News Room Media Inquiry
MINNEAPOLIS—(May 24, 2016)—Entrust Datacard today announced that the company has signed a contract with Thomas Greg & Sons and 3M Colombia to provide the Datacard® PB6500™ passport issuance system to the government of Colombia for the issuance of the Colombian passport booklet. Colombian citizens who carry the new laser engraved passport booklet can now travel to the 22 countries of the European Union, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein without the need for a travel visa.
“We are pleased to partner with Entrust Datacard to bring this solution to fruition for the government of Colombia,” said Juan Carlos Yañez, managing director at Thomas Greg & Sons Colombia. “Our partnership has allowed us to deliver and implement a passport booklet issuance and authentication solution in a short amount of time. Additionally, the solution makes Colombia one of the first countries in the Americas with an extended access control (EAC) passport.”
On Sept 1, 2015, Colombia began issuing electronic passports that contain a chip with biometric and biographical information, the passport now meets the most advanced physical and electronic security standards. The implementation of this new passport has allowed Colombia to negotiate the revocation of visa requirements for its citizens while traveling to and within the Schengen area in the European Union.
Thomas Greg & Sons and 3M Colombia selected Entrust Datacard, and its local distributor Identificacion Plastica, to provide the software, personalization equipment and consulting services to implement this passport program in record time. Additionally, as part of the implementation process Entrust Datacard provided education sessions on electronic passports and border control automation. Colombia is now part of the growing list of countries capable to provide passports that are not only secure but electronically verifiable.
“Colombia is a pioneer within South America for providing its citizens with an enhanced access control passport booklet, thereby allowing ease of travel to the European Union,” said Michael Berman, vice president of government sales for Entrust Datacard. “The Entrust Datacard passport issuance system, coupled with our high assurance identity solutions have allowed Colombia to quickly and confidently implement this program for its citizens.”
Today, the Government of Colombia is utilizing the PB6500 passport issuance system to laser engrave personal citizen information onto a polycarbonate page within the passport booklet, which is provided by 3M. Additionally, the government has chosen to include enhanced personal biometrics securely stored within the passport booklet, which allows the Colombian passport booklet to meet the European standard passport booklet requirements.
To learn more about Entrust Datacard™ solutions for governments, visit https://www.entrustdatacard.com/use-cases/citizen/.
About Entrust Datacard
Consumers, citizens and employees increasingly expect anywhere-anytime experiences — whether they are making purchases, crossing borders, accessing e-gov services or logging onto corporate networks. Entrust Datacard offers the trusted identity and secure transaction technologies that make those experiences reliable and secure. Solutions range from the physical world of financial cards, passports and ID cards to the digital realm of authentication, certificates and secure communications. With more than 2,000 Entrust Datacard colleagues around the world, and a network of strong global partners, the company serves customers in 150 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.entrustdatacard.com.