Chris Bowen, who is the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, has made a statement of introducing biometrics collection for Australian Visas coursed in Sri Lanka. The department of Australian immigration is now coming out further with biometric requirements for Australia Visa applications.

The Minister went on to say that from 8 February onwards, it would become mandatory for the applicants filing paper-based Australia visa submissions in Sri Lanka to give a digital facial snap and provide the digital scan of their fingerprints situated at the Australian Visa Application Centre placed in Colombo. The process would now be an integral element of the application process made for filing the visa.

It was in the December of last year when the Australian Government came out with its biometric collection program by introducing the prerequisite at Australia Visa applications coursed at various offices of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship which are located in different continents.

After the announcement made in December, it has been said that applicants from nations like Bangladesh, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia (to name a few) have incorporated biometrics collection.

The Minister said that the biometric data plays a critical role in curbing down immigration related frauds and enhancing identity management in the visa application processes. It is further vital in making the borders of the nation borders protected and ensuring that the reliability of visa system is maintained all over.

It has been further said that nations in Europe and Asia would include those program in the upcoming times.