and security, providing a much stronger linkage between the individual and his or her identity than traditional systems which rely solely on visual identification. It will strengthen the passport issuing process by providing a further safeguard against fraudulent applications. In addition under the US Visa Waiver Scheme, participating countries, including Ireland, must be issuing ePassports from 26 October 2006.

Click here for:

[anorak]

There is a lot of confusing and contradictory official information out there, I hope I didn't add to it too much.

[ncmurray]

You're right, Anorak. I think if you look hard enough you can find "definitive" information to support any view you care to take!

I think I'll go with the official website, though. There is a lot of traffic between Ireland and the US, and I think that any problems would have been highlighted by now, so I'm sure the new Irish passports are being accepted by US customs. It would seem that there is a biometric chip in it, just that it doesn't look the same as the UK passport. I wonder if there are any other nationalities out there that could describe their new biometric passport?