Posts Tagged ‘machine readable passports’

Machine Readable Passports to Replace Hand Written Passports by 2012

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Passport problems for Pakistanis in the United Arab Emirates and in other Gulf countries are being caused by hand-written passports.  Pakistanis are being strongly encouraged to replace their hand-written passports with the new biometric machine readable passports (MRP).

Pakistanis are being told not to wait for their passports to expire.  Instead they are being advised to get biometric passports as soon as possible.

passport PakistanMany countries in the world have restricted travel for holders of hand-written passports.  Biometric passports have become the passport of choice around the world because this form of passport is considered more secure.

As of September 15, the UAE government no longer accepts manual passports.  In addition, no visas are being issued to manual passport holders.

The Pakistan government has asked the UAE government for a 1 year grace period in which the manual passports will be accepted.  However, it is unlikely that the UAE will grant the request due to passport security concerns.

In addition, the manual passports will be completely invalid by 2012.

If you are a US citizen and you are interested in getting a US Passport or US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

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Passport Biometrics vs Machine Readable Passports

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

Biometric Passports or machine readable passports– which is the better choice? According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), biometric Passports are the obvious choice.  The ICAO sets standards regarding passport size, passport  composition, passport  layout and more importantly – passport technology.

Biometric e-passport

To make things easier for passport officials, the passports are color coded. Ordinary passports are green, service passports are blue, and diplomatic passports are red.

The hope is that countries that continue to issue machine readable passports will opt for e- passports or biometric passports as they are sometimes called.  Ghana, for example, began issuing biometric e-passports since March 2010.  Non-biometric passports are still accepted in Ghana, however, the plans are for the machine readable passports to be valid through November of 2015.  At that time, machine readable passports would no longer be acceptable as passport  holders would need to obtain biometric passports.

Under the new biometric passports system, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) passports  are available in three styles of passport: ordinary passports, service passports, and diplomat passports.  To make things easier for passport officials, the passports are color coded. Ordinary passports are green, service passports are blue, and diplomatic passports are red. In addition to the color coded passport revisions, the Ghanaian coat of arms has been replaced by the ECOWAS logo, and the words “Republic of Ghana”  are printed on the passport cover.  Ghana also boasts both French and English on their passports.

With the introduction of biometric passports comes the option of applying for standard passport services or expedited passport delivery service.  There is an additional fee that applies for those who opt for the expedited passport. 

To assist with the passport expedition application services, new Passport Application Centers (PACs) have been set up across Ghana and there are plans for several more Passport Application Centers to follow in the near future.

Currently, the Passport Office has been issuing the biometric passports alongside the machine readable passports.

If you are thinking about traveling to Ghana or to any other country where a passport is required and you need to get a US Passport  or US Passport Card immediately, visit us at www.RushPassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport  Agency.  Rush Passport™  : Expediter of Passports, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

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Passport Dilemma in Bangladesh Over Handwritten Passports and Machine Readable Passports (MRPs)

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Passport issues in Abu Dhabi have arisen as there is confusion over the new Bangladeshi machine readable passports (MRPs) and the previous system of handwritten passports.  In April of this year, the government of Bangladesh started issuing the machine readable passports.

Passport Bangladesh Handwritten

Handwritten Bangladeshi Passports Can Be Tough to Read.

As little as ten passport holders per day who enter the UAE use the new passports, while the overwhelming majority of the passport holders still possess the handwritten passports. 

The use of both passports – the old handwritten and the new MRP are causing confusion for passport security agents.  Some officers are unsure as to which forms of passport are acceptable.

The Bangladeshi plans to issue an official notice to all immigration offices throughout the country instructing them to accept both the new MRP and the handwritten passports.

The Bangladeshi government understands that they are in the midst of a transitional passport phase.  They are looking forward to the number of MRPs to rise steadily as more and more passport holders are issued the new passports.

The handwritten passports are at times almost impossible to read.  Maybe it is a good idea for the passport agency to either set an expiration date for the handwritten passports.  It may also be wise to offer an incentive for citizens to switch over to the new machine readable passports.

If you are interested in getting a US Passport or US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Agency.

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Nepal Passports Outdated Before Release

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Passport Nepal

Nepal's Passports are already outdated and they haven't even come out yet.

By the end of a July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will choose a party that will supply Machine Readable Passports (MRP) to Nepal. This is due to the cancellation of the machine-readable passport (MRP) deal with India.

As per the requirements of the International Civial Aviation Organization (ICAO), Nepal needs to begin issuing e-passports by November 25, 2015. So, why are they opting to issue MRPs now, why not introduce e-passports instead?

The government of Nepal is not currently in a position to issue e-passports right now, nor does it feel that it is ready to introduce second generation MRPs that feature polycarbonate technology.

Second and third generation MRPs are very expensive. The governement is worried about public protests of high priced passports, since they received an offer as low as US $2.99 per passport from Indian in January 2010 for the first generation passports.

The government of Nepal has not really handled their passport crisis well considering the events that have led to where they are at this point in time. There are many factors that they need to contend with to bring them up to date in the world of passports. Only time will tell, as we see what happens in 2015. Judging by the way that the passport industry has been handled thus far, it is probable that by 2015 the issue will remain unresolved.

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