Cameroon Authorities Announce Biometric Passport Plans

According to a recent report from Cameroon Tribune, in a press conference last week, Cameroon’s General Delegation for National Security (DGSN) announced that it had signed a contract with INCM-Augentic Consortium to implement a new Biometric Passport Production System in the coming weeks.

Speaking on the announcement, DGSN Secretary General Dominique Baye said the process will begin on July 1st, and Cameroonians will be able to begin registration and enrollment for the new system at all Emi-Immigration Police Stations as well as roughly 45 Diplomatic Missions throughout the country.

Baye noted that the new biometric passport — which is ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) compliant — will include an online pre-registration module combined with an e-payment system, will be made of a polycarbonate material, and, as a security feature, will contain a hidden image of a lion visible only via UV illumination.

To obtain a new biometric passport, Cameroonians will first need to pre-enrol online via their Android smartphone or through a DGSN web service, where they will be required to submit specified identifying documents, and make a payment of FCFA 110,000 (roughly $200 USD).

Baye was also careful to point out that any biometric or other personal information collected during the registration phase is “transmitted in real time and in a secured manner to the processing server of the production centre,” and isn’t stored anywhere where it can be targeted by cybercriminals.

Before pre-enrolment can be completed, the applicant must then make an appointment with a physical enrollment centre, where the documents they submit will be verified, and their picture, fingerprints, and signature are recorded for inclusion in the new passport.

Cameroon is the latest country to join a growing list that are issuing biometric passports as a way of improving border security. Last August, the Caribbean nation of Dominica announced its own biometric passport launch as part of a $13 million investment in its border security.

Source: Cameroon Tribune

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June 14, 2021 — by Tony Bitzionis