Belize Launches New ePassport

After a year and a half of planning with a team of designers and technology experts from various Belizean government departments, the administration has introduced a new passport. The travel document, along with a new electronic passport issuance and control system, succeeds an older process that was considered open to fraud.

The ePassport will include an electronic chip to safeguard the user’s personal information and photograph, as well as a verification feature for use at smart gates at international borders.

Governor General Froyla Tzalam was the first to receive the new, passport at a ceremony that signalled a transition to the modern system.

The government partnered with Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN) on the project, whose client list includes national and regional governments, central banks, and excise authorities around the world.