Australia use technology innovatively to make passport-less travel possible

 

                        TRAVELLING WITHOUT PASSPORT – LEGALLY !

 Imagine travelling without a passport internationally in a legal way! Yes, in reality, Australia is intending to make a trial of having Australians going passport-less when travelling internationally. Australia is the first country in the world to implement this idea.

The idea is to be made feasible by means of virtual passports or ‘cloud passports’ that are expected to allow Australians to breeze through international airports without having to deal with the bothersome enquiries of immigration officials about their traditional passports.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced earlier this week that the idea of ‘passport-less’ travel appeared acceptable by a number of international leaders. The idea, which is a part of the Australia’s InnovationXchange project, would make use of a 'cloud passport' that would function by storing the identity and biometric data of holders online so it could be checked digitally, thus eliminating the need to carry a physical copy.

One obvious benefit would mean Australians no longer would need to worry about losing or having their passports stolen. Statistics from the department of foreign affairs and trade (DFAT) show 38,718 Australian passports were reported lost or stolen in 2014-15.

The idea of document-free travel emerged from the InnovationXchange project. The project encourages DFAT employees to contribute creative ideas using their experience and expertise on the job. The $140 million InnovationXchange project was launched in May in collaboration with American publisher and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Ms Bishop said the ideas emerging from the projects were 'innovative, challenged the status quo and had the potential to transform the way we do business globally.

Australia implemented 'e-passports' in 2005, which feature an embedded chip storing travellers digitised photograph, name, gender, date of birth, nationality, passport number, and the passport expiry date.

Ms Bishop is confident the Australian initiative of cloud passports ‘will go global’. The initial trial for document-free travel is expected to be for travel between Australia and New Zealand.

Source: Migration Alliance, Australia dated 29 October 2015

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