Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
What is an ePassport? The introduction of biometric features in travel is based on agreements within the EU – gradually all member states of the EU equip their passports with appropriate memory chips, on which fingerprints and other biometric features are stored.
The burgundy passports contain a memory chip on the inside of the lid, on which the personal data, the passport photo, and the fingerprints of the passport holder are stored. Such an “ePass” (electronic passport) can be recognized by the small, gold ICAO symbol in the lower area of the passport cover.
If you apply for a new passport, you must provide biometric passport photos that meet special requirements. For more information on passport photo requirements for ePassports, see the links below to find more:
Postal passport applications are no longer possible due to the requirement for fingerprint capture. Each applicant must personally go to the passport authority responsible for them (at their domestic place of residence or at the German diplomatic mission responsible for them). The fingerprints are taken and stored by placing both index fingers on a fingerprint reader and only take a few seconds.
All passports that were issued before November 1st, 2007, and therefore do not have stored fingerprints remain valid until their expiry date.
With the chip-based inclusion of biometric features in passports, an additional security element has been introduced that represents a necessary technical development of counterfeit security. Passport biometrics enables machine-based verification of the identity of the traveler at the border. The data stored on the chip should enable the border authorities to determine without a doubt whether the person who shows the passport is also the person for whom the passport was originally issued, even in the event of external changes. This makes traveling with wrong or foreign passport significantly more difficult.
Free Interrail ticket planned for young people
For three years now, activists have been asking for a free Interrail ticket for all young people. The goal is to promote intercultural exchange and make Europe more understandable. How could that be better than a train journey through 30 countries in Europe? That is why they named Free Interrail their project in 2015.
After it initially looked like last year that the EU Commission would finally bury Free Interrail, a little hope is now sprouting again.
The European Commission would like to issue the EU Travel Pass for the first time. With this, you can then travel by train across Europe for a month – if it weren’t for one of the decisive restrictions.
Citizenship is a mechanism of access to some rights in the territory of a State, but these rights differ drastically from one country to another. Citizenship in a country like Spain or Malta confers the right to a system of services, infrastructure, and education. Instead, citizenship in a poor country like Haiti or Mali means limited access to clean water or food, a deficit infrastructure in education and medical services.
