Ghana is set to launch chip-embedded passports in the second quarter of 2024, intending to gradually replace the existing biometric passports.
These new passports will be interconnected with the national identification system, utilizing the biometric information stored on the embedded chip to verify the identity of the passport holder.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, disclosed the timeline for this transition, emphasizing that the shift from the current biometric passports to chip-embedded ones is a crucial mandate from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the United Nations agency overseeing civil aviation.
“We are at the moment using biometric but we want to upgrade to chip-embedded. Moving from the biometric to the chip-embedded is a requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. It is asking all countries who are on biometric to upgrade to the chip-embedded passport,” Ampratwum-Sarpong said.
In terms of security, he said that non-Ghanaians and fraudsters would find it extremely difficult to obtain the passport thanks to its embedded chip.
“Since a passport is a serious security document that needs not be tampered with or abused, moving from biometric to chip embedded is for our security and to also make life easier and better for all of us. We are modernized, we are moving digitalization. Chip embedded is an upgrade on digitalization so we have to get there and be one of the leading lights,” he added.