Finland confirms biometric passport start date

The Finnish government has confirmed that it will start to introduce biometric passports from 21 August 2006, meeting EU and US deadlines for their introduction. The government also confirmed that the document’s validity will be for five years only.

The microchip, which SDW understands will be supplied by Philips, will be embedded within the passport’s polycarbonate data page. The contract was awarded to a 50-50 joint venture between Suomen PA Segenmark Oy and Sdu Identification BV, following a challenge by the country’s current passport producer Setec.

Finnish citizens are able to apply for their e-passport at any police service point or Finnish mission abroad. The government said the passport fee will not rise significantly.

Facial images must be included on EU Member State passports by 28 August 2006. Technical specifications for including fingerprints, while imminent, have not yet been adopted. Thus, fingerprints will not probably be introduced until early 2009.