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Passports: European Union
built 630 days ago
Passports issued by European Union member states bear all of the official languages of the European Union. These are not printed in each location.... A number of languages (2 or 3) will be printed in the relevant point, followed by a number, which is used as a reference for a page on the passport dedicated to translations into all the remaining languages.
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Rules requiring Irish citizens to carry high-tech passports when visiting the US are to be dropped because the technology behind the scheme is seen as unreliable. The US Department of Homeland Security had previously set an October 2005 deadline for the inclusion of biometric information chips in the passports of European citizens who avail themselves of the Visa Waiver programme. This programme allows people to make short-term visits to the US without a visa. The chips would have included a variety of biological information about the passport holder, such as their fingerprints and retina scans.
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For decades thereafter, passports were issued not only by the Department of State but ... by states and cities, and by notaries public. Passports issued by American authorities other than the Department of State breached propriety and caused confusion abroad. Some European countries refused to recognize passports not issued by the Department of State, unless United States consular officials endorsed them. The problems led the Congress in 1856 to give to the Department of State sole authority to issue passports.[6]
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IRELAND has shelved plans to introduce biometric chips to passports amid expectations that America will relax demands for their introduction. The US Department of Homeland Security wanted the chips installed by October in passports of European citizens who can travel to America for short-term visits without a visa. Biometric chips are capable of holding various biographical information on people such as their finger prints, facial dimensions, and even scans of their irises.
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Peterson predicts passport headaches will continue for the next year or two, as passports become routine for Americans. So many Americans drive across borders for recreation or medical reasons and, eventually, everyone will need a passport. “It’s coming. One day, all Americans will have a passport, just like Europeans do,” she said.
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