Electronic Passport – Why is there a rise in the use of an Electronic Passport?

QUESTION:   Why has there a rise in the use of electronic passports? How are they beneficial and how can they make my traveling easier?

 

ANSWER:    A very important benefit of the Electronic Passport is a traveler can experience easier and faster crossings at ports or borders. Inside of an Electronic Passport, there is a chip. The name of the chip is RFID. This chip has personal information about the owner of the passport.

What information is program on the RFID passport chip?

The same information found in a passport book is on the RFID chip. This information is in a digital form. On the passport book, the information is written or type inside the book. The information coded on the RFID chip is the holder’s name, date of birth, address and contact information. In addition, there is an emergency contact telephone number just in case one is needed.

The benefit of having an Electronic Passport is for you to have access to a “Ready Lane” at the airport. A Ready Lane allows for quick process through immigration and this lane often has very little delay time. Comparing this to a passport book holder, a passport book holder will spend more time on line in a airport. In addition, an Electronic Passport is more efficient in the way it secures information. This makes it very difficult to counterfeit. A passport book is more likely to get copy than the Electronic Passport. So, your information is safe on it.

Having this type of passport provides some benefits. But, it does not or will not replace a passport book. You should still get a passport book for traveling outside the country and just don’t assume an Electronic Passport can be use everywhere you want to go.