Passports embedded with chips containing personal information are expected to begin replacing old passports next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee yesterday reviewed an amendment to the Passport Statute (護照條例) and reached consensus on several of the articles.
Lawmakers from the governing and opposition parties overwhelmingly agreed on the need to facilitate the issuance of the "chip passports" or "e-passports," as they are sometimes known.
Speedy passage
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), the chair of the committee, said the new chip passports would speed passage through immigration, adding that individual information would also be properly protected.
The ministry has set aside NT$146.7 million (US$4.4 million) for the manufacture of the new passports and about NT$5.3 million for purchase of chip reading equipment.
"The application fee for the new passports will be the same," Hsu said.
Hsu also said that the chips, embedded in the cover of the new passports, would not contain, bio data such as an individuals fingerprints or iris scans. Only the passport holders' photo would be included, he said.
"The information contained in the chip passports would not go beyond what is found in existing ones. The chips will only serve as a means to digitize personal information," Hsu said.
Ministry ready
Ministry Spokesman David Wang (
The committee, however, failed to reach a consensus on other amendments, including whether the travel documents used by the president, vice president and their spouses should "belong to the diplomatic passports category," as well as who is qualified to hold diplomatic passports and whether each person can only have one passport.
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