Dominica ‘on the threshold’ of issuing electronic passports

Plans for electronic driving licenses are also being looked at

Thursday, 3rd August 2017

The Prime Minister of Dominica has revealed that the time when Dominicans will be able to travel with electronic passports is on the horizon.

The passports will contain the biological data of the holder.

Roosevelt Skerrit, who is also minister for finance, made the disclosure while responding to questions raised by the opposition concerning identity information requested when entering the United States.

He revealed that the government is on the “threshold” of signing the agreement with a firm from the European Union to begin, by the first quarter of 2018, issuing electronic passports.

The prime minister noted that the only reason that this agreement has not yet been signed is because of a pre-existing agreement with regard to passports and an escape clause had to be looked at.

“We have taken the decision to proceed with the issuance of electronic passports in Dominica. As a matter of fact the country has come to the cabinet,” he said on Kairi PM’s Next Level programme over the weekend.

“The only reason why we have not signed the agreement with this international firm is because we had an existing agreement for the machine passports that [was] not affirmed. So we had to go through this legal contract to look at the escape clause.”

Easier entry

Skerrit said that the new measure will enhance passport security as every passport will have a microchip with all of the holder’s biological data.

This will mean that when traveller enter the US from early next year they will no longer need to have their picture taken or any fingerprints done.

“Your passport would have that information. All information about you that is personal to you, it enhances the security of our passports and that presentation was done by a firm from the European Union,” he said.

“We negotiated the agreement, it has been reviewed by the Electoral Office, approved by the cabinet and we are just on the threshold of signing the agreement,” he said.

Electronic driver’s licenses are also in the cards, according to the prime minister.

“The intention is for you to have your bio data on your driver’s license. So if you are using [it] to travel, you also have the same data on it. We also will be improving the security features at the gate of naturalisation.

“So the US is asking us whether we have electronic passports, we say no but we explain to them that we are on the threshold of signing.”