Next Generation Biometric Technologies Market: Global Forecast & Analysis 2012-2017

North America leading biometric technology market (Companies and Markets)

The global biometric technology, types, and applications market is expected to reach $13.89 billion by 2017 at an estimated CAGR of 18.7%. North America is a market leader in biometric technology market.

John at m2sys has a worthwhile post on the report.

See also..
Russia biometrics market: Over $390 million industry by 2018

Euroborder Management News

Finland and the Baltic States Agree to Biometrics for Non-EU border control (Itar-Tass via FOCUS News Agency) 

 Internal Affairs Ministers of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have signed a joint agreement proposing the introduction of biometric control.

The four agreeing countries have land borders with three non-EU countries. They are Russia, Belarus & Norway.

Norway is in the Schengen area. Russia and Belarus are not.

Map of EU countries
Map of Schengen countires

Russia, EU Cannot Agree on Visa Requirements for Business Passports

Russia’s request for lifting the visa requirement for people with business passports remains an unsolved problem on its way to the facilitation of the visa regime between Russia and the EU, writes Russian Kommersant daily. (Focus)

Passports with fingerprints to undergo pre-launch trials in Russia in 2012

Two other experimental e-documents will be issued in 2012 (interfax.com)

Romodanovsky said at a news conference at Interfax in June 2011 that, "the introduction of passports with fingerprints will accelerate interaction with the European Union on the visa-free track."

The FMS currently issues two types of passports - the old five-year passports and the new ten-year e-passports, which are thicker and have more pages. Old passports are less expensive and the sum charged for making them is smaller. Currently, the photograph is the only biometric element in biometric passports in Russia.

EU, Russia Move Toward Visa-Free Travel

Russia and the European Union agree on moves towards visa-free travel (EurActiv.com)

Advances towards visa-free travel depend on the implementation of a number of "common steps" such as introducing biometric passports and preventing illegal migration.

"This decision has clear potential benefits to our citizens and for people-to-people contacts," said European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who participated in EU-Russia summit. "But this will probably not happen next year."

Russia pledged to give at least €7.5 billion ($10 billion) to help indebted eurozone countries via the International Monetary Fund. Previous statements from Moscow had indicated $10 billion would be the upper limit.

Biometric passports offer governments a way to increase confidence in the travel documents they issue.

Face Rec & the Russian FSB

Here's a wide-ranging article about facial recognition in general and its use by the Russian security services.

Analysis - A Face In The Crowd: Russia’s FSB Is Watching You (Eurasia Review)

At the Commission for Modernisation, responsibility for the development of biometric systems is in the hands of Working Group No 4, ‘Strategic Computer Technology and Software’, headed by Andrey Fursenko.

But if you look at records of group meetings, it becomes clear that all proposals on the subject come from FSB representatives. For example, on 8 October 2009, when two projects were discussed – one the creation of an automated video system for detection and identification of targets in real time and the other concerned with voice recognition – the group was addressed by Yevgeny Maximov, deputy head of the FSB’s research establishment. Responsibility for both projects was given to the FSB and its director Alexander Bortnikov.

Russian Biometric Lie-detecting Robot Bankers

A Russian A.T.M. With an Ear for the Truth (New York Times)

The machine scans a passport, records fingerprints and takes a three-dimensional scan for facial recognition. And it uses voice-analysis software to help assess whether the person is truthfully answering questions that include “Are you employed?” and “At this moment, do you have any other outstanding loans?”

As they say, read the whole thing.

Visas: To go biometric or not to go biometric

Conflicting Signs on Looming Biometric Visas (Moscow Times)
This article gets at interesting cost-benefit trade-offs in how countries go about regulating entry into their territory.

Should a country require a traveler to obtain a visa prior to undertaking their journey?
Should a country issue visas at ports of entry?
Should a country treat the citizens of other countries the same or treat the citizens of different countries differently?
Should they require a biometric?
If so, which modality makes the most sense?

The answers to these questions flow from a number of characteristics of the visa issuing country such as wealth, number of foreign visitors, quality of diplomatic corps, reach of diplomatic corps, attractiveness for immigrants, regional stability, etc.

Many countries avoid this entire, admittedly complicated, calculation and opt for straight up reciprocity: I'll treat your applicants exactly the same as you treat mine. This makes for a useful bargaining framework if the two countries are the same in many of the above respects, but it often gets applied in other circumstances.

Russia seems to be going through the cost benefit calculation rather than opting for knee-jerk reciprocity.

The embassies of the United States and Britain in Moscow both told The Moscow Times that they had no specific information about biometric visas to Russia being an imminent requirement for their citizens.

“But there is a global move in this direction because it makes travel safer for everyone,” British Embassy spokesman James Barbour said.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman said: “The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has not been informed by the Russian government of any plans to implement biometric Russian visas for Americans.”

Applicants for Russian visas at the moment do not need to submit biometric details — however, every applicant for British and American visas the world over, including Russian citizens, must provide biometric data in order for their visa application to be processed.