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Showing posts from June 28, 2015

Bio - metrics : Machine v Man in an Airport Queue

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Arriving at Manchester Airport recently to re - enter England / United Kingdom of  Great Britain and Northern Ireland / European Union I was faced with the option  of  two queues for passport control  - EU or Non EU. My passport looks like this and so I do know that I am classed as EU (despite having 2 conversations in the streets in Istanbul about what type of money the British use. It seems that many non EU citizens can not believe that we do not use the Euro and wanted clarification that GBP is still in existence).  I had traveled within the EU using this newly issued passport, but not taken much notice of  the symbol of the bio metric facility on it.    ePassport gates are automated, where a passport reader and camera, rather than a border officer - in theory -  verifies your identity and checks your ‘chipped’ passport. To use the ePassport gates, you must have a ‘chipped’ biometric UK, EU, EEA or Swiss passport.  These ePassports have the biometric logo on the front cover.