Mexican electronic passport will be issued starting in October

The Mexican electronic passport will be issued on October 5 and will have new and improved security mechanisms.

Mexican electronic passport will be issued starting in October
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard inaugurates new Passport Office located in Puebla. Image: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The electronic passport is about to become a reality in Mexico, now that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has confirmed the date on which it will start issuing them to citizens. Marcelo Ebrard, Minister of Foreign Affairs, explained that the electronic passport will be issued as of October 5 and will have new and improved security mechanisms.

Among the new security locks will be the protection for minors under 18 years of age since for the first time in history, passports will carry not only the photograph of the minor but also that of his or her parents. "We are going to place the photograph of the minor and here will be the father and mother in the passport, for the first time in history, to be able to identify them", said the Chancellor.

Further, the new document will have 22 security points to avoid forgery, among which the incorporation of a chip with the biographic and biometric data of the citizen stands out. Another change will be the security paper it will be made of, as it will be a polycarbonate sheet and a new icon on the cover that will identify it as an electronic passport.

Due to the above, during the inauguration of the new passport issuing offices in Puebla, Ebrard assured that the new Mexican passport will become one of the 15 most important passports in the world.

On the other hand, Mauricio Márquez Corona, president of the Institute of Administration and Appraisal of National Assets (Indaabin), recalled that the issuance of passports is one of the activities considered as National Security, so the SRE must guarantee at all times the protection and safeguarding of biometric data.

It should be recalled that for the issuance of passports, interested parties must make an appointment, which can be scheduled free of charge through the Internet portal, citas.sre.gob.mx, this being the only electronic site authorized for such purpose.