The identity documents of Monegasques must be manually verified at certain airports and do not benefit from fast, automated checks. The princely government of Monaco provides an explanation. It is an irritating phenomenon: after a long flight, arriving in a foreign country and having to wait in the manual passport control line, while others can use faster lanes where machines verify identity through biometric chips in their documents.
Many Monegasques have already experienced this inconvenience with their supposedly modernized passports, which are not suitable for electronic checks. The princely government, when asked for clarification, explains that there is a lack of data on the red and white passport chips.
"Monegasque passports are indeed eligible for SAS Parafe (Fast Automated Passage through External Borders) checks and contain a chip with mandatory biometric data such as the portrait image. This data, which is globally interoperable and usable in facial recognition systems, is essential for Parafe checks. However, Monegasque passports do not contain fingerprints. In some airports, these data are required for Parafe checks. In such cases, a non-Parafe check is always possible," which means waiting in line for a manual check.
As summer begins, encouraging long-distance travel, the situation is only expected to improve slowly. "Parafe systems must be regularly updated to retrieve the necessary certification elements. Unfortunately, they are not systematically updated in some airports, which can cause blockages. When such situations are known, the Principality initiates steps with the concerned countries through our diplomatic and consular network," the government argues.
Meanwhile, the government recently stressed to Monegasque nationals the imperative need to have a passport valid for at least six months after the planned return date for travel abroad and to ensure in advance the conditions and entry and stay formalities for Monegasques in the country visited.
"It is recommended that Monegasque nationals, before any travel abroad, register online with 'Fil d’Ariane' on the website of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and consult the information related to the country they wish to visit."
This French public service allows citizens to inform the authorities of their travel location to be located or assisted in case of a problem.