There are 16 replies in this Thread which was already clicked 259 times. The last Post () by Rice.

Singapore to abolish passport requirement

    When I arrived at Ezeiza last November I was caught somewhat by surprise when the immigration officer demanded my thumbprint. It was the first time I’d ever been asked to do that anywhere in the world and is something I have been against as a matter of principle. I didn’t argue naturally.


    Now read this


    No passport required as departures from Singapore airport set for 'seamless' travel from 2024
    Biometric data, taken from fingerprint scans and facial recognition technology, will replace travel documents and other physical items, such as passports.
    news.sky.com

    Quote from Bombonera

    When I arrived at Ezeiza last November I was caught somewhat by surprise when the immigration officer demanded my thumbprint. It was the first time I’d ever been asked to do that anywhere in the world and is something I have been against as a matter of principle. I didn’t argue naturally.


    Now read this


    https://news.sky.com/story/no-…travel-from-2024-12965593

    This is all getting too creepy for me.

    Quote from Bombonera

    When I arrived at Ezeiza last November I was caught somewhat by surprise when the immigration officer demanded my thumbprint. It was the first time I’d ever been asked to do that anywhere in the world and is something I have been against as a matter of principle. I didn’t argue naturally.


    Now read this


    https://news.sky.com/story/no-…travel-from-2024-12965593

    Thumbprints and photos have been "normal" here for 2 or 3 years.

    A wild tangent but bear with me….

    Women change their name on marriage generally. Men pretty much never change their name.

    What if Someone changes their name having previously landed at Ezeiza under their old name and been finger printed. Then they arrive under their new name, same finger print.

    I can’t imagine how that goes

    Quote from Bombonera

    Not even the British government has my fingerprints so it was a huge deal to me to give that up but the alternative was to be refused entry I guess.

    It’s not right though in my opinion.

    The day you become a full resident, it's not just the thumbprint - it's two thumbs and eight fingers.


    We Brits are very nervous about all this but it's probably because we are the only country in the world without a national ID Card.

    Understood GlasgowJohn . Taking fingerprints in the UK only applies to those taken into custody under arrest for a crime: thinking out loud I suspect that’s no longer strictly the only time. I don’t know but suspect/expect that aspiring immigrants landing in Kent by boat go through such a process.

    But…that mental association with fingerprint taking associating with criminals is a really tough mental barrier to break through.


    Now this might seem like a peculiar argument for me to construct, but personally I couldn’t care less or more about an identity card. I’m not sure I get the significance attaching to it. We have passports and driving licenses. Neither are compulsory of course and I do know people who have neither but it’s not common.

    I haven’t driven in more than 20 years but keep my driving license current for ID purposes. Not for the police but for all other purposes.

    Don't you get fingerprinted to get a passport? We do, which is why we need to go in person to the nearest consulate. Every time we need a new passport, we have to go in person. We can then have the passport mailed to us (instead of picking it up), but there is no workaround to fingerprints. This happens every 10 years, given our passport lasts that long.


    I must add that we don't get fingerprinted upon entering Europe, but we do get fingerprinted when arriving in Ezeiza, regardless if nationals or not.

    Quote from serafina

    Don't you get fingerprinted to get a passport? We do, which is why we need to go in person to the nearest consulate. Every time we need a new passport, we have to go in person. We can then have the passport mailed to us (instead of picking it up), but there is no workaround to fingerprints. This happens every 10 years, given our passport lasts that long.


    I must add that we don't get fingerprinted upon entering Europe, but we do get fingerprinted when arriving in Ezeiza, regardless if nationals or not.

    as Bombonera says you only get fingerprinted in the UK when you get arrested....

    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    The day you become a full resident, it's not just the thumbprint - it's two thumbs and eight fingers.


    We Brits are very nervous about all this but it's probably because we are the only country in the world without a national ID Card.

    We don’t have a National ID card in the US, either. When asked for ID, most of us use our state driver’s icense or (non-photo) social security #.


    I’m pretty sure that Argentina’s passport control used photographs and thumbprints in 2018, before the USA did. I remember being shocked the first time I was asked to place my thumb on the lighted box and to look into the camera lens.

    Quote from Rice

    We don’t have a National ID card in the US, either. When asked for ID, most of us use our state driver’s icense or (non-photo) social security #.


    I’m pretty sure that Argentina’s passport control used photographs and thumbprints in 2018, before the USA did. I remember being shocked the first time I was asked to place my thumb on the lighted box and to look into the camera lens.

    They also do this in some gated communities (barrios cerrados) - photo, every document you possess and fingerprint.

    During the pandemic I was doing a lot of deliveries to these places and it became a real pain in the arse, so in the end I insisted that every customer meet me at the gate.

    Quote from Splinter

    They also do this in some gated communities (barrios cerrados) - photo, every document you possess and fingerprint.

    During the pandemic I was doing a lot of deliveries to these places and it became a real pain in the arse, so in the end I insisted that every customer meet me at the gate.

    Good strategy , Splinter. My wife who also delivers stuff to barrios cerrados, asks people to meet her at the gate as well.

    Quote from Rice

    We don’t have a National ID card in the US, either. When asked for ID, most of us use our state driver’s icense or (non-photo) social security #.

    Non-drivers can get a photo ID from the DMV. If they get a DL, the photo ID gets replaced by DL (you can't have both, you have to return your photo ID). That said, I don't recall if in the US you are mandated to have a form of ID with you at all time. I don't think so, since most people don't even have a photo ID ever in their life - they simply get a DL when they turn 16.


    In Italy, we have to when driving (besides having a DL), but I am not sure if it is mandatory to carry an ID at all time. I remember that I was once sitting in the passenger seat in a car parking, it was late in the night and my then-bf-now-husband was behind the wheel. The police car approached us and they asked his DL and ID, and my ID as well. We weren't doing anything X-rated, just talking. It also happened once at an inspection point in Olivos - they asked his DL and DNI and my DNI (I was the passenger). Ironically, when he got a camera fine for not wearing a seatbelt, I, the passenger. got blurred. Therefore I can't understand the rationale on identifying the passenger.


    Knowing how policemen reacts when challenged, it was easier to provide them what they were asking for than questioning WHY.


    Quote from serafina

    Non-drivers can get a photo ID from the DMV. If they get a DL, the photo ID gets replaced by DL (you can't have both, you have to return your photo ID). That said, I don't recall if in the US you are mandated to have a form of ID with you at all time. I don't think so, since most people don't even have a photo ID ever in their life - they simply get a DL when they turn 16.

    You’re right, serafina: in the US, there would be a total uprising if people were required to have a form of ID with them at all times.


    Some states have started requiring a photo ID for voting. I believe that was the start of non-driver ID’s being issued by the DMV, if requested. But the US has no national ID.