Thailand has recently received a new e-passport following one of the largest passport projects for Thales worldwide.
The newly designed 64-page biometric travel document includes an e-Cover and a thin, flexible data page made of polycarbonate material. The reverse side of the data page features a high definition, true color UV picture of one of Bangkok’s most iconic landmarks, the Wat Arun temple. The security features visible on the data page include an additional secondary image of the citizen perforated in the semi-transparent window; as well as the traditional Thai four-petal lotus symbol, the line-pra-jum-yam, embossed using Thales’ Secure Surface technology.
Designed to counter new types of forgeries, Thales Secure Surface provides optical elements with light reflective and animation effects revealed by tilting a document in different angles. This visible security feature is also designed to allow fast and efficient verification by border authorities.
An additional perceptible feature is the tactile signature of the citizen embossed on the data page. Biometric data is embedded into the passport chip using Thales’ secure embedded software, which has been designed to provide strong security for identification and protection of citizens’ privacy.
The technological features of the passport comply with all relevant data protection laws in Thailand and are fully compliant to the highest security standards recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Since the project’s inception, Thales has trained 250 local experts in its passport issuance technologies. Over the next seven years, Thales will be operating know-how transfer and upskilling more than 500 Thai nationals in its technologies.
