Biometrics for the purposes of identification may involve DNA matching, facial recognition, fingerprints, retina and iris scanning, voice analysis, handwriting, gait, and even body odor.
Tanzania began its biometric voter registration (BVR) system in February 2015 and planned to use it first in a constitutional referendum and subsequent general elections.
The decision by the Brazilian government to adopt fingerprint-based biometrics was spearheaded by Dr. Felix Pacheco at Rio de Janeiro, at that time capital of the Federative Republic.
The oldest and most traditional ID Institute in Brazil (Instituto de Identificação Félix Pacheco) was integrated at DETRAN[7] (Brazilian equivalent to DMV) into the civil and criminal AFIS system in 1999.
The ID cards printed in Rio de Janeiro are fully digitized using a 2D bar code with information which can be matched against its owner off-line.
This allows for contactless electronic reading of the passport content and Citizens ID verification since fingerprint templates and token facial images will be available for automatic recognition.
Currently, there is some apprehension in the United States (and the European Union) that the information can be "skimmed" and identify people's citizenship remotely for criminal intent, such as kidnapping.
The United States records all fingerprints and a picture of foreign airline passengers visiting the U.S. (exempting Canadians), keeping it in databases for seventy-five years.
[6] It permits pre-approved members of the program to use self-serve kiosks at airports, reserved lanes at land crossings, or by phoning border officials when entering by water.
China started using biometric collection since November 2018 for most foreign citizens as part of the visa application process.
[14][15][16] The Government of India funds a number of social welfare schemes focused towards the poor and most vulnerable sections of society.
Aadhaar and its platform offers an opportunity to streamline their welfare delivery mechanisms and improve transparency and good governance.
In the recent Supreme Court of India verdict Aadhaar has to be mandatorily linked to Permanent Account Number (Tax Identification Number of India) Biometrics are being used extensively in Iraq to catalogue as many Iraqis as possible providing Iraqis with a verifiable identification card, immune to forgery.
During account creation, the collected biometrics information is logged into a central database which then allows a user profile to be created.
In 2013, Israel launched a two-year preliminary pilot study to evaluate and assess the project's feasibility and necessity, in which participation was voluntary.
In March 2017, after several postponements resulting from political controversies and technical challenges, Israel's Minister of the Interior ratified the project.
The storage of photographs of its own citizens is in violation of EU regulation 2019/1157, which states, that after 90 days after issuing an ID card, all biometric information should be discarded.
The barriers are currently in use at Orly, Charles de Gaulle, Marseille airports and on Eurostar services between London and Paris[29] The biometrics market in Germany experienced enormous growth between the years 2005 and 2009.
"Only applicants for long-term visas, which allow more than three months' residence, will be affected by the planned biometric registration program.
"On registering with the scheme, accredited visitors will receive an ID card containing their fingerprint biometrics data that will enable them to access the 'German House'.
[33] As a protest against the increasing use of biometric data, the influential hacker group Chaos Computer Club published a fingerprint of German Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble in the March 2008 edition of its magazine Datenschleuder.
[34] Since 2013, Italy has deployed a number of ePassport gates at major Italian airports allowing EU, EEA and Swiss citizens with a biometric passport to cross the Schengen border in a totally automated way.
Motorola's new system enabled multiple public agencies to digitally capture and store fingerprints, 2D facial images and signatures for passports and visas.
[43] The new biometric passports are one of the conditions placed on Ukraine by the European Union on the path to easing its visa requirements and eventually moving towards a visa-free regime with the EU.
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Valeriya Lutkovska, had criticized the law as it “does not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine and European standards in the sphere of personal data protection, and might infringe on human rights and freedom.” The law was also criticized by Oleksandr Hladun from the Institute for Demography and Social Studies of Ukraine.
According to the law, the passports of Ukrainian citizens will be produced in the form of cards with contactless smart chips and issued no later than 30 calendar days from the date of the submission of a relevant application.
[citation needed] Visitors intending to visit Australia and returning Australian residents with an ePassport may have to submit to biometric authentication as part of the Smartgate system, linking individuals to their visas and passports.
[53] Deputy comptroller of customs John Secker said SmartGate represented probably the biggest single development in border processing in New Zealand in the past two decades.