Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that E-passport will prevent fraud by adding another layer of security to the traditional passport.
She made the remarks on Wednesday (Jan 22) while inaugurating the launching of E-passport services at an event at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).
'E-passports will 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 the passport, as well as a digital security feature which will prevent fraudulence', she added.
A German company, Veridos GmbH has been implementing the e-passport and automated border control management project, reports BSS.
The validity of e-passport will be five to ten years.
According to the passport authorities, the fee for 48-page and five-year validity passport is fixed at Taka 3,500 for general application, Taka 5,500 for urgent, Taka 7,500 for very urgent and for 10 years validity, the fee is fixed at Taka 5,000 for general, 7,000 for urgent and 9,000 for very urgent.
For new passport, it will take three days for passport delivery on very urgent application, seven days for urgent and 21 days for general while for reissuance, it will take two days for very urgent application, three days for urgent and seven days for general applications.
Besides, separate fees have been fixed in Bangladesh missions abroad for general applicants, workers and students.
For general application for 48-page five years validity passport, the fee will be $100 and for urgent delivery, the fee will be $ 150. For 10 years of validity, the fee will be $125 for the general application while fee $ 175 for urgent delivery.
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 are in circulation.
The e-passports 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 project details, the project “Introduction of Bangladesh e-Passport and Automated Border Control Management” is being implemented at a cost of Taka 45.69 billion.
With issuing the e-Passport the whole process of the immigration formalities will be completed online.
It said two million e-passports will be made in Germany. As a result, the passports of those who apply first will be made from Germany. The validity of e-passport will be for five and 10 years.
The Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) and Germany Veridos signed an agreement on July 19 in 2018 for electronic passports alongside machine-readable ones.
