News
Separate passports for children also from tomorrow
View(s):Children under the age of 16 from tomorrow will be required to have a separate passport instead of including their names in the parents’ passports, a senior official said. Public Order Ministry Secretary T.M.K.B. Tennakoon told the Sunday Times that the purpose of issuing passports for children was to include the details into the data base.
“There are difficulties in tracing children under the current system when the details are included in the parents’ passports,” he said. The measure comes into effect with the inclusion of biometric information in new passports to be issued from tomorrow.
Mr. Tennakoon said prints of all fingers would now be included in the passport to prevent anyone from obtaining more than one passport.
He said biometric information would be included in the passports of those above 16. He said the photographs to be used in the passports would have to meet international standards and only selected studios would be given permission to take these photographs. The new passport would also help in the control of crime as it would be easier to detect people leaving and entering the country.
The Australian government has provided financial and technical assistance for the biometric passport project.