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Integrated circuit cards to replace visas on paper

Paper-based alien resident certificates (ARCs), permanent resident cards, Taiwan area resident cards and multiple-entry permits will all become things of the past as the format is phased out in favor of an electronic card that stores visa details and other immigration-related information on an integrated circuit chip, the National Immigration Agency said.

One high-tech card will replace all of the above cards or permits beginning in July, a release from the agency said.

Foreigners approved for entry or residency beginning in July will receive the new card instead of the old paper-based documents, while foreigners who already have such documents must trade them in for the new card beginning in January next year, the release said.

The introduction of the new card, the release added, was necessary to facilitate the digitalization of information pertaining to foreigners, such as databases containing facial and fingerprint scans.

The agency has said that it will begin biometrically scanning the eyes of incoming Chinese visitors at airports and other ports of entry nationwide by the end of this year, followed by iris scans of all incoming foreigners sometime next year.

The introduction of the new card will not only streamline visa and immigration-related operations, but will bring the nation in line with international counterterrorism and anti-counterfeiting measures, it said.

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