Cabinet has approved revising the Immigration and Emigration Act to include fingerprint details to passports. Minister of Public Order, Disaster Management and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga made the proposal few months back.
“The Draft Bill formulated by the Legal Draftsman enabling obtaining of fingerprints when passports are issued or renewed by the Department of Immigration and Emigration will be submitted to Parliament for approval,” Rajitha Senaratne said at the Cabinet briefing yesterday.
The Sri Lankan Biometrics Project (SLBP) aims to introduce an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to Sri Lanka’s passport issuance process. This project is expected to cost US$5.11 million (Rs.679.7 million).
