New machine-readable passport to be loaded with extra safety features
Saudi Arabia said it will soon introduce electronic passports for its citizens, replacing the current ones with a machine-readable passport with extra safety features, a top Saudi official said on Wednesday.
Prince Bandar Bin Abdullah Al Mashari, assistant Minister of Interior for Technical Affairs, said the Saudi passports would soon be replaced with a machine-readable passport (MRP) and National IDs can be renewed from anywhere in the world.
The new electronic passport service will be launched within the coming few months, Prince Bandar said while speaking to journalists during his visit to the Saudi pavilion participating in the GITEX Technology Week 2021 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Prince Bandar said the passport would have an electronic chip that contains the data of the passport holder’s data that can be readable by machines at all airports around the world.
“Saudis will be able to renew their national IDs wherever they are without the need to visit the Civil Status offices, and the ID will be delivered to the beneficiary by mail,” he said.
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