The guide provides information on the core obligations of first-contact official and the rights of person who may be in need of international protection in the first contact situation. It will steer officers through the process of identification of person who may wish to apply for protection and the provision of relevant procedures guarantees and support.

The specific objectives of the study are as follows:

a) to establish an inventory of security relevant issues in the context of the application for, production, and use of electronic passports (BAC and EAC) in Europe;

b) to individuate differences among EU/Schengen member States and highlight eventual problems for interoperability when the passports are used for identification at external borders;

c) to identify best practices related to the issuance processes;

d) to suggest a set of recommendation to redress security gaps in the issuance process.

The resulting report covers not only security but also interoperability and follows the e-Passport through all the steps of its life-cycle, from application to invalidation.