Canadian Passports going to ePassports by 2012 with 10 year renewal.

THE issuance of ePassports is on track for 2012 and will likely begin before the end of next year, according to Passport Canada. The exact timelines will be announced at a later date. This higher-security passport will have an embedded electronic chip – an extra security feature that will enhance the Canadian passport’s current security features, which include holographic images and a hidden photo of the bearer that can only be viewed under ultraviolet light.
The electronic chip will increase security, provide greater protection against tampering and reduce the risk of fraud as it adds more layers of identity checks within the passport, all of which must match. It also contains a country-specific signature that proves the passport was issued by the Government of Canada.

The chip will be a proximity contactless chip that must be held within 10cm of the reader in order to be read. Border authorities equipped with ePassport readers will insert the passport into a scanner, which will read the machine-readable zone, thereby opening the chip so that it can be read. Border authorities not equipped with ePassport readers will continue to examine travellers’ passports as they do now.

The ePassport validity will change to 10 years for adults. The validity period for children’s passports will not change when the ePassport is implemented. ePassports for children under three years of age will be valid for three years and for children aged three to 15 will be for five years.

To read more on the ePassport go to http://www.ppt.gc.ca .