US to give allies more time for passport switch

SHEFFIELD - The United States said it would give 27 mainly European states an extra year to put computer chips into their passports because many of the countries said they would miss an October 26 deadline.

But the Americans stood firm on the introduction of digital photographs, saying the 27 states, taking part in a visa-free travel scheme, must meet the deadline if they want to ensure their citizens can enter the US without a visa.

Biometric data such as digital photographs and fingerprints in passports are seen as a key measure in preventing terrorists, illegal migrants and criminals from travelling with fake documents.

The US had set the deadline for allies to update their passports but many countries said they would miss it, raising the prospect of delays for travellers.

Speaking at a meeting of Group of Eight (G8) justice and home affairs ministers in Sheffield, US Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff announced the partial relaxation of the deadline.

"We want to make sure we have adequate time to get it right but to do it with all possible speed," he said.

"We are going to continue to adhere to the deadline with respect to photos," he said, saying most countries were confident they could meet it.

The US risked losing billions of dollars in spending by tourists and business travellers if it had stuck to tight timetable.

Thirteen countries, whose citizens make up about 80 per cent of all visa waiver travellers -- between 13 and 15 million travellers a year -- had said they would miss the deadline, according to US officials.

Travellers from visa waiver countries may visit the US for 90 days using only a passport.

The 27 countries in the visa waiver programme are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

- REUTERS