Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, will introduce electronic biometric passports at the end of 2022.

According to All Africa, Seychelles signed a contract with the French company IN Groupe, which specializes in producing identity cards and passports. Signed by Errol Fonseka, the Minister for International Affairs, and Walter Groppi, the Vice-President for Internal Sales of IN Groupe, these electronic biometric passports will help raise security levels at the borders.

The passports will come with an electronic chip containing the holder’s biological information, facial recognition, fingerprint, and digital signature.

Errol Fonseka advised the following:

“Naturally it will help in ensuring visitors and ourselves, movement of people through our border is enhanced, is faster and sleeker, but above all the security element of the biometric passport allows us to enhance our border control.”

“Seychelles is developing its financial centre and we are looking at our border security, at our export as a country that really needs the high standards when we trade and deal with other countries. Having the biometric passport provides another source of this high standard that we look forward to.”

Unlike current passports that have 32 pages, the biometric passport will have 48 pages. It will also have a lifespan of 10 years and will apply to regular, official, and diplomatic passports.

Until Next Time…

(Sources)

Photo Credit: Seychelles News Agency

Seychelles Signs Contract for Biometric Passports, Expected End of 2022. All Africa. (2021, December 28). Retrieved January 3, 2022, from https://allafrica.com/stories/202112280416.html