Foreigners will have to have their fingerprints and photographs taken when entering the country, according to a bill passed in a Cabinet meeting yesterday.

Under the revision bill of the immigration control law, foreigners aged 17 or older are to have their photographs taken and fingerprints registered at the airport entrance desk from 2012. Those who refuse to do so may be denied access to the country.

Diplomats and government officials will be excluded from the obligations.

An automatic identification machine will replace the present face-to-face screening interview at the airport, according to the bill.

"The law aims at providing investigators with basic information so as to prevent the entrance of criminals or illegal immigrants," said a Justice Ministry official.

The collected information will be kept in the government-controlled database and managed under the personal information protection law.



The foreigner fingerprint registration system was abolished back in 2004 but its reintroduction was brought up for security and immigration control reasons.

"Many foreign national criminals escape police investigation just because their personal information, including fingerprints, is not registered in the system," said an official of the National Police Agency.

The bill has faced opposition from some foreigners. But officials pointed out that certain countries, including Japan and the United States, have begun similar fingerprint registers since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

"Also, the bill may not be seen as a discrimination against foreigners as all Korean people are to have their photographs and fingerprints recorded when they register their place of residence," said the NPA official.

Both foreign and Korean nationals in professional careers will now have 15-days to report a change in work address, instead of having to do so immediately, the revision bill also stated.

The bill also protects those who have applied for refugee status from being sent back to their home country.

(tellme@heraldm.com)



By Bae Hyun-jung