How does the ePassport work?

The chip in the Canadian ePassport will be a proximity contactless chip that must be held within ten centimetres of a reader in order to be read. Moreover, the data on the chip cannot be accessed unless the machine-readable zone on page 2 has first been read, which means that the passport book must be open.

Border authorities equipped with ePassport readers will insert the traveller's ePassport into a scanner, which will read the machine-readable zone, thereby opening the chip so that it can be read as well. The machine also checks other security features, such as the country's signature. Border authorities who are not equipped with ePassport readers will continue to examine travellers' passports as they do now.

You may also be interested in...

• What is an ePassport?
• Will the ePassport contain biometric information such as an iris scan or fingerprints?
• Can someone read the information on my ePassport without my knowledge?
• Will the ePassport contain any kind of tracking device?
• I have a valid passport. Will I still be able to use it even though it's not an ePassport?
• What will happen if the chip in my ePassport doesn't work?
• Will children's ePassports also be valid for 10 years?
• Will the ePassport make border crossings faster?

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