Travellers applying for a new Maltese passport will get an e-passport embedded with an electronic chip that contains the same data as that printed on the document... the new hi-tech version will cost double the current fee.

The new passport system, that involved an investment of €12 million, is being promoted as a safer way of travel as it guards against forgery because the chip can only be unlocked and read by special chip-readers. This adds another security layer that makes it harder to tamper with, Communications Minister Austin Gatt said during the launch of the new passports, yesterday.

Despite the assurances, the introduction of e-passports in various EU countries has raised security concerns with people fearing their personal data can be hacked and abuse. The concerns were dismissed by the minister who stressed that the embedded chip contains information which is already available on the passport and no other personal data.

Security apart, the high-tech passports come at a price as the embedded technology, which was compulsory according to EU regulations in the face of global terrorism, means travellers will have to pay more.

A person over 16, who previously paid just under €28 for a 10-year passport, will now pay €70, Dr Gatt said.

The fee for a two-year passport for children under 10 will rise to €14 from €7and that for a five-year passport for children aged between 10 and 16 will go up to €35 from €14. Applying for an urgent passport, which previously came at an additional fee of €11.64, will now cost €120.

The rise in tariffs was the result of higher costs to buy the blank passports, which went up from €3 to €30. The new tariffs barely cover half the investment costs of the project, Dr Gatt said.

The old passports will remain valid until their expiry date but they cannot be used to participate in the US visa waiver programme, which, when introduced, will allow travel to the US without a visa.

The new passports issued this year will include facial images. Next year, fingerprinting will be introduced using the same technology and without added tariffs, Dr Gatt said.

The same technology will also be used for the e-ID cards that are expected to be launched by the end of next year, he added.

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