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Passports: Countries
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Despite concerns over the security of the new e-passports, the US and other countries are forging ahead with their issuance. And SMARTRAC has gained from that, with an order from Infineon Technologies for millions of RFID contactless inlays. The inlays will supply 70 of 95 e-passport projects. SMARTRAC has opened a fourth factory in Thailand to handle the demand. The US project alone could mean 13-18M inlays per year for SMARTRAC. Said CFO Dr. Christian Fischer
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Passports usually contain the holder's photograph, signature, date of birth, nationality, and sometimes other means of individual identification. Many countries are in the process of developing biometric properties for their passports in order to further confirm that the person presenting the passport is the legitimate holder.
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Officials in Europe expect the United States to ease its requirement that all 27 visa-waiver countries begin issuing biometric passports by Oct. 26. Only six of the 27 European Union countries and other allies that currently enjoy visa-free travel to the United States are expected to meet the deadline. But officials in the United Kingdom believe a compromise with the United States is imminent to avoid “a serious disruption in trans-Atlantic travel,” according to a June 9 report in the Financial Times of London.
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The member states of the European Union are perhaps the best-known countries to have a common format for their passports. European Union (EU) member state passports have standardised layouts and designs, although the photo page can be at the front or in the back of the booklet and small differences in design indicate which member state is the issuer. Ordinary EU member state passports are burgundy-red, with the words "European Union" written in the national language or languages (e.g. Dutch, French, Finnish, Maltese) on the front, below which is the official name of the country, the national seal, and the word for "passport", in the respective language(s), can be found at the bottom. The European Union passport is a result of consensus, of recommendation rather than directive.[8] It is the underlying nationality, not the passport itself, that yields Community rights.
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The International Civil Aviation Organization now recommends that all countries adopt electronic passports that cannot be forged or altered to help prevent the spread of international crime and terrorist acts. Starting in Europe, at least thirty-five countries have already adopted electronic passports with embedded integrated circuits. The US Congress has passed legislation stating that all countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program with the United States must now issue electronic passports and the Korean government will ... implement an e-passport system in 2008.
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The number of Americans applying for passports has increased dramatically since Congress passed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, an anti-terrorism measure which requires that Americans have passports to re-enter the country when they travel by air from Mexico or Canada. People may still travel to those countries by car or cruise ship without a passport, but in 2008 that will change, too, according to local travel agent Jeanie Peterson of AAA Travel.
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