Maldives Immigration has introduced a modern day passport card that would act as a passport replacement. The new card was officially launched by the President of Maldives, H.E. Abdulla Yameen, at a ceremony held at the President’s Office on the 11th of October 2017.
The newly introduced passport card could be used for international travel as well as domestic travel within Maldives. This card could be used as a driver’s license, Identity card as well as any other official use. Bank of Maldives has announced that it will provide payment capability for the new passport card allowing customers to use the card at ATM’s as well as POS machines across the world. Allied Insurance has also offered their backing allowing the card to act as an insurance card as well.
Currently, there are very few countries that use passport cards as an official medium, mainly the United States. U.S cities are able to use the card to enter Canada, Mexico, Bermuda as well as a majority of the Caribbean nations. Passport cards are widely used within European nations as they are interconnected by land.
“Modernization of the immigration services has been a top priority for the current government. We believe that Maldivians will enjoy the convenience offered by the passport card. We, Maldives immigration will continue to serve the Maldivian people with the latest technological advancements.” The controller of Immigration Mr Mohamed Anwar said speaking to media.
Maldivian Passport cards are made out of a poly carbon material. The passport card will include AN embedded RFID Chip as well as plenty of security features reducing the chance of counterfeiting.
