The Age of Passports is Over
Published at: 17/01/2024 11:08 am
Facial recognition instead of passports is the present technological development to identify travellers. The end-to-end use of biometrics allows foreigners to enter and leave countries without using their travel documents.
Singapore and the UK are among the first countries to recognise the importance of secure, passport-free travel. If the passengers do not have to show their passports, all processes become significantly faster during the checks at the borders, airports, ports, bus stations, trains, etc.
How will facial recognition take over the passports?
If you wish to travel, all developed countries require you to pre-register before travelling. With pre-registration, reaching the US, the European Union, Canada, Australia and many other countries is possible. However, the need to register for these applications, like the American ETA or the European ETIAS, can prevent you from reaching your travel destination. On the other hand, Kenya in Africa abolished all visa requirements for the citizens of any country in the world. However, the Kenyan migration authorities must still identify the passengers wishing to enter the country.
During these pre-applications for your entry, you must disclose your personal details, photos, and documents. As a result, the authorities can decide if they grant you access before entrance. And if they approve your travel, the only issue to resolve upon your arrival is identifying yourself. So they can know that the same person who previously pre-registered online entered the country.
The first trials and tests of passport-free travel have already started in 2024. Moreover, the United Kingdom's Border Force has already announced that they intend to expand the eGate system to allow travellers other than EU and UK citizens to enter.
The new systems also allow tracking the people to spend precisely how many days in the country, and they can only overstay without noticing it. Facial recognition will significantly reduce staff and waiting times at the different borders. However, digital security experts have already expressed their concerns as criminals can also use these new technologies, or passport fraud can cause lifetime problems for a victim.
Passports will only vanish slowly. However, developed countries can save money and time without travel documents, using only the people's biometrics. And don't forget, it was the UK who ended the passport-free travel for all of us because they were afraid of the German spies during the First World War. It may be their task to get rid of the travel documents now.
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