Australia to crack down on fraudulent visa applications with biometric data
December 1st, 2010 - 5:11 pm ICT by ANISydney, Dec.1 (ANI): Australia will join the global clampdown on fraudulent visa applications by expanding its collection of biometric data to onshore applicants.
Federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced the change today, saying it would reduce identity fraud and fraudulent claims.
“We need to make sure that Australia’s toolbox is world’s best practice for dealing with world identity fraud and fraudulent visa applications, which are on the rise,” he told journalists in Sydney.
According to Australian Government sources, biometrics data will now be collected from all applicants for protection visas lodged in Australia, alongside those for most overseas applicants.
The federal government will also begin the phased introduction of biometric data collection for processing offshore visa applications, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The type of data that would be collected includes digital facial images and 10-digit fingerprint scans.
Bowen said this would help establish the identity of protection visa applicants who arrived in Australia often without sufficient documentation.
It would also strengthen Australia’s ability to detect “inconsistent” claims.
“Biometrics is an important tool in our efforts against identity fraud and against fraudulent visa applications,” Bowen said.
Biometric data collection is already pursued in United Kingdom, United States, some European countries and Canada. (ANI)
- Australian Immigration Minister cautions against migration scams - Oct 08, 2010
- Secrecy over scans 'hurting relations', says Oz opposition leader - Feb 25, 2010
- Indians seeking Canadian visas likely to face fingerprinting - Jun 06, 2011
- Aadhar targets 200 million enrolments soon - Jan 21, 2012
- Chidambaram gives out smart ID cards in Andamans - Jan 22, 2012
- US encourages prospective students to protect themselves from visa fraud - Jan 31, 2011
- Biometric scanners flooding Oz pub market as fix-all solution to violence - Jan 30, 2011
- Tri-Valley University head indicted in visa fraud - May 04, 2011
- Facebook to look into face recognition software's security concerns - Jul 27, 2011
- How to get your own unique identity number - May 08, 2011
- Corporation Bank signs MoU with UIDAI - Aug 05, 2010
- 'Mobile ID' devices herald next generation of biometric gadgets - Aug 27, 2009
- Cabinet clears creation of National Population Register - Mar 19, 2010
- US defends radio tagging of Indian students; probe on (Lead) - Jan 31, 2011
- Australia mulls easing student visa norms - Dec 16, 2010
Tags: australian government, biometric data, chris bowen, clampdown, european countries, facial images, federal immigration, fingerprint, fraud, fraudulent claims, government sources, immigration minister, journalists, morning herald, overseas applicants, protection visa, sydney morning herald, visa applicants, visa applications, world identity