UAE to open biometric visa enrollment center in Sri Lanka

UAE opens its first visa issuing centre outside the country in... (Emirates 247)

The new visa centre serves 500 customers every day and uses passport authentication and biometrics such as fingerprints, eyeprints and faceprints, and medical tests conducted at 15 Sri Lankan centres accredited by U.A.E. Ministry of Health, in order to identity, and prevent entry of individuals with contagious disease.

The procedures will save costs of recruitment, quarantine and deportation and improve customer service as they are aimed at providing excellent consular services fulfilling internationally recognised standards.

Sri Lankans need fingerprint visa to get into Malaysia

Lankans also need ‘bio-visa’ to enter Malaysia (Daily Mirror)

Touted to be the first-of-its-kind “Bio-Visa” to be introduced in the world, those who do not comply with the Immigration Department’s proposed Biometric-Visa will be slapped with a “Not to Land” (NTL) notice and turned back.

Sri Lanka Adopts Biometrics for Better ID Management of Expatriate Domestics in the Middle East

Hi-tech measures to stop job swindles in the Middle East (The Sunday Times - Sri Lanka)

Sri Lankans seeking jobs in the Middle East will now face electronic fingerprinting and biometric scanning prior to departure to crack down on rampant fraud and other irregularities in the recruitment trade, a senior official said yesterday. Scanning devices would be installed at the departure and arrival areas of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and at all Sri Lankan diplomatic missions in the Middle Eastern countries where there were large numbers of Sri Lankan workers, Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) Chairman Amal Senadhilankara said.

Click through to the whole story for a great example of the convoluted way people try to game well-intentioned systems.

Biometrics Figure in Sri Lanka Passport Office Revamp

Passport office revamped (Sunday Observer)

Immigration and Emigration Controller General Chulananda Perera says his Department is engaged in a major revamping process, with new amendments to the existing Immigration and Emigration Act to keep it in tune with the demands of a post conflict nation.

The Controller General says the Act will introduce severe punishments to those who commit offences such as aiding and abetting illegal immigrants, document forgery and impersonations while it will provide necessary legal backing for bio-metric capturing for future passport issuance.

He added, "The Electronic Visa Authority Scheme which met with a lot of resistance at the outset has now found its own course. ETA scheme has earned the State Rs. 600 million from January 1 to March 28."

Excerpts from the interview

Biometrics help UK detect (more) Sri Lankan Visa fraudsters

UK visa applicants arrested for identity fraud (Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka)

The UK Border Agency uncovered this deception because it takes biometric data from customers as an integral part of the visa application process.

Earlier post from August in its entirety...

Biometrics bust Sri Lankan fraudsters applying for UK visas

UK visa applicants arrested (Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka)

The UK Border Agency uncovered this deception because it takes biometric data from customers as an integral part of the visa application process.

Biometrics bust Sri Lankan fraudsters applying for UK visas

UK visa applicants arrested (Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka)

The UK Border Agency uncovered this deception because it takes biometric data from customers as an integral part of the visa application process.