Electronic EU Residence Permits

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Government Team

+49 89 4119-1837

+49 89 4119-2778

Overview Technology Brochures

Making the Europe-wide standardized residence permit more secure

Within the EU, more than 20 million third-country nationals require a residence permit. In 2002, the European Union decided to harmonize residence permits so that the EU member states could guarantee more security for the residence documents of citizens from third countries. Some member countries, such as Portugal, Bulgaria, and Great Britain, are already using the new residence permits. The new EU residence permit is a smartcard-based document that stores biometric data securely. It replaces the previous format that is no longer adequate for the growing security needs. With its biometric residence permit, G&D is at the cutting-edge of this technological development.

The technical specifications for EU-wide compatibility, based on the ICAO guidelines, require two biometric identifiers: a facial image and two fingerprints. Data stored on the chip integrated into the electronic residence card will be encrypted and transmitted via the contacts on the chip surface. The eERP can also be supported as a contact-based interface. Depending on country-specific demand, the chip can also incorporate other applications. Accordingly, G&D’s electronic residence permit contains all the e-government functions envisioned for the future European Citizen Card (ECC). This will allow cardholders to use electronic public services, for example, or to uniquely authenticate their identity when shopping online or accessing other Internet services.

Issuing electronic residence documents is an extremely complicated process:

From the development of the card material and security features, through the operating systems, applications, and cryptographic mechanisms, through the data acquisition in registration offices, and the secure data transmission, all the way up to the personalization of the documents. For all these processes G&D can provide its customers with the experience and expertise of an internationally successful consulting service provider, with an integrated system solution for every performance module.

Card material

Residence documents are subjected to many kinds of stress, which is why they need to be as durable as possible in order to resist physical tampering, and external impacts, including wear, chemicals, varying temperatures, environmental conditions, and UV radiation.

G&D bases its decisions on the card body material on top quality standards, in response to the international demand for residence cards to have a lifetime of up to ten years. Combined with the appropriate personalization technology, maximum counterfeit protection and durability can be guaranteed.

In selecting the card material, G&D matches the requirements and interests of its clients and project partners to the letter, although we do recommend the use of polycarbonate (PC). All of G&D’s cards meet international standards.

Security technologies

When designing ID cards, G&D can fall back on its years of experience in developing and integrating security features. A variety of different security printing technologies and other security features are employed in the production of identity documents. These techniques are combined to form a smart overall concept in which each technique is assigned to a specific verification level.

Card operating systems and applications

The chip operating system is also a result of G&D’s many years of experience. We offer a variety of implementations for operating systems – based entirely on customer requirements. Our portfolio of operating systems covers the whole range of international security standards and certifications. The cardholder’s personal data are additionally safeguarded by multilayer access control.

G&D offers two types of operating systems that have represented the leading systems in security for the last few decades, and meet all international standards (including the FIPS standard):

STARCOS is a native operating system offering maximum security and speed.
Sm@rtCafé Expert corresponds to the current Java Card and GlobalPlatform specifications and is an open, standardized operating system with a high level of flexibility and security.