E-passports by end of year

Microchips holding a person's digital photograph and personal information will be embedded in passports by the end of the year.

The new e-passports will use face-scanning technologies, but will not yet hold sensitive and more invasive information from iris or finger scans, or DNA profiles.

New Zealand will become one of the first countries in the world to use e-passports, following Australia, which launched its version of the new travel document this week.

Some New Zealanders have already been issued with the microchip-carrying passport as trials are conducted on the technology in the United States.

Work on developing passports that contain biometric details has been under way internationally for some years, stepping up amid security fears following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, and in NZ after suspected Israeli spies were caught last year trying to get NZ passports.

Passports manager David Philp told the Weekend Herald the chips would carry the biographical data already contained in passports, and a digitised version of the photo.

It would be read at border control points by a scanner.

"It essentially creates a sophisticated security for the passport," Mr Philp said.

Trials are also under way to use kiosks where a face-scan will check identity so a person can be cleared through border controls. These are also being introduced in Australia.

Mr Philp said once the data was written on a microchip, it would be sealed so no other material could be added.

He said Internal Affairs did not believe extra data was needed for identity checks, and was not considering other biometric tests.

"We're satisfied that face-matching is sufficient.

"At this stage we've got no plans to add any other data."

However, it is unlikely more invasive data could be introduced without public debate, and possibly legislative changes allowing the holding of extra information.

Britain's passport office is planning to use face-scanning e-passports from next year, but says it will consider a second biometric test, although it has not specified what it will be.

Internationally, biometric tests are already in place for some travellers. The United States requires visitors to supply fingerprint and iris scan data.

Laws have already changed this year to halve the lifetime of a New Zealand passport to five years, partly to cut down on identity fraud.

People with existing passports will not need to get a new one.

It is not known if the $71 cost of a passport will rise once the new technology, which has cost $2 million, is introduced.

In the last financial year more than 400,000 applications for passports and travel documents were processed.

Identity documents

* E-passports are being introduced worldwide to thwart identity fraud.

* Face-scanning allows features to be digitally measured, providing a more stringent identity check than looking at a photograph.

* The biometric data will be checked at face-scanning kiosks.

* The United States wants all visitors without visas to use e-passports within a year.

* Some countries - not New Zealand - may also use iris scans and fingerprinting.