Tightening up visa verification

The importance of immigration checks in the security process at European airports has received inadequate attention over recent years, according to industry experts.

Indeed, when speaking about security at UK ports and airports in March 2006, government security official Lord Carlile admitted that customs and immigration services were "spread a little thinly, and that's not entirely satisfactory". He added that "nobody could put their hand on their heart at the moment and say they feel totally confident that all terrorists are likely to be caught coming in from abroad".

UK transport secretary Ruth Kelly believes that the situation has improved since then. "I understand that there are more front-line border officers than ever before," she told the House of Commons in October 2007. "Their being there doing that important job is preventing thousands of illegal immigrants from entering the UK every year."

However, boosts to staffing levels aside, there is a perception that a security gap exists in the area of visa verification. A biometric trial piloted by London Gatwick and involving international technology group Motorola is aimed at addressing this gap. BioDev II uses fingerprint technology to establish the true identity of the visa holder, according to Gillian Ormiston, head of European Biometrics Identity Management & Security Solutions at Motorola.

The company is the technology provider for BioDev II trials at four other EU airports: Vienna International; Luxemburg Findel; Madrid Barajas; and Lisbon. There are no major procedural differences in the way the trial is being implemented at the five airports, Ormiston says.

The BioDev II project is being introduced at a total of eight EU countries - Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and the UK - under the supervision of the European Commission (EC). Its primary objectives are to develop biometric registration solutions that are tailored for each of the eight countries; integrate them into the existing national visa-processing systems; and test their interoperability. 317 of 926 words