From today, foreign nationals aged over 17 who enter South Korea for a stay of more than 91 days will have their fingerprints scanned at immigration offices in line with a new law, the Ministry of Justice said Thursday.
Those who have already lived here for more than three months will be required to present the biometric information to the authorities from January next year, the ministry said.
Collected fingerprints will be used to identify those involved in crimes or accidents, it said.
This is the first collection of fingerprints of long-staying foreigner nationals in nearly eight years, following its abolishment in 2003 over human rights concerns. The revised Immigration Act that justifies the collection was passed in May last year.
―The primary purpose of the collection is to identify foreigners involved in crimes or accidents,‖ said Ahn Gyu-seok, an official at the Korea Immigration Service. ―Every process to record fingerprints is set to be completed within one or two minutes to minimize waiting time.‖
The ministry forecasts more than 200,000 fingerprints will be collected by later this year.
Nearly 1.18 million foreigners were reported to have lived here for more than 90 days last year, up 6.8 percent from 2009, according to Statistics Korea.
This is the second step in the ministry‘s three-phase move. In the first step, taken in September last year, the ministry collected fingerprints of foreigners with a criminal record.
In the third and final step, which will take effect in January, all foreign visitors will be required to have their two forefingers scanned and their face photographed at immigration checkpoints at international airports and ports.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/07/117_89960.html
Those who have already lived here for more than three months will be required to present the biometric information to the authorities from January next year, the ministry said.
Collected fingerprints will be used to identify those involved in crimes or accidents, it said.
This is the first collection of fingerprints of long-staying foreigner nationals in nearly eight years, following its abolishment in 2003 over human rights concerns. The revised Immigration Act that justifies the collection was passed in May last year.
―The primary purpose of the collection is to identify foreigners involved in crimes or accidents,‖ said Ahn Gyu-seok, an official at the Korea Immigration Service. ―Every process to record fingerprints is set to be completed within one or two minutes to minimize waiting time.‖
The ministry forecasts more than 200,000 fingerprints will be collected by later this year.
Nearly 1.18 million foreigners were reported to have lived here for more than 90 days last year, up 6.8 percent from 2009, according to Statistics Korea.
This is the second step in the ministry‘s three-phase move. In the first step, taken in September last year, the ministry collected fingerprints of foreigners with a criminal record.
In the third and final step, which will take effect in January, all foreign visitors will be required to have their two forefingers scanned and their face photographed at immigration checkpoints at international airports and ports.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/07/117_89960.html
