Frequently asked questions

Answer

The chip in the Canadian ePassport must be held within ten centimetres of the reader in order to be read. Moreover, the data on the chip cannot be accessed unless the machine-readable zone on page 2 has first been read, which means that the passport book must be open. It is therefore extremely unlikely that the data stored on the chip could be read without the knowledge of the passport holder.

What's more, the chip only contains the photo and identifying information that is already visible to the naked eye on page 2 of the passport.