Ethiopia plans new biometric passport, digital visa launch this month

Information from Ethiopia’s Immigration and Citizen Services (ICS) office has it that the country’s new generation biometric passport as well as a new secure visa system will go operational by the end of this month.

The launching plan was disclosed recently when members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia’s House of People’s Representatives paid a working visit to the ICS, Addis Insight reveals.

The outlet quotes authorities as explaining that the new passport not only has physical design attractiveness but also enhanced security features that will make forgery difficult. The current version of Ethiopia’s passports is said to be easy to counterfeit, opening the way for many non-nationals to easily obtain the travel document. Forged copies of the passport are reported to have circulated in countries such as Somalia and Uganda.

Toppan Gravity Ethiopia will deliver the new passport for the Ethiopian government following the signing of an agreement in 2023. Going by the terms of the agreement, the travel document will be produced locally in order to enable stronger government control, oversight and security.

About the new visa system, the country’s Foreign Ministry is quoted as saying that it is a digital visa system that has come to replace the analogue method which was inefficient, less accountable and prone to fraud.

Officials say the passport and visa system changes are part of the country’s broader reform package in the immigration sector, aimed at putting in place a system that is highly secure, efficient, seamless, and accountable, facilitating the travel experience for nationals and non-nationals.

Preparations for the new passport system have been underway since 2023. Last year, authorities said that pre-registration and verification for the new passport had commenced. The ICS also made changes to the passport fee with a standard procedure ordinary passport priced at 5,000 Ethiopian Birr (US$40), and those to be processed within two working days pegged at a cost of ETB 25,000 (US$194).

The introduction of a new biometric passport and digital visa system come as Ethiopia is also advancing the push for stronger Fayda digital ID adoption and use. The country’s ID authority recently launched a Fayda ID application to streamline identity management.

Article Topics

biometric passport  |  Ethiopia  |  identity document  |  Toppan Gravity  |  travel documents  |  visas