If the age of 65 is given a short-term passport because life is running out-News Focus bd

It was time for Robiul Leis of Sunamganj to renew his machine-readable passport and get an e-passport. Wanted to take the e-passport for a period of 10 years so that after 5 years the passport does not have to worry again. However, he was disappointed while applying. Because he has crossed the age of 65 and he cannot apply for 10 years period even if he wants to.

For all applications above 65 years e-passport will be valid for 5 years and 48 pages.

His passport is valid for 5 years while all other family members can get it for 10 years. The matter was offensive to him and he felt very hurt by it."Why do this to us? It is understood that the work has been done from the mindset that it will probably not survive anymore. Even the younger brother of the area got a 10-year term with him just because he was a little less than 65 years old.

The journey of e-passport started in January 2020. Since then many have had to go through similar situations.

If you are less than 18 years old or more than 65 years old, you have to take a passport for a period of 5 years. But the reason for this is not mentioned or explained anywhere.

Why this rule?

Many in the Directorate of Immigration and Passport are not clear why this decision has been taken.

Some think it is from the earlier idea of average life expectancy.

But the average life expectancy of people in Bangladesh is more than 72 years since 2017, so that argument does not apply.

Earlier there was a question of misuse of passports but now it can be said that there is almost no chance. So why was this decision made?

Although no one was willing to comment directly, talking to some officials of the Directorate and Ministry of Home Affairs suggests that this has been done with the thought that biometric changes may happen in the e-passport.

That is, with age there may be variations in appearance, irises, and fingerprints. Now that the identity of the e-passport person is identified through automated e-gates in various countries, the decision was taken out of concern that there could be complications if the information does not match.

How logical is such a rule?

In both cases of younger or older age, there is a slight variation in biometric data but not a drastic change.

Technical expert Sumon Ahmed Sabir said, with age, the skin wrinkle, and the lines of the hands become a bit blurred, so the biometric taken earlier does not work properly. But it may be unclear, and it may be a little difficult to read, but there is no chance of change.

Besides, it is necessary to verify biometrics from the possibility of fraud, at that point of view, since everything is digital now, Mr. Sabir.

The international Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also does not mention any regulations. Although there is a rule of 5 years below 18 years depending on the country, there is no precedent for giving a shorter term, especially at older ages. For example, the United States or neighboring countries do not have rules in India.

Rather, it is difficult to deal with the chaos of the country's passport office at the age of 70.

The Professor of the Sociology Department of Dhaka University is referring to this matter as discrimination. Salma Akhter.

According to him, if this is the case with the logic of biometrics, then it should be made public so that no one considers it discriminatory.

However, the concerned officials have also understood the problem of such exceptions in the case of those who are above 65 years of age.

Mohammad Saidul Islam, Director of Passports, Visas, and Inspections of the Directorate of Immigration and Passports, said, "We have sought a proposal from the Department of Security Services of the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking a decision to issue in 10 years. It is under the consideration of the ministry and we will launch it once we get the policy decision.”

However, it is not yet clear when the decision to change will come and whether there will be any benefit to those who have already had an e-passport for a period of 5 years.

Wikipedia: Machine-readable passport