E-passport from July 1: Home minister

The government will start distribution of electronic passport (e-passport) with 10 years’ validity from July 1 this year to ease the immigration process, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said today.

“We are working with a German firm to prepare the passport. Preparations to start e-passport distribution are almost complete. We hope we will be able to start it from July 1,” he said.

The minister was talking to reporters after an Iftar party of the Department of Immigration & Passports at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).

Replying to a query whether there is any scope to gain information from the e-passport illegally, the minister said the allegation of stealing information from the e-passport is irrelevant.

In July 2018, the government signed an agreement with German firm Veridos GmbH to promote Bangladesh into the e-passport era, which was expected to begin in December the same year.    

Last June, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved a project to introduce e-passports, which many countries of the world are using nowadays.