The biometric travel document - Home Office announcement

Spartacan · **Joined:** Thu, 29 Jun 2006 06:04:23 +0000 **Posts:** 133

This appeared on the BIA website on 10 March:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... traveldocs

>>The biometric travel document has a new design and security features including a biometric chip. The chip contains the holder's details as shown on page 31 of the document. Only personal information shown on this page (name, nationality, sex, place and date of birth and signature) is included on the chip .The applicants scanned photograph is the biometric element of the document. No other information is included on the chip.<<

and

>>The biometric travel document contains the holders details on a tamper proof biometric chip. All United Kingdom immigration ports and European Union (EU) member states have the capability to read the data on the bio-chip.<<

Seemingly a biometric EU wide ID Cards for refugees and stateless people.

Anyone know more?

deep goat · **Posted:** Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:57:16 +0000

Spartacan wrote:

>>The biometric travel document has a new design and security features including a biometric chip. The chip contains the holder's details as shown on page 31 of the document. .<<

Hmm, lets see what page of my ePassport has a chip on it... 1, 2, 3... 31!!

Blimey, it's a passport! I wonder what pages 1 to 30 contain ?

Doctor_Wibble · **Joined:** Tue, 11 Apr 2006 13:02:46 +0000 **Posts:** 2850

First I was wondering what document they were talking about, thinking "document" as in "pages of stuff to read"...

BIA page wrote:

The chip contains the holder's details as shown on page 31 of the document.

But of course they meant "identity document". Or did they?

Quote:

From 17 March 2008 the certificate of identity will change its name to the certificate of travel.

Ah, so it's a *travel* document. (still hadn't twigged)

Then someone points at what should have been obvious

Quote:

Hmm, lets see what page of my ePassport has a chip on it... 1, 2, 3... 31!!
Blimey, it's a passport!

Right. So instead of "identity documents" they are issuing "travel documents" which bear a remarkable resemblance to passports (barring the colour) which may be used to prove identity. Is it possible that somewhere in pages 1-30 will be space for stamps?

This does seem to fit with the apparent desire to make ID and passports interchangeable (but only within europe of course).

If these new ones are effectively rebadged passports, what were the old ones like?

Guest · **Posted:** Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:34:55 +0000

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ukresi ... ventional/

Quote:

This page explains what a convention travel document is and who may apply for one. For other types of Home Office travel document, see Travel documents.
If we have given you permission to stay in the United Kingdom as a refugee, you can apply to us for what is know as a convention travel document. It is called this because it is provided in a way that is set out in part of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
We will give you this travel document unless we believe there are extremely good reasons to refuse, such as to protect national security. You will need to be legally resident in the United Kingdom and be able to prove your refugee status here. You can do this by producing a letter or document that we have sent you that has one of the following official reference numbers printed on it:
ACD 0122;
ACD 2151;
ADL 1;
ASL 2167;
GEN 23;
GEN 22; or
ICD 0726.
You must have permission to stay here for at least six months from the date when you apply for a Home Office travel document. This is because other countries may not accept your travel document if you have less than six months' permission to return to the United Kingdom. If you have less than this, you must apply for an extension to your permission to stay before you apply for a travel document.
Unless the circumstances are exceptional, you cannot use a Home Office convention travel document to travel to your country of origin, or the country from which you sought asylum. It will normally be valid for travel to all other countries.
A convention travel document issued to an adult will be valid for 10 years if you have permission to stay in the United Kingdom permanently (we call this 'indefinite leave to remain'). If you have temporary permission to stay in the United Kingdom (we call this 'limited leave to remain'), your convention travel document will be valid for the same period as your permission to stay here, up to five years.
Children cannot be named on the travel document of their parent or guardian. A convention travel document issued to a child will be valid for five years if the child has permission to stay in the United Kingdom permanently (indefinite leave to remain). If the child has temporary permission to stay in the United Kingdom (limited leave to remain), the convention travel document will be valid for the same period as his/her permission to stay here, up to five years.
See Applying for details of how to make your application.
If you already have a convention travel document, it may say on page 30 that you do not need a visa for short visits to the Republic of Ireland, Iceland, or Luxembourg. This is no longer the case and you will always need a visa to visit these countries using a convention travel document.

Qjimbo · **Posted:** Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:01:43 +0000

I'm really hating this misuse of the word "biometric".

They are not biometric, they do not have fingerprints or iris scans.

Biometric verfication is when a specific distinguishing biological trait is used to identify someone.

It seems this is to desensitize people to real biometrics. "The ID Cards have my private biometric data!" "Oh, my passport already has biometrics anyway it's fine."

Guest · **Posted:** Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:16:35 +0000

Qjimbo wrote:

I'm really hating this misuse of the word "biometric".

They are not biometric, they do not have fingerprints or iris scans.

Biometric verfication is when a specific distinguishing biological trait is used to identify someone."

Yes, like a face!

Current epassports contain a 'parameterisation' of the holders face, which in theory can be used to match against the person presenting the passport. It's difficult to disguise the geometry of your face, even if you grow a beard, or shave one off.

NO2ID

The biometric travel document - Home Office announcement

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