Luanda, Dec. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - The Angolan government unveiled its electronic passport on Tuesday, saying that the 48-page booklet incorporates a chip that stores the holder's biometric data and advanced security details, reducing the risk of forgery and identity theft.
The Angolan electronic passport, which has begun to be issued at the Angolan Migration and Foreigners Service (SME) office on the Luanda waterfront, was presented today at a ceremony presided over by Angola's Minister of the Interior, Manuel Homem.
According to the Director General of the SME, José Coimbra Baptista, the features of the Angolan electronic passport include an electronic chip that stores the holder's biometric data, the use of the latest printing technologies, advanced security features, encryption, and automatic verification systems. The Angolan electronic passport booklet also includes fingerprinting, facial capture and iris scanning.
"This new passport model offers higher levels of security, significantly reduces the risk of forgery and identity theft, facilitates international cooperation in migration control, and ensures greater reliability in identifying national citizenship, bringing the country into line with the standards and recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation," he said.
José Coimbra Baptista stated that the entry into force of the electronic passport in the country is part of the SME's modernisation process. On the other hand, he highlighted the implementation of advanced identification and immigration control systems and the use of integrated databases "to manage the entry and exit of national and foreign citizens" as ongoing actions within the agency's modernisation process.
The Angolan electronic passport comprises five categories: ordinary passport, service passport, diplomatic passport, passport for foreigners, and travel document for refugees.
Its issuance also began today at the SME office on the Luanda waterfront, and will be followed in stages by the remaining 12 SME offices in the Angolan capital. The next phase covers the province of Huambo, followed by the provincial offices of the SME and, finally, the diplomatic and consular missions.
The SME's director of information technology, Vissolela Mariano, pointed out that Angola has two passport-issuing centres: one in Luanda, with six machines capable of issuing one passport per minute, and the other in Huambo, with three machines.
DAS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
