Motorola is supplying the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Police Computing and Material Service with biometric enrolment kiosks and divided models.

The Motorola Bio-Enrol Stations will enable Norway’s multiple public agencies to digitally capture and store biometric data for passports, visas and other official identity documents. Around 500,000 applications for Norwegian passports are made every year, and over 150,000 visas applications.

The implementation of the Motorola Bio-Enrol Stations began in September 2008 and be completed in June 2009. The kiosks will help Norway meet the requirements of the Schengen agreement and the European Union Visa Information System, and are capable of capturing fingerprints, facial images and signatures. All captured biometric data is ICAO compliant.

The Motorola Bio-Enrol Kiosks and software interface with Norway’s current visa and passport systems to seamlessly integrate biometric travel documents with existing processes and infrastructure. Norway is one of the first countries in Europe to validate travel documentation, plus an individual’s identity, using biometric data, via integrated national systems.

The contract follows a successful pilot scheme involving 21 Motorola Bio-Enrol Kiosks, 11 were used in Norway with a further 10 kiosks spread across five embassies in Cairo, Kiev, London, Nairobi, and Stockholm.

The use of biometrics helps ensure the validity of passports and visas, and the identity of those who carry them. It also makes it more difficult to use a lost or stolen passport or visa. Improved authenticity of travel documents helps to streamline the cost of processing passport and visa applications by reducing fraudulent applications.

Satinder /ITvoir Network