After the identity card and the Vitale card, it is the passport which will become dematerialized

In recent years, there has been a real movement towards identity papers. Identity card, driving license, Vitale card: little by little, it is becoming possible to store these precious documents directly on our smartphones.

A transformation which can be very practical for the user, but also a gain in security for the documents in question.

The changeover of national papers is already an ambitious project, but an even more important project is on the horizon: the question of the passport, by definition international.

Major international tests

The future of the passport obviously concerns the authorities of each country, but also more specifically airports and the travel industry.

It is therefore not surprising to see the airports of several countries participating in a giant experiment whose objective is to allow travelers to store passport data directly on the smartphone.

Here are the countries affected by these tests at the moment:

• Finland;
• United Kingdom ;
• Italy ;
• The Netherlands ;
• Canada ;
• UNITED STATES ;
• Inde ;
• United Arab Emirates.

In all cases, the aim is to allow travelers to store a digital version of the data already present on the chip of biometric passports.

We must ensure end-to-end security of the system, but also that the authorities can read and store the information.

And in France?

France, like the other countries of the European Union, should soon have access to a new provision adopted in October 2024 by the European Commission.

This involves developing a digital travel application “ for people traveling to and from the Schengen area ».

This new application “can be used by all EU citizens and third-country nationals holding a biometric passport or an EU identity card ».

However, you will have to be patient, the EU does not plan to deploy the application before 2030.