Passport Swipe

[Doug]

Passport now come with that computer readable strip. Supposedly this is to make it more efficient when passing through customs.

What information is on that strip? Can a customs officer add information to that strip? If a custom's officer suspects you of sex tourism in Thailand, can he place a marker on the strip to alert future custom officers? If so, it is possible to get a readout of your strip just like you can get a credit report?

Regards from paranoid,
Doug

[dab69]

same as credit card, now they don't have to type in
your name, info
now boyjoyous is gonna wanna know what u been up to -
to make you so paranoid

[Doug]

The last 2 times I've returned from Thailand, customs have stopped me and searched my luggage. The last time I had my laptop with me and they took it away for 45 minutes while I waited. When they gave it back and said I could go I asked, "Why have I been stopped the last 2 times? Let me guess....single man, visiting Thailand." The officer only smiled.

In 30 plus trips i have been stopped only once. But that was when they stopped every single passeneger from asia arriving at heathrow due to the bird flue scare. they totally ignored everyones excess ciggies etc etc.

[jinks]

they totally ignored everyones excess ciggies etc etc.

Jan 2006 - 2600 cigs seized...

Jan 2007 - no one on duty - only 200 in my bag - boo, hoo, hoo. :spiderman:

Jan 2006 - 2600 cigs seizedDrug trafficker!! :drunken:

[cottmann]

Passport now come with that computer readable strip. Supposedly this is to make it more efficient when passing through customs.

What information is on that strip? Can a customs officer add information to that strip? If a custom's officer suspects you of sex tourism in Thailand, can he place a marker on the strip to alert future custom officers? If so, it is possible to get a readout of your strip just like you can get a credit report?

Regards from paranoid,
Doug

The machine readable strip or "Machine Readable Passport Zone" is included in passports as part of an multilateral international agreement that standardizes passports. The Zone covers two lines and each line is 44 characters long. The following information is provided in the zone: name, passport number, two check digits, nationality, date of birth, sex, passport expiration date and personal identity number. Nothing can be added by Immigration (not Customs) officers. As a passport is legally the property of the issuing government, no other government can amend the strip.

In the UK when you apply for the new style passport now you get issued a "free" biometric ready I.D card. Big brother is coming!

In the UK when you apply for the new style passport now you get issued a "free" biometric ready I.D card. Big brother is coming!It's so the Americans know whether you're a terrorist or not! As some of the deep thinkers on this Board will tell you (hidden behind their posting handles, of course) "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"

As some of the deep thinkers on this Board will tell you (hidden behind their posting handles, of course) "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"

I'm watching you...

http://i14.tinypic.com/4btm3cy.jpg

[Smiles]

As some of the deep thinkers on this Board will tell you (hidden behind their posting handles, of course) "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"

I'm watching you...

http://i14.tinypic.com/4btm3cy.jpg
Just thought the one who has you on ignore would like to enjoy your knew profession.

Cheers .... :flower:

[Dick]

It's my understanding that the 'new' passports with the magnetic strip also carry a digital image of your picture, like the photo wot's in your passport. It's one of the reasons you must get a new passport to visit USA if yours is of the older variety, so that your photo can be digitised.

When you check-in at most Intl airports, you'll notice the staff at the check-in desk will scan you passport too, or if working with an older check-in system, must instead key in the digits shown on your passport instead of swiping it. All your ticket and baggage information along with your passport number is then zapped ahead to your destination for the benefit of Customs and Immigiration... along with details of all your duty free transactions that they likewise pickup from your boarding pass that was scanned at the till.

So next time you buy loads of contraband dutyfree, don't be surprised if Customs pull you over. They've been looking out for you.... literally!

.. the pic is of the same person The Lad asserts he's encountered wearing plaid shirts and showing off badly-maintained teeth in Soi 6?

[cottmann]

It's my understanding that the 'new' passports with the magnetic strip also carry a digital image of your picture, like the photo wot's in your passport. It's one of the reasons you must get a new passport to visit USA if yours is of the older variety, so that your photo can be digitised.

When you check-in at most Intl airports, you'll notice the staff at the check-in desk will scan you passport too, or if working with an older check-in system, must instead key in the digits shown on your passport instead of swiping it. All your ticket and baggage information along with your passport number is then zapped ahead to your destination for the benefit of Customs and Immigiration... along with details of all your duty free transactions that they likewise pickup from your boarding pass that was scanned at the till.

So next time you buy loads of contraband dutyfree, don't be surprised if Customs pull you over. They've been looking out for you.... literally!

