WHATSAPPThe Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently published a public opinion research that gauged the view of the Canadian citizens on the “passport of the future”. The study was held through 15 focus groups and the participants were asked what sort of Canadian passport they would be most interested in using.
This new research suggests that IRCC is considering whether Canadians prefer renewing their passport via a mobile application. They also wanted to know Canadians’ attitude towards the idea of using virtual or mobile passports. While the participants expressed enthusiasm in the application of new technology in Canadian passport, they were worried about the chances for misuse.
Some may think that the fear of technology of the elder citizens might be the reason for this response. But surprisingly, the most of those who expressed apprehensions about the virtual passport were millenials, along persons above the age of 58.They fear if they would have to compromise on security and privacy for the sake of convenience.
Mobile passports are gaining popularity in the United States. The mobile app called Mobile Passport is being used in 25 US airports. Personal data of the passport holders are encrypted and stored by the Customs and Border Protection. The users can show the bar code associated with their Mobile Passport account to a border agent once they land at the airport. The agent scans the bar code and allows them to proceed.
Canada is currently using ePassport. The ePassport has an electronic chip in the back cover that holds personal information of the holder. Countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and France have similar passports.
It is not yet known if the IRCC is planning to introduce mobile passports or continue to use the existing model of Canadian passport.
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