Lebanon began issuing biometric passports on 1 August 2016.
Let's take a closer look.
The new Lebanese passport
The new Lebanese ePassport incorporates additional visual security features and electronic layers, ensuring it adheres to the highest ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and ISO (International Standard Organization) standards and protects against fraud and counterfeiting.
Thales is proud to contribute to this new biometric passport program and is delivering its s ePassports and Issuance solution.
The highly secure document incorporates a microprocessor which embeds photographic and biometric data such as fingerprints to enable verification of the holder's identity.
The solution is also based on one of the fastest operating software systems on the market, ensuring the rapid processing of Lebanese passport holders at border controls.
The new biometric enrollment process includes the capture of ten fingerprints and iris.
Members of parliament received biometric passports between at the end of 2017.
International recognition for freedom of movement
The completion of the biometric passport project is particularly important for Lebanon, especially in terms of enhancing control and security against potential fraud.
It will also allow the Lebanese to benefit from the advanced technology features of this passport, which are supported by most other countries, making it more secure and easier for them to travel.
The new Lebanese passport will also facilitate visa and immigration processes, as it matches the specifications of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
In particular, the General Directorate of General Security is precisely defining the applicant's portrait constraints (lighting, pose, facial expression).
These follow the recommendations defined by the ISO/IEC 19794-5 standard, which also serves as a reference for the ICAO 9303 standard for passport photographs.
As of July 2019, Lebanese citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 39 sovereign countries.
New Lebanese passport design
The new ePassport cover features the cedar, the pride, and symbol of hope, freedom and shared history for the Lebanese people. The tree (Arabic: أرز الربّ Arz ar-Rabb "Cedar of the Lord") dates back to the extensive Lebanon cedar forests which thrived across Mount Lebanon in ancient times.
The latest design also features many Lebanese landmarks that are revealed under UV light.
These include:
- Beirut Forest,
- Beit Eddine Palace ( قصر بيت الدين ),
- and the history-laden Hasbaya Castle (حاصبيا).
The biblical city of Tyre also appears on pages six and seven of the booklet. Once an island, Alexander the Great joined it to the mainland with a causeway.
Tyre became a Roman province and later the capital of Rome's Syria-Phoenician province. A typical Roman hippodrome was built here, now the best preserved in the world. An east-west collonaded street, a huge triple-bay triumphal arch, and a water aqueduct also extended toward the sea from this area.
The new designs incorporate the latest in high-security printing technology, ensuring that the security of the document remains a top priority.
Get in touch with us
We are currently supporting more than 30 electronic passport programs around the world.
To better serve our clients, we have built a structured approach and mode of contribution to government programs, sharing international experience, industrial know-how and working as a partner to public authorities in numerous countries.
In particular, Thales has developed a comprehensive approach to passport security design that we believe can lead to superior results.
We'll be glad to support you as well.