Professional photographers in Belgium are mad at a new government initiative to provide free passport pictures at the passport office. One photographer who started an online petition called the idea “robbery.”
The plan wasn’t initiated to save money for travelers, but rather as a security measure to assure that the picture in the passport was actually the person who showed up at local government offices to file the passport application. It’s also expected to streamline the process.
The central government is supplying secure photo equipment to local government offices that process passport applications. The new procedure will soon be in effect in 70% of the country’s municipalities and will be used for ID cards as well as passports. The equipment is paid for in part from EU grants.
Mieke Coppieters, the petition initiator, says she understands the need to combat fraud, but that the goal could have been achieved by supplying the secure digital photography systems to professional photographers instead of to the municipal offices.
Some 30% of Belgium’s municipalities have so far opted out of the system, with some calling it ‘governmental overreach.’
Image: Editer132w/Wikimedia Commons
