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Passport upgrade goes to tender12 April 2004
Original article copyright
2004, and can be found at
Dominion Post The partner is expected to be chosen by the end of the month. New Zealand passports issued after October 26 are likely to include a microchip containing a digitised photo of the holder and other personal information, possibly including fingerprints. This is to meet United States entry requirements. They will only apply to newly-issued passports, though existing non-machine readable passports will also need to be replaced. However, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge have asked the US Congress to extend the deadline for two years as they believe none of the 27 countries involved can meet it. Storing digital photos on a microchip in a passport will allow border control officers in foreign countries to use facial recognition software to compare passport photos with a photo taken on entry, and with databases of terrorists and other undesirables. Identity Services has completed an analysis of existing systems and processes to determine what technology it will need. It says the business of biometric chips is too complex and too close to the cutting edge for Identity Services to complete that analysis itself. It has gone to tender for a partner to finish the work. It is seeking a bidder to complete exploratory work, design a solution and evaluate implementation options. The successful tenderer will identify the technology options open to the department by July 2. A second tender is then expected for the provision of passports, chips, system hardware and software. Original article copyright
2004, and can be found at
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