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The government will formally introduce electronic passport (e-passport) on November 28 this year, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday.
While briefing reporters at his office on his recent Europe tour, the Foreign Minister said the relevant authorities have confirmed the date, reports UNB.
Dr Momen said the difficulties of Bangladeshi expatriates in renewing their passports will be over as such e-passports will have a validity period of 10 years.
An e-passport will include a chip, which will hold the same information that is printed on the passport’s data page: the holder’s name, date of birth, and other biographic information.
In some countries, including Germany, e-passports include two fingerprints as well.
The Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) was supposed to begin distribution of digital passports, also known as e-Passports, from July last to ease immigration.
Bangladesh and Germany signed an agreement on July 19 last year following Dhaka's decision to issue electronic passports alongside the machine readable ones.
Implementation of the project - Introduction of e-Passport and Automated Border Control Management in Bangladesh - started in July 2018.