Fingerprints to prevent identity fraud

“Document falsification loopholes must be closed.” Minister of the Interior Jan Jambon is determined now that the competent parliamentary committee has approved the bill for the registration of fingerprints on identity cards. Anyone applying for a new identity card as from April 2019 will have to register his or her fingerprints.

False identity as a weapon of terror

Fingerprints on identity cards are primarily a measure against identity theft. False documents are very popular in terrorist circles. “With the roll-out of the Canal Plan, we notice that terror always has three phenomena that support it: drugs, arms trafficking and forged documents,” says Jan Jambon.

No central database

There will be no central database with the fingerprints of all Belgians. For the identity cards, the government will work together with the same company that issues driving licences and passports. “We already have to put our fingerprints on our passports. We will use the same technology and the same system for identity cards, as they meet the toughest international standards,” concludes Jan Jambon.