Thailand to introduce 15 million high-security e-passports
In 2018, the Thai Government launched ‘Thailand 4.0’ with a vision to develop Thailand into an innovative, dynamic and value-driven economy. With this in mind, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Thailand will provide 15 million technically-advanced, high-security e-passports to Thai citizens thanks to the DGM Consortium, which includes Gemalto, a Thales Company, Data Products Toppan Forms Ltd., and MultiCert. The Thai E-passport project is the largest passport project contracted for the Group in 2019.
Thai citizens can look forward to a newly-designed 64-page biometric travel document which includes an e-Cover with a thin, flexible datapage made of polycarbonate as well as a window containing a second image of the citizen and a true colour UV photo.
These security features ensure that the document complies with the highest standards of security recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Thai citizens will benefit from the highest level of performance of the secure embedded software for fast border crossing. Furthermore the DGM Consortium will also implement a highly secure end-to-end electronic passport system that will also strictly comply to the Personal Data Protection Act of Thailand.
The current passport production capacity will increase significantly, as two active high security production sites – a Remote and a Main facility – will be established as part of the project to ensure business continuity and security for passport issuance. By providing continuous training and transfer-of-technology to develop local expertise in passport issuance, Thales is leveraging its global technological expertise to upskill the Thai workforce as it moves towards a digital future.
Beyond a newly-designed passport, Thai citizens will benefit from greater efficiency in registering for their passports as the project will upgrade citizen-facing enrolment operations in 22 existing managed sites throughout Thailand, as well as include an expansion plan to establish 15 new sites throughout the country, offering more service points for Thai citizens to obtain their travel documents.
As a committed partner to Thailand for more than 30 years in industry sectors ranging from defence to air traffic management and to ground transportation, Thales aligns with this vision by now bringing its technology expertise in the digital identity and biometrics sector, making us a trusted partner to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs as they deliver a highly-secured and modern passport for their citizens.