Gemalto and its Colombian partner INCOMELEC have announced that they are transforming the immigration and border crossing in Colombia through biometric iris verification implemented by Migración Colombia, the country's border control agency. This solution was launched in February 2018 with a pilot programme at Bogota's El Dorado International Airport. According to Gemalto, the Automated Border Control (ABC), known locally as BIOMIG, is benefiting speeding up identity authentication and significantly reducing bottlenecks in the immigration process while maintaining strong security control for each traveller. The company says: "A growing majority of airport arrivals in Bogota – up to 60% – are Colombian citizens re-entering the country. This often results in long immigration queues, congested waiting areas and travel weary citizens. BIOMIG mitigates these challenges while complying with Colombia's stringent border control security requirements."Gemalto adds that the solution integrates an iris recognition terminal that allows iris capture from 35 to 45cm away. To use the service, Colombian citizens aged 12 and older need to visit one of 30 BIOMIG enrolment stations at the airport as they exit the country. In less than one minute, their unique iris scan is securely registered with Colombia's Border Management System (BMS). When re-entering the country, previously enrolled citizens enter their national ID number on a touchscreen integrated with an automated door barrier by INCOMELEC. After a quick glance at the iris reader terminal, identity is validated via a secure digital process and the automatic doors swing open. Gemalto has supported Migración Colombia with solutions for secure document authentication, biometric solutions and software integration for their border operations."The challenge with border control solutions is to minimise and simplify immigration procedures while improving ease, speed and convenience for end users, without compromising security. This is exactly what the ABC Iris solution achieves," said Francesc Ortodo, sales director for Government Programs Latin America at Gemalto. "Colombian citizens can now benefit from strong biometric security within a trusted environment."
