On 5 June 2025, Congo officially launched its new biometric passport. Developed in partnership with DERMALOG and led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this passport introduces a modern and secure travel document complying with the latest ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) standards.

The introduction of portrait-format identity cards signifies a shift in how governments approach ID design. With Iceland’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) compliant vertical ID launched in 2024 and Cameroon’s in 2025 (see page 4), the transition from landscape to portrait layouts offers a new canvas for optical security.

Reconnaissance International has unveiled DataVault™, the industry’s first dedicated, searchable online database for banknotes and coins – designed specifically for currency professionals who need fast, reliable, and up-to-date information.

In a collaborative development, Banknote Corporation of India (BCA) joined 4Plate, Covestro, Luminescence, and IQ Structures to introduce the Milano card (collectible), a bold celebration of creativity and innovation.

At the recent High Security Printing™ (HSP) EMEA conference in Basel (3-5 February), Georgios Tziovaras, Global Business Development Manager at Covestro Specialty Films, highlighted the crucial role of holography and advanced optical technologies in modern identity documents.

The National Agency for Identity Data (RvIG) has started circulating the new model of Dutch travel documents, including passports and identity cards, to combat fraud, abuse, and forgery.

Since physical documents such as national passports remain the root of trust for establishing identities, it is paramount to stay well ahead of counterfeiters. Advanced diffractive optically variable image devices (DOVIDs) have emerged as crucial components in securing identity documents against counterfeiting and manipulation.

As identity document forgery becomes increasingly sophisticated, the need for advanced security features in polycarbonate ID documents has become more critical. One such innovation is Flow Print, an optically variable security feature designed to combat sophisticated attempts at document fraud.

Following the increasing incidence of fake certificate attestation, NoRKA-Roots, the field agency of the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NoRKA), which acts as an interface between the Non-Residents of Keralites (NoRKs) and the Government of Kerala, has introduced a new hologram-embedded adhesive label for the attestation of certificates of candidates from the Indian state.

Few overt security devices have been deployed as widely and successfully as security holograms – or DOVIDs (Diffractive Optically Variable Image Devices), to be more precise and inclusive.