ePassport : Java Glossary

Countries implementing digital passports include: Belgium, Canada, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Sudan, Sweden, Tajikistan, USA… More than 95 countries have implemented ePassports.

Canada’s ePassport looks like a a traditional book passport, except for a small ePassport logo on the front. It has a chip embedded in it. It is valid for either five or ten years. Why make it look like a book? So that countries without up-to-date electronic scanners can still process them as if they were the old non-electronic style.

The USA has both ePassport books and cards (that look like ID cards or garish credit cards). The cards do not permit international air travel, which is strange given cards have higher security.