Idemia rolls out new demo passport ‘Abroadia’ with innovative security features
Idemia has announced the launch of a demo passport with the imaginary name ‘Abroadia’ coined from the word ‘abroad’ to showcase its prowess and expertise in developing, designing and producing innovative passports.
In the announcement, Idemia says the production of the demo passport is one step in a sequence of efforts in designing highly secure identity documents.
The company says ‘Abroadia’ is the outcome of collaborative work between its customers and Idemia experts from R&D, design, production, and personalization. Also with teams based in different cities including Haarlem, Netherlands; Vitré and Paris, France; and Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Commenting on the novelty, Thomas Poreaux, head of ID documents products, public security & identity at Idemia, said: “ID document fraud is on the rise worldwide, and it is a real challenge for countries and states to reduce this risk. Idemia invests heavily in R&D to develop technologies that combat this kind of fraud.”
“Beyond tackling security risks, we provide solutions that create a link between the physical and digital identity. Our passports allow you to authenticate yourself securely and easily with a smartphone to transform your physical identity into a digital identity. This can allow travelers to check in for flights at home and go through security checkpoints faster,” adds Poreaux.
Idemia says the release of the new passport demo is relevant as it comes at a time when international travel is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, which means more security and other procedural challenges for border officials, given a large number of travelers.
Biometric passport era begins in Seychelles
In other passport news, President Wavel Ramkalawan has been issued the first biometric passport in his country Seychelles as the African island nation begins the rollout of its new generation of travel documents.
According to Seychelles News Agency, the document, first issued to the country’s number one citizen, is designed with advanced security features and some environmental and cultural endowments.
The Seychelles leader was quoted as saying the rollout of the biometric passport was the beginning of “a new era in the immigration system” of the country.
The ordinary passports will have a ten-year validity while diplomatic ones and those for children will have a five-year lifespan, Seychelles News Agency mentions.
Immigration officials say passport applicants must present their national ID cards, birth certificates and other proof of nationality. Applicants residing abroad will have to be physically present when applying for the document for purposes of biometric capture.
The Seychelles biometric passport is produced by French firm IN Groupe. Its release comes days after the country launched a new digital ID platform from WISeKey for the government and private sector.
Costa Rica’s biometric passport design wins award
Costa Rica brand ‘Esencial Costa Rica’ has been rewarded for its design of the country’s biometric passport in 2021.
This was during the City Nation Place 2022 Awards that took place recently in the UK, according to The Costa Rica News.
The award recognizes the excellence of country brands across the communication, marketing and global social network spaces.
Features designed on the passport pages highlight Costa Rica’s trade, biodiversity, renewable energies, education and peace, and talent potential.
Costa Rica switched to biometric passports early this year.
Armenia halts biometric passport issuance till 2024
Armenian citizens will not be able to get biometric passports till early 2024, per a government decision announced on November 17, reports News.am.
The choice would allow officials to properly work on the new generation passport, which will replace the ones currently in use.
Biometric passports in Armenia were rolled out last year.
Article Topics
Armenia | biometric passport | biometrics | border security | Costa Rica | digital ID | IDEMIA | identity document | Seychelles
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