e-Passport has finally arrived in the Philippines

UPDATE:

For those who had made their on-line appointments for the ePassport, make sure you check your spam folder for your appointments as sometimes some e-mail systems can label them as spam.

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What's next for ePassports?

Samsung is developing an AMOLED or active matrix organic light-emitting diode featuring a small recorded 3D video clip of the applicant's face for greater security.  Could have they gotten the inspiration from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series?   Whether OLED will be adapted for ePassports or not in the near future, OLED is already here from TVs, cellphones, other ID systems and many more possible applications.

E-passport Myth-Busters

As usual, a lot of rumors and myths has been roaming around the e-passport.  What's disappointing is local blogs, specially tech-related blogs are sometimes the source of these inaccurate information. What's more disappointing than this?  They don't bother or even have the sense of responsibility to correct themselves even after a few bloggers or commentators would try to politely correct them. 

Rumor/Myth #1:

One common false info is that e-passports uses RFID 

No, they don't.  They use contactless smart chips and contactless smart chips are different from the regular RFID tags.  The only thing common to them is that what made these smart chips "contactless" is that they are read using Radio-Frequency (RF).  Not just because they use RF, means they are RFIDs.  Your cellphones, uses RF.  Bluetooth is RF as well. 

Anyone who had visited Hong Kong and I'm sure most Filipinos and especially nurses have,  you are probably aware of the Octopus card and that uses contactless smart chips.  They are not RFID chips.  And the contactless smart chips used in e-passports (biometric passports) are a lot more secure than HK's Octopus card.

Contactless smart chips also have a very, very short range.  They needed to be placed in front of a scanner or reader not more than 3-4 inches.  Plus, those used in e-passports have extra protection in that an immigration officer needs to input a code first embedded on the machine-readable zone of the e-passport and retrieve it before he can even see the contents stored in the contactless smart chips.

There are more extra protection added as well for e-passports which I'll just give a link for further reading.

Simple RFID tags usually have a range of a radius of 10-20 meters and is always "on".  10 meters = 33 feet.  The now infamous simple RFID tags that the LTO wants to be placed in all windshields of cars has a range of 10-20 meters (33-66 feet) radius and is not encrypted and is always "on".

Credit cards and ATM/debit cards also do not use RFIDs and it will never use that technology because it is unsafe.  The Mastercard PayPass and the Visa payWave uses contacless smart chip technology.  The regular credit cards and ATM/credit cards uses the tried and tested magnetic stripe technology (the black or silver stripe at the back of those cards).

Rumor/Myth #2:

The e-passport and the machine-readable passport are the same

This is a BIG, no. They are two very different things.  Unfortunately, it is also a common mistake.  The first e-passport was issued to President Arroyo on Aug. 11, 2009.  Kindly refer to the youtube video on the first post.  Anyone who said they have an e-passport when they applied for it abroad is confused between the MRP and the e-passport.  In fact, on-line appointments for the general public for the e-passport has only started last Aug. 26 and unless you are a politician, diplomat, or thinks one who is important, schedules for in-person digital picture taking and digital finger print scanning only started around mid-Sept. (+/- few days) and the e-passports have only started being released around the last few days of Sept.  It is also ONLY initially available on DFA Manila (Pasay City).  So, anyone who said they have applied for it in a Regional DFA office is also confused between the MRP and the e-passport. 

DFA has yet to announce on when will they make e-passport application available nationwide and in Philippine embassies and consulates abroad.

Supposedly, base on DFA's earlier press releases, it would be available by Oct. but there is no word yet as of this writing.  Other press releases said that full implementation will be available only after 90 days w/c means it would be sometime on the month of November.  I would not be surprised if full-implementation will start as late as December.

Rumor/Myth #3:

All Philippine passports needs to be e-passports by April 1, 2010

Among all rumors, this has some hint of basis.  The April 1, 2010 date is correct but it is not for e-passports.  The April 1, 2010 deadline set-forth by ICAO is the compromise deadline for all member countries to be able to issue at least a machine-readable passport.  All issued passports on or after April 1, 2010 should be MRPs at the very least.  E-passports, better.
 
Both passports are Maroon-colored and are not brown as some local bloggers thinks it is.  

All green passports or non-machine readable passports are still valid until expiry.  However, it is expected that if traveling to another country and one is still using the non-machine readable passport one can expect extra scrutiny more than usual and inconvenience.  Also, note that the immigration officers at the port of entry has the prerogative not to let someone pass through if one still holds the green/non-machine readable passport on or after April 1, 2010.   Remember, it is only the DFA that is saying that the green passports are still valid until expiry and they are only saying that so that they don't get accused of forcing people to renew to the MRP or to the new e-passport.  They also commented to the fact that they cannot guarantee entry to a foreign country if one is still using the green passport on or after April 1, 2010 and they have been strongly encouraging everyone to get machine-readable passports so they are not misleading people either. 

So, if you still have the green passports, might as well renew to the MRP or better yet the e-passport even if it will not expire by April 1, 2010 just to be safe.  The MRP, in particular, is only P500 and so there should be no problems for getting at least an MRP.

Given the choice, I recommend just going straight for the e-passport.  Sooner or later, the MRP will probably be phased out as well and I'm pretty sure processing at ports of entry are going to be faster for e-passport holders compared to MRPs.

*Recommended for further reading:
http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/publications-epassport-faq
http://www.justaskgemalto.com/en/traveling/tips/what-are-differences-between-contactless-smart-cards-and-rfid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric_passport
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_smart_card
http://www.icao.int/Hyperdocs/display.cfm?V=2&name=C-WP%2F12428&Lang=E
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Civil_Aviation_Organisation

General Guidelines on the Proper Maintenance of E-Passports

This is taken from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand but their advice should be good for almost all E-passport holders as a general guide for proper maintenance

Advice on Your e-Passport  Maintenance

1. Do not make any marks, changes or amendments on the visa pages of your e-Passport.
2. Do not peel, cut, append, punch holes or perform any other acts that would damage the cover of your e-Passport.
3. Do not cut, bend, twist or perform any other acts that would crumple your e-Passport or change its shape.
4. Do not keep your e-Passport near a magnetic field, an area with high electrical voltage, or an area with high radio frequency such as near cellular phones, televisions, or microwaves.
5. Avoid placing a heavy object on top of your e-Passport.
6. Keep your e-Passport in a cool, dry place.
7. Avoid placing your e-Passport near objects that are higher than 50 degree Celsius in temperature, in direct sunlight for long periods of time, or in a place with high humidity. Do not allow your e-Passport near water or any places which contain chemicals or dust.