biometric passport

[mazdamx5]

I have just renewed my british passport issued 01 2006 But does it need to be biometric to travel to the USA next month

[NORMANTHEDOG]

no,the british goverment have not started issuing biomatric passports yet,but the passport you have is machine readable which lets you into the states on the visa waiver programme.

[kempie]

No it does not.

The US Senate announced on 15 June 2005 a one-year extension (to 26 October 2006) to their requirement for biometric passports. This means that the digital passports currently issued by UKPS and FCO (machine-readable, with a digital image) will continue to meet the criteria of the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) and most British Citizens will not require a US visa. All passports issued on or after 26 October 2006 will need to be biometric to benefit from visa-free travel to the US.

http://www.ukpa.gov.uk/index.asp
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/

[NORMANTHEDOG]

we are no where near producing a biometric passport,and the date of 26/10/06 will have to be put back otherwise the us are going to lose out on a awful lot of visitors

[kempie]

BTW The UK Passport Service issued the first British biometric ePassport in March 2006.

To ensure a smooth transition from digital passports, the biometric passport will be introduced gradually over a period of five months in 2006. During the early stages of transition, some people will receive a new biometric passport, but most customers will receive an existing digital passport.

[NORMANTHEDOG]

kempie,havent you been watching the news,this goverment couldent organise a pi55 up in a brewery

[kempie]

Did you miss the news on 30th March...

"The Identity Cards Bill received Royal Assent today, placing on the statute book important measures which will help Britain meet the challenges of the 21st century. The National Identity Scheme will provide all UK residents aged over 16 with a universal, highly secure means for safeguarding their identity.

The new agency that will issue passports and ID cards will be called the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). Incorporating the United Kingdom Passport Service (UKPS) and working closely with the Home Office�s Immigration and Nationality Directorate, it will become operational on 1 April 2006."

http://www.ukpa.gov.uk/

[KebabMeister]

Kempie, do you know if the FCO (Dusseldorf) will be issuing biometric later this year? I have to renew mine before November 2006.

[jno]

I was told the same as kempie: they're issuing them now, but only introducing them gradually. Mine runs out in October so I'm going to wait as long as possible in the hopes of getting an up-to-date one. The USA originally planned that these would be machine readable even when closed - in other words, anyone in the street with the right equipment could read your details as you walked by - but I gather this was not permitted.

[kempie]

Apparently the Consulate General in D�sseldorf was chosen as one of the first overseas British passport issuing posts to rollout Biometric passports and have been issuing them exclusively for two months.

http://www.britischebotschaft.de/en/consular/passports/biometric_passports.htm