President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will officially launch the Liberian Biometric e-Passport booklet, the official Liberian travel document printed and issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Friday, August 4, 2017.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, the official launch of the Liberian Biometric e-Passport booklet, also referred to an e-Passport, takes place at the Bureau of Passport and Visas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Monday, August 7, 2017, the Bureau of Passport and Visas will officially begin the issuance of the new e-Passport booklets to the public.

The Government of Liberia through the Bureau of Passport and Visas suspended the issuance of passports to new applicants and individuals applying for passports on Tuesday, August 1, as they prepared to begin the issuance of e-Passports.

The new e-Passport booklet comes with advanced technology which will no longer have a 2D barcode but rather a RFID microprocessor chip implanted into the book without the ability of detecting it physically with the eyes or touch of the hand. The e-Passport will hold all ten fingerprints in addition to the facial image of the holder on the RFID microprocessor chip.

Unlike the previous Liberian Biometric Passport, the RFDI microprocessor chip implanted into the book makes it difficult to be altered or duplicated as the chip cannot be decrypted.

In the event where an attempt is made to duplicate or alter, the e-Passport renders it void, as the passport will read two different information - the one stored on the passport page will read differently from the one stored on the chip.

In addition to all the modern electronic security, the physical security features of the new Liberian e-Passport booklet has been upgraded. The improved security and aesthetic design has indigenous Liberian heritage symbols, from Liberian wildlife (pigmy hippopotamus, zebra antelopes) to Kissi coins and symbolic buildings, representations of both terrestrial landmarks and modern Liberia.

Since the introduction of the biometric passport, Liberian and foreign security operatives have easily detected all forgery attempts in the Liberian passport. The Government of Liberia is determined to maintain its status at the forefront of passport security and insisted on the substantial passport upgrade with Buck Press Ltd. This upgrade to e-Passports heralds Liberia on par with the U.S.A. and all European countries. In fact, the PKI infrastructure of e-Passports means that Liberia is an upgraded member of the ICAO PKI Agreement which updates all member countries, and certifies that genuine e-Passports are issued to their citizens. 

Meanwhile, an Expedited Application Service Center is being established at the Bureau of Passport and Visas where applicants who are urgently in need of a passport can pay an expedited service charge in addition to the passport fee and be guaranteed same day delivery.  Applicants for the new eliberia-passport can also apply online at www.mofa.gov.lr