E-passport delivery starts from Jan 22

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 14:35, Jan 19, 2020 | Updated : 17:20, Jan 19, 2020

SAZZAD HOSSAIN/File PhotoDistribution of the e-passport (electronic passport) is set to start from Jan 22 as all preparations and formalities have been completed, says Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan.
"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the launching of e-passport issuing during an event at the Bangabandhu International Convention Centre," he told a media call on Sunday (Jan 19) at the Secretariat.
Bangladesh has finished implementing machine-readable passports (MRP) way before its target of November 2024, according to Khan.
It will take authorities only 30 seconds to verify an individual's details through an e-passport, which is being implemented jointly by the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP) and the Bangladesh Army, said Khan.
"The validity of the passports will be for five and 10 years. Passports will be delivered within two days on a very urgent basis, seven days for urgent and 15 days for regular delivery. Bangladesh will be the first country in South Asia to issue e-passports to its citizens," said the home minister.
E-passport. Photo/Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP)Citizens, however, will still need a police clearance to obtain passports, but the minister said they were trying to make the process online to "lessen harassment."
Initially the DIP will distribute e-passport from Agargaon, Jatrabari and Uttara passport offices and later delivery of the e-passport will be started in phases across the country, he added.
"By 2020 e-passports will be issued from across the country. The president and the prime minister will be the first citizens to be issued e-passport," said the minister.
Responding to a query, Khan made it clear that there's no option for Rohingyas to obtain Bangladeshi passports as they have been gone through digital screening.
"They have been provided with digitised ID cards and their details are online. But still if Rohingyas try to obtain passports, they will not able to clear the verification from the authorities," he said.
E-passport add a layer of security to traditional non-electronic passports by embedding an electronic chip in the passport booklet that stores the biographical information visible on page 2 of the passport, as well as a digital security feature.
The digital security feature is a country specific 'digital signature'. These digital signatures are unique to each country and can be verified using their respective certificates.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), there are more than 100 states and non-state entities (i.e. United Nations) currently issuing e-Passports, and over 490 million e-passports in circulation.

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