US offers new passport deadline

New Zealanders visiting the United States will have another year to enter the country without a machine-readable passport, if the Government asks US officials for an extension.

The US has offered to extend the target date for tightening the rules for letting people enter the country without visas.

From October 1, those whose passports are not readable by machine will not be able to enter the US without visas, other than for transit purposes, even if they come from one of the 27 countries part of a visa waiver programme.

But the State Department, recognising many are still not machine-readable, has told 26 of the Governments they can apply for an extension of a year.

The exception is Belgium, because the US has concerns about the security of its passports. They have had to be machine-readable since May.

The countries in the visa waiver programme are mostly affluent democracies whose citizens are thought unlikely to seek work in the US illegally.

The Governments face another deadline on October 26, 2004, by which date the US wants them to introduce "biometric identifiers" in passports they issue.

The identifiers, which could be in the form of computer microchips, would include digitally coded information about a person's facial features or fingerprints.

The US Embassy in Wellington has said the machine-readable passports are more difficult than previous versions to tamper with.

It has changed the process for visa applications, with applicants now usually having to undergo an interview with a consular officer.

New Zealand started issuing machine-readable passports in 1992. Internal Affairs Department spokesman Tony Wallace said less than 3 to 4 per cent of New Zealand passports were now non-machine readable.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade posts overseas still issued old-style passports.

However, people seeking replacements could have machine-readable passports if they waited a few extra days.

- NZPA