ARCHIVED – Backgrounder — About ePassports

As of July 2, 2013, all new Canadian passports are 36-page electronic passports, otherwise known as ePassports. The Canadian ePassport looks like a regular passport but has new security features that make the passport even more tamper-proof. These features include the following:

• An electronic chip embedded in the back cover that stores the same personal information as that on page 2 of the passport (except for the signature), the photo and a digital security feature that proves that the passport was issued by the Government of Canada. The passport becomes invalidated if the information on the chip is tampered with or modified.
• New, iconic images on the inside pages that celebrate our history as well as our culture and serve as extra security features.

Tried and true

Over 100 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have been using ePassports for several years with no reported chip failures. Through a pilot project that began in January 2009, Passport Canada has already issued more than 60,000 diplomatic and special passports that contain an electronic chip. No problems have been reported.

In the unlikely event that the chip fails, the passport will still be valid.

Protecting your information

After your personal information is first stored on the passport e-chip, the chip is locked, preventing the information from being tampered with. No other information about you or your travels will be stored on the e-chip nor is the existing content open to modification.

The information on the e-chip cannot be read unless the passport is held within 10 centimetres of an ePassport reader, open to page 2 and the machine-readable zone has first been read. It is therefore extremely unlikely that personal data stored on the ePassport chip could be read without your knowledge.

At border crossings equipped with ePassport readers, the ePassport is put into a scanner that reads the machine-readable zone, which in turn, enables the e-chip to be read. The machine also checks other security features, such as the country-specific signature. Border authorities not equipped with ePassport readers will continue to examine travellers’ passports as they do now, reviewing other security features, such as holographic images.

A transparent process

The chip will only contain the personal information that is recorded on page 2, your photo and a Government of Canada signature. No additional information about you or your travels will be stored on the chip. Canadians who would like to verify that the information stored on their e-chip is accurate may do so by visiting one of Passport Canada’s 34 offices.

For more information about the ePassport, visit our website at http://www.passportcanada.gc.ca/eppt/index.aspx?lang=eng.

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