Have a Safe Trip Global Mobility and Machine Readable Travel Documents: Experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

This paper examines the use of personal identification information currently requested by governments to issue international travel documents, as well as the scope of government duties to manage and protect this sensitive information. Many national governments have moved to augment citizen identification requirements for international travel. Increasingly, personal identification information—including biometric data—is collected for issuance of travel documents and required for border crossings. It is of interest to governments to efficiently process travelers, identify potential security threats, and prevent identity fraud. However, less attention is paid to minimizing the intrusiveness of the identity information collected and to ensuring its effective management and security. This paper draws attention to these issues through an examination of case studies in Latin America and the Caribbean, and also makes recommendations for establishing standards in the collection and protection of personal identity information as related to border crossing.