The agonizing immigration line wait at Saudi international airports for arriving or departing passengers is set to end soon with the introduction of a quick-passage electronic gate equipped with a biometric reader. Travelers have only to swipe their biometric immigration card at the gate and walk through – if their immigration requirements for exit or entry are automatically met. The new biometrics system is based on the verification of the eye and fingerprints of the passenger. Currently, all residents are required to get their eye scan and fingerprints recorded at the Passport and Immigration office as a prelude to receiving the biometric immigration card for travel out or into the country. The electronic gate project is part of the Ministry of Interior's program to establish a central database containing the fingerprints of all citizens, foreign residents and visitors to the Kingdom – as well as those who violate the country's regulations. The idea is to make possible the speedy identification of a person's identity, curb overstaying and establish an electronic infrastructure for verifying identities. Currently at Saudi airports, immigration officials use computers to verify the electronic data of arriving or departing passengers who are made to wait, often in long lines, for their turn. According to the ministry, the biometric system has higher technical capabilities than previously used systems, as the search and matching of identification data can be made in seconds. – Okaz/SGThe electronic trackOnce the passenger enters the electronic track, the system will give them instructions to complete the electronic verification process based on fingerprint and eye-image checks. At the end of the electronic track, the passenger will automatically receive a print-out containing their exit or entry record. The new system can communicate with over 2,000 fingerprinting machines in addition to portable fingerprint reading machines and vehicle-borne equipment to read the smart ID
