It is completely wrong to remove the requirements for visible ears in passport photos – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

The new passports and national ID card will likely be safe even without visible ears, says Justice Minister Monica Mæland. She is aiming for better procedures, more secure documents, and a better biometric comparison.

– We will not demand more than is necessary. There must be proportionality between the demands we make, especially when they are perceived to discriminate and impede religious freedom. We don’t want that, says Mæland.

Security considerations

When the new passport regulations were consulted last summer, the Norwegian Police Directorate (POD) wrote in its response to the Ministry of Justice that security considerations should outweigh. They noted that a person’s ears are as unique as fingerprints and can be manually verified to prevent misuse of, for example, stolen documents.

Now the POD has changed. After a reassessment in June, they concluded that visible ears are not necessary, although security would have been even higher.

– There are also no international requirements or standards for ears in passport photos, says Deputy Police Chief Håkon Skulstad.

– In the response to the June 2019 consultation, clear advice is given that the requirement for visible ears should be continued. What is it that makes you turn around?

– A renewed general evaluation was carried out where the general security around the process was evaluated in relation to the issuance of the document itself, the document itself and the control routines for the subsequent identification control, answers Skulstad.

– With the new passport and the routine regarding issuance and subsequent control, Norway will have an even more secure identity document that still meets all international requirements, he says.

– sensational

Frp leader Siv Jensen, however, believes the government’s decision is sensational.

– Almost 30,000 Norwegian passports are lost every year. There is a significant security risk. It is therefore surprising that the government on the question of the requirements for visible ears chose the solution that provides the worst security for new passports, she writes in an email to NRK.

– It is about the credibility of identity documents. So it is special that we have a government that chooses to give more weight to religious considerations over greater security. This solution means that passports become less secure than they could have been, but not that they become useless, he says.

– FRP tried to stop this while we were in government. Therefore, this is a very special signal from the government to a party with which they will soon be in budget negotiations, he adds.

Long fight

Norwegian Sikhs have been fighting the visible ear requirement since it was introduced in Norway in 2014. The proposal for a new passport regulation, which was sent for consultation last summer, led to a completely unusual compromise. Both Sikhs and Muslims protested to keep the demand up.

On Thursday they received a salary for the effort, when up to three ministers showed up at the Sikh temple in Oslo to say they were dropping the lawsuit.

– This has been a very long battle, says Prableen Kaur on behalf of the Sikh community.

– It is very difficult to describe what this means for Norwegian Sikhs. But it’s like merging all the Sikh holidays, Christmas Eve and May 17, and celebrating it in one day. This is very, very big, he says.

Religious duty

Kaur explains that wearing a turban is a religious duty, so it is offensive to take it off unless done at a protected checkpoint. Being photographed without a turban to show the ears is tremendously difficult.

– For me, as Minister of Gender Equality, this is an important issue, says Abid Raja.

– They have come from Norway, but also from Sikh communities abroad. I’m glad we’re making this change now, he says.