Focus Writing English: E-passport

E-passport

Bangladesh has entered the e-passport era. Bangladesh is the first country in South Asia and the 119th in the world to officially launch e-passport. Although the program was supposed to start in July 2019, after several delays, Mujib year finally announced the inauguration of the e-passport program on 22 January 2020 as one of the new additions to the year 2020.

What is an e-passport?
At present, e-passport books will be the same as MRP or machine readable passports. However, the e-passport will not have the first two pages containing the information in the passport book. There would rather be a card and antenna made of polymer. There will be a chip inside the card, where all the information of the passport holder will be stored. The database will have three types of passport holder photos, 10 fingerprints and Irish of eyes. As a result, the authorities of any country can easily know all the information about the traveler.

Difference between MRP and e-passport:

The difference between a machine readable passport (MRP) and an electronic passport (e-passport) can be compared to a cheque book and ATM cards. A customer cannot withdraw money by using cheque book alone. This requires the seal, signature, etc. of more than one officer concerned. But by using ATM card, the customer can withdraw his money without any hassle. Similarly, in MRP passport, the immigration officials check the information and seal the passport. But you can complete the immigration automatically through the e-passport holder. However, in the next step, the immigration officials will give the arrival or departure seal in the passport.

What are the benefits of e-passport?
The biggest advantage of e-passport is that travelers can travel using e-gate very quickly and easily. As a result, they do not have to stand in line for their visa checks at various airports. This will quickly become their immigration. If you leave your passport at the specified place of the e-gate, the camera will take pictures. There will also be fingerprint verification system. If all goes well, he will be able to pass immigration. However, if there is any discrepancy, the red light will come on. If there is a travel banned against someone, it will be known immediately. The PKD is operated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As a result, the air and land port authorities, including Interpol, can verify this information. It is not easy to forge such a passport as there are 36 security features here.

Expiry of e-passport, time of distribution and fees:
The government is currently considering issuing passports for a period of five and ten years. This validity of the passport will be determined by age. There are four types of e-passports based on validity and time. The time and fees for distribution are given in the table below –

Types: 48 pages (05 years)

                        21 days- Tk. 4025

                        10 days- Tk. 6325

                        02 days- Tk. 8625    

Types: 48 pages (10 years)

                        21 days- Tk. 5750

                        10 days- Tk. 8050

                        02 days- Tk. 10350  

Types: 64 pages (05 years)

                        21 days- Tk. 6325

                        10 days- Tk. 8625

                        02 days- Tk. 12075     

Types: 64 pages (10 years)

                        21 days- Tk. 8050

                        10 days- Tk. 10350

                        02 days- Tk. 13800  

 Note: 21 days (general), 07 days (urgent), 02 (very urgent)

How to get it?
The e-passport application can be filled online or by downloading the PDF format. There is no need to attest any photo and any kind of documents. Copies of National Identity Card (NID) for adults and NID of parents along with birth registration certificate for minors have been made mandatory. 10 fingerprints, pictures and Irish features of the eyes will be taken while accepting the application form. Police verification will also be required in case of e-passport. In case of emergency, pre-police verification has to be done on one's own initiative to get an epassport.

Do I have to take visa in e-passport too?
The visa issue will remain the same in the case of e-passport as in the conventional system. In other words, according to the rules of different countries, you have to take the visa directly or online by fulfilling the visa requirements. Visa authorities or embassies will be able to verify the applicant's information using this PKD. They will then be able to affix, seal or cancel visa stickers on the pages of the book.

Will MRP passport be canceled?
Officials say the current e-passport as well as the conventional MRP passport system will remain in place. However, no new MRP passport will be issued to anyone. Currently, MRP passport holders will also be given an e-passport when they go to renew. Thus, all MRP passports will be revoked in phases.The e-passport agreement with Bangladesh was signed on 19 July 2018 with the German company Veridos. Egypt first introduced e-passport in 2007. Bangladesh launched e-passport as the 119th country in 2020.