Portuguese passport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portuguese passports are issued to citizens of Portugal for the purpose of international travel. However the bilhete de identidade (English: Identity Card) can serve as a travel document within the countries of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
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[edit] New electronic passport
As of August 28, 2006 the Portuguese government began issuing electronic passports (Portuguese: Passaporte Electrónico Português, commonly abbreviated as PEP) which in addition to containing enhanced security features also contain a contact-less microchip. The microchip includes all the biographic information printed in the passport as well as a digital version of the photograph suitable for use in digital facial recognition. While fingerprint information is obtained when applying for the passport, it is not included in the passport itself. European Union member states will be required to include fingerprint information in their passports by February 28, 2008.
The PEP meets ICAO standards for electronic passports, and contains the biometric passport symbol (a small eye-like image.) The PEP meets all the requirements for the United States Visa Waiver Program. The passport is valid for 5 years, and can not be renewed (when it expires a new application needs to be made.) Passports issued before the PEP are still valid as long as they have not passed their dates of expiry.
[edit] Appearance
The new electronic passport was designed by Henrique Cayatte. Its final form incorporated a set of thematic elements related to the Portuguese poets, Luís Vaz de Camões and Fernando Pessoa, in both its technical and aesthetic elements. Images were provided by the Portuguese painter Júlio Pomar.
[edit] Cover
The regular passport is a deep red color with golden print, and is written only in Portuguese. Following European Union Standards the passport bares the title União Europeia above the country name and the title of Passaporte. The passport contains images of the Portuguese Coat-of-arms and the circle of twelve golden stars from the flag of the EU.
Security features on the cover include: invisible ink printing which is visible under an ultraviolet light.
[edit] Biographic information page
The biographic information is the first page at the front of the passport. It includes the following information:
- Passport type
- Code of issuing State (PRT)
- Passport number
- Name (Surname and Given names)
- Nationality (Portuguesa)
- Height (in meters)
- Date of birth (DD.MM.YYYY)
- Personal identification number (from the individuals Bilhete de Identidade)
- Gender (M) or (F)
- Place of birth (City, Country)
- Date of issue(DD.MM.YYYY)
- Issuing authority
- Date of expiry (DD.MM.YYYY)
- Digital signature
Security features on this page include: a laser microperforated photograph of passport holder, a hologram only visible at certain angles, data is laser engraved with touch-sensitive embossing, paper is security paper coated with a polymeric material
[edit] Visa Pages
The passport has 32 pages (excluding the biographic information page), however only 28 are suitable for visas (the other 4 pages include the translation of the fields in the biographic page into all official languages of the EU)
Security features on the visa pages include: security paper with watermark (the Portuguese Coat-of-arms), passport number is perforated into the bottom of all pages.
[edit] Languages
Following European Union passport standards, the passport contains all official languages of the EU. The cover is only printed in Portuguese (translations are inside the first page.) The fields on the biographic page are printed in Portuguese, English, and French (in that order), with translations in the last three pages of the passport.
[edit] Application
All citizens of Portugal are entitled to a Portuguese passport. In Portugal, applications for a Portuguese passport need to be made in person to a Lojas do Cidadão (English: Civil Assistance Centers.) Overseas applications need to be made in person at a consular authority (i.e. embassy, consulate-general, or consulate.)
In order to apply for a passport, an individual needs to provide proof of citizenship (if over 10 years of age with a valid bilhete de identidade, if under 10 years of age with a current birth certificate.) Consular authorities may require other pieces of identification (i.e. expired passports) as required by local law. Currently no photograph is required, as digital photograph is taken at the time of the application.
[edit] References
- Some of the content of this article comes from the equivalent Portuguese-language wikipedia article (retrieved 29 November, 2006).
- http://www.pep.pt/ (Portuguese language) Official website of the Portuguese Electronic Passport.
