The controversial draft law to “Strengthen security in passport, ID and immigration law documents” can come into force this year. The Federal Council confirmed the initiative adopted by the Bundestag at the beginning of November and refrained from calling the mediation committee. From August 2nd 2021 – in accordance with an EU regulation – when applying for a new identity card, imprints of the left and right index finger will be saved on the radio chip of the document.

Passport photos also from photo studios In addition, only registered Photo studios create passport photos exclusively digitally. You must then securely transmit them to the registration office. The biometric suitability of the photos should also be checked. It will also be possible to take a photo at the office. In this case, the fees for passport and identity card increase by six euros each.

According to government estimates, the required technical equipment at the registration authorities will be around 171 devour millions of euros. Originally, they should only be able to obtain the technology from Bundesdruckerei. The Bundestag ensured that other suppliers could also have a say. The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) has the last word here , the electronic capture, the authenticity assessment and the quality assurance of the photograph “. The Federal Ministry of the Interior can also set up requirements for the secure transmission of the photo and for automated retrieval.

Measures against morphing The The original draft by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) provided that passport photos could only be taken by the responsible authorities. The reason was concerns about image manipulation and falsification, especially through so-called morphing, whereby images of several faces merge into one. Only after an outcry from photo studios did Seehofer bring the now established compromise into play.

When the law comes into force, investigators may request the data stored there on a serial number from the issuing authority from the passport or ID card manufacturer. The already legally permissible automated photo retrieval by the security authorities should also be technically supported. Data on the online ID card or the electronic identification function (eID) will in future be stored by the registration authorities.

People who are neither male nor female can now have an X entered in the gender information. The law thus aligns the information in the passport and in the immigration law document with the standard provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The inclusion of fingerprints in the personal data is still controversial. The civil rights organization Digitalcourage complains that this coercive measure without cause does not correspond to democratic values.

(mho)