Biometrics for Australian visas

Australia, 2nd December: The Australian immigration department has revealed about introducing biometrics checks on the Australian immigration applicants for curbing fraud in Australian visas.

Under the biometric checks, all applicants for Australian visas will be required to go through fingerprint and facial recognition scans.

The $70 million biometrics program will be rolled out for all Australian visa applications submitted in Australia and in some selected locations abroad.

This was announced by Australian immigration minister Chris Bowen. Speaking about the scheme, Mr. Bowen said that biometrics is used as a handy tool for successfully managing immigration and visa processes and for bringing improvisations in identity management as well as to control incidents of fraud.

The biometrics scheme is aimed to ensure increased border security for the nation. Also, it’s vital for the integrity of immigration and visa programs as the fraudulent applications for visas and identity fraud is on the rise globally, added Mr. Bowen.

Hence, the need is to ensure that the toolbox of Australia is the best in the world for dealing with visa and identity fraud, asserted Bowen.

Several nations including Canada, the US, the UK and a few European nations are already pursuing the biometrics data scheme.

Although, the biometric scheme is being used is few Australian citizenship and Australian visa programs, however, its being rolled out in Australian cities and at the application centers for the UK visas in Yemen, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Beginning this month, a digital facial image and a fingerprint scan will be required to be submitted by all paper-visa applicants in the above named nations irrespective of their nationality.

By the year 2011, the biometrics scheme is likely to move to centers in Africa, Middle East, Europe and Asia.

Earlier, biometrics information was collected in Melbourne and Sydney on a voluntary basis.

The biometrics scheme will exclude online applicants but will be applicable to those submitting applications for Australian visas on paper for protection visas and visas overseas in Australia.

Under the biometrics program, collection of data is done through an instant and non-intrusive way by capturing a digital image of the applicant’s face and a fingerprint scan of 10 digits through a fingerprint scanner.