Also known as an ePassport or a digital passport, a biometric passport has an embedded microchip that holds all your personal information. It looks just like a traditional passport but it has the international biometric symbol at the bottom of the front cover.
How do biometrics work?
Biometrics analyse physical characteristics that are unique to each individual and can include retinal scans and fingerprints. The chip in your ePassport holds the information about your face – such as the distance between your eyes, nose, mouth and ears - taken from the digital photograph you supply when you apply for your passport.
What’s the point of a biometric passport?
Switching to ePassports was primarily to improve safety and security. The innovative chip can hold a lot of unique data in it, making the passport much harder to replicate or forge. It’s also much easier to identify people using the detailed set of data stored through biometrics.
You'll feel the benefit of travelling with a digital passport when you're able to use the ePassport gate in border control which makes getting through airport security much more efficient.
