(Taipei, 22 May 2006) One of the UK’s most important counter-fraud initiatives, the biometric passport (ePassport), will be introduced in new British passports from the 24th of May. The British Consulate-General in Hong Kong is the issuing authority for all passport applications made at the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei.

The biometric passport is an important counter-fraud imitative. It is part of a series of new procedures and systems introduced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Identity and Passport Service over the past two years to prevent identity fraud.

Identity fraud costs the UK £1.7 billion a year, according to recent estimates. Previously when passports had been lots or stolen they were often used to impersonate another person’s identity by substituting the photograph. In future, this will be far more difficult because any changes to the photograph or personal details in a biometric passport will be easier to detect.

The new security features will enable bona fide travellers to confirm their identity to immigration officials more easily and in the future will also make automatic border controls possible.

All new British passports issued at the British Consulate-General Hong Kong from 24 May will include facial recognition data taken from the passport holders’ photograph, as well as information about the signature and other personal details. The data is encrypted in a computer chip inside the passport.

These new security features will be included in all new British passports, including British National (Overseas) and British (Overseas) Citizen passports. The processing time for the new British passports will be 15 working days. The cost of the passport will be £91.00 (NT 5,800).

There is no need to replace valid British passports before they expire because they remain acceptable for travel to all destinations.

Please visit BTCO website www.btco.org.tw  for more information about ePassports. For any enquiry, please contact Ms Christy Wang, Head of Press & Public Affairs Team at Tel: (02) 2192 7015 Email: Christy.Wang@fco.gov.uk