On Monday, the Commonwealth of Dominica launched a new e-passport. According to the government, it will protect owners from identity theft and will become an important component of the border management system. The new e-passport book was developed by the Canadian Bank Note (CBN) corporation.

Dominica’s biometric passport will store the holder’s personal information on a microchip, namely: passport holder data, fingerprints and iris. These passports can be used with electronic gates that have become part of the Dominican border renewal project. Holders of such passports will be able to pass border checkpoints faster.

“Electronic passports should make the immigration checkpoint process much faster and would allow immigration officers to quickly authenticate travels, first providing protection against identity theft and fraud,” Tourism Minister Denise Charles said at the presentation.

The minister also said the new venture will improve links with the CARICOM Joint Regional Communications Center (CJRRCC) as well as the International Police (Interpol).

Biometric passports can also be obtained by those who obtain Dominica citizenship through the Citizenship by Investment Program.

Find out more about Dominica Citizenship by Investment program

A foreign investor can make investments in the National Economy Diversification Fund or government-approved real estate.

After successfully passing the due diligence check, the investor receives citizenship and a passport, with which (s)he can travel to more than 140 countries without visas.

Source: finance.yahoo