Peru to introduce new e-passport this year

Peruvian migration officials have announced that the country will introduce electronic passports this year, as part of efforts to increase security and streamline current immigration controls in Peru.

Edgar Reymundo, head of the National Migration Agency, said the new e-passports would have a chip that stores personal information, including fingerprint scans and a digital signature.

Foreign resident registration cards (Carnet de Extranjería) will also include the new chip, , Peruthisweek.com reported him saying.

“With this device, which offers maximum safety in identification, both documents will no longer be vulnerable to forgery attempts,” he said.

Although Reymundo did not mention how much the new passport and resident registration card would cost, he said the agency would try to offer them at prices that are similar to the current ones.

Peru currently issues some 500,000 passports every year, Reymundo said. Peruvians accounted for 6 million of the 12.6 million people that arrived and departed from Peru in 2012.

(END) INT/EEP

Published: 4/3/2013