If you want to know what 34 pieces of information the US Immigration and Naturalization Service requires on in-coming, see http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jul ... usa-oj.pdf (http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jul/pnr-eu-usa-oj.pdf)

ATTACHMENT A
PNR data elements required by CBP from air carriers
1. PNR record locator code
2. Date of reservation
3. Date(s) of intended travel
4. Name
5. Other names on PNR
6. Address
7. All forms of payment information
8. Billing address
9. Contact telephone numbers
10. All travel itinerary for specific PNR
11. Frequent flyer information (limited to miles flown and address(es))
12. Travel agency
13. Travel agent
14. Code share PNR information
15. Travel status of passenger
16. Split/divided PNR information
17. E-mail address
18. Ticketing field information
19. General remarks
20 Ticket number
21. Seat number
22. Date of ticket issuance
23. No show history
24. Bag tag numbers
25. Go show information
26. OSI information
27. SSI/SSR information
28. Received from information
29. All historical changes to the PNR
30. Number of travellers on PNR
31. Seat information
32. One-way tickets
33. Any collected APIS (Advanced Passenger Information System) information
34. ATFQ (Automatic Ticketing Fare Quote) fields

Not all countries require this information.

.. the pic is of the same person The Lad asserts he's encountered wearing plaid shirts and showing off badly-maintained teeth in Soi 6?

You know good and well who it is, you obnoxious cunt.

[Dick]

I took the opportunity whilst travelling through London Heathrow last week to 'casually' put the question about that magnetic strip to an Immigration Officer on duty. If you have a passport that complies with US entry requirements i.e. with your data digitally encoded, then Yes the magnetic strip does contain your digital picture and Yes your pic is displayed when swiped in the machine... provided its a modern machine. Its possible that some immigration/customs stations deemed less of a priority might not yet have the latest consoles capable of translating your image to screen. But in time, all will.

[cottmann]

..... If you have a passport that complies with US entry requirements .....

Loath as I am to say something nice about the present US Administration, the new passport characteristics are actually the result of an amendment to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as Chicago Convention) of 7 December 1944 and a new "technical Standard 3.10" adopted by the ICAO that require all passports issued by countries that are party to the Chicago Convention, and/or whose laws require compliance with ICAO technical standards, to conform to the new standards. So these are not simply "US entry requirements," though no doubt the USA brought heavy pressure to bear on the ICAO to make the changes. Moreover, it is not clear what ICAO decision-making body formally adopted the new rules, when, or by what process, probably because ICAO wants to avoid public notice of the facts that (1) ICAO decision-making meetings are closed to the public, journalists, and civil society; and (2) no representatives of government data protection authorities, and no privacy or civil liberties NGOs, have ever been included in government or industry delegations to ICAO meetings.

[Dick]

Cottmann
I did not acuse or criticise America for exercising their God given right to insist on digitised passports for anyone crossing to their shores. So there was no need to bore the pants off us with such phrases as "technical Standard 3.10", and prolific use of abbreviations like "ICAO".

An American travelling abroad might not realise the difference between a US digitised passport and non digitised passports issued by other Nations and which are still valid for travel outside the US. Your passport will be one that can be read by digital readers and will obviously comply with US entry requirements. Elsewhere in the World, a passport issued say 8 years ago and with another 2 years to run might not, yet will none the less remain valid for travel and be accepted by a great many countries outside the USA. Gradually as older passports expire or are renewed, the newer digitised passports will become common place.

So there is a distinction. If your (recent) passport qualifies for US entry, then it will obviously contain digitally encoded information. If it doesn't, then it won't contain all the digital information that can be embedded including a photographic image. For the majority of readers it is easier to draw comparison with the tangible US requirement, than cite Chicago Conventions and ICAO technical standards.

[Brad the Impala]

I took the opportunity whilst travelling through London Heathrow last week to 'casually' put the question about that magnetic strip to an Immigration Officer on duty. If you have a passport that complies with US entry requirements i.e. with your data digitally encoded, then Yes the magnetic strip does contain your digital picture and Yes your pic is displayed when swiped in the machine... provided its a modern machine. Its possible that some immigration/customs stations deemed less of a priority might not yet have the latest consoles capable of translating your image to screen. But in time, all will.

But what is the point of having a digitised photo encoded in the strip, when all passports have photographs of the holder anyway?!

[Smiles]

An interesting discussion regarding new passport security measures: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2 ... t_s_1.html (http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/08/rfid_passport_s_1.html)

Cheers ...

But what is the point of having a digitised photo encoded in the strip, when all passports have photographs of the holder anyway?!
Perhaps an attempt to cross check that the original photo has not been carefully sliced out and replaced with a new one of a different person?

My previous passport had to be replaced because the cover page had come de-laminated and split at the edge. It would have been easy to replace the photo. I was advised at Thai Immigrations to get a new passport because some agents might refuse to accept it.

A magnetic strip is hardly new technology..... My passport has this and was issued in 1998!

As I understand it - details can be both uploaded AND downloaded via the strip. Thus, it may have been issued blank bbt gets updated each time it is swiped.

The strip is encoded and checks various shared databases of UK, Canada, USA, Australia, NZ - in particular, for money laundering, paid unpaid fines and court judgments, criminal history, criminal charges, customs, drug running, taxation matters....... social security rorts. Immigartion authorities then act on this information.

It is widely known that visitors get turned away at US and AUS ports of entry for their criminal history - becase had a visa been issued the details would be checked prior to issue.

Thus if an ALERT is put out by one of these countries, the person will be nabbed.

This happened to Heath Ledger's father in law - caught in Honolulu on AUS tax charges.