PRADO - Public Register of Travel and Identity Documents Online
Encyclopedia
The Public Register of Travel and Identity Documents Online "PRADO" is a website with information on security features of identity documents of countries within the European Union and the EEA
. It is hosted by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union
(GSC).
and travel document
s. The information contained is selected and provided by document experts in the Member States of the European Union
(EU), Iceland
, Norway
and Switzerland
; part of the information contained in the classified, restricted system FADO
is made publicly available via the PRADO site. The steering committee in the Council of the European Union
is the Working Party on Frontiers in the formation of False Documents Experts.
The documents are categorized into 12 categories:
Except for Ireland and Romania, information on documents of all EU countries is present, although the number of contributed documents differs widely (but information is added every week). In addition, document info is available on passports from some British territories and dependencies which are not part of the EU, from Ethiopia
, Georgia
, Jamaica
, Mexico
and Moldova
.
. Documents are introduced by document experts in any of the languages and the standardized descriptions are translated automatically; thus, documents are immediately available in all supported languages. Additional free text information contained is translated later by specialized linguists of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union
.
EEA
EEA or Eea may refer to:* Eea or Electron affinity, the energy required to detach an electron from a singly charged negative ion* River Eea, in Cumbria, England* EEA Helicopter Operations, a Dutch subsidiary of CHC Helicopter...
. It is hosted by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union
General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union
The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, better known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the Council Presidency, European Council and the President of the European Council. The General Secretariat is currently headed by Secretary-General Uwe...
(GSC).
Content
PRADO contains information on security features of authentic identityIdentity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
and travel document
Travel document
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international treaty organization to facilitate the movement of individuals or small groups of persons across international boundaries...
s. The information contained is selected and provided by document experts in the Member States of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU), Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
; part of the information contained in the classified, restricted system FADO
FADO
-FADO - False and Authentic Documents Online:A computerised image-archiving system to help combat illegal immigration and organised crime- ACT : adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union concerning the setting up of a European Image-Archiving System .-...
is made publicly available via the PRADO site. The steering committee in the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
is the Working Party on Frontiers in the formation of False Documents Experts.
The documents are categorized into 12 categories:
- A National passports (all types)
- B Identity cards
- C Visa (documents)Visa (document)A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
- D Stamps (passport stamps)Passport stampA passport stamp is a rubber stamp inked impression received in one's passport upon entering or exiting a country. Passport stamps may occasionally take the form of sticker stamps, such as those received when entering Japan. Depending on nationality, a visitor may not receive a stamp , such as an...
- E Entry papers
- F Driving licences
- G Vehicle licences / log booksVehicle licenceA valid vehicle licence is required by law in some countries to be displayed on any registered motor vehicle if it is to be used or kept on a public road.-Worldwide:...
- H Residence permits
- I Seaman's books
- J Travel DocumentTravel documentA travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international treaty organization to facilitate the movement of individuals or small groups of persons across international boundaries...
s issued to non-nationals - P Civil status documents
- X Other documents
Except for Ireland and Romania, information on documents of all EU countries is present, although the number of contributed documents differs widely (but information is added every week). In addition, document info is available on passports from some British territories and dependencies which are not part of the EU, from Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
.
Multi-lingual
PRADO is currently available in 22 official languages of the European UnionLanguages of the European Union
The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others...
. Documents are introduced by document experts in any of the languages and the standardized descriptions are translated automatically; thus, documents are immediately available in all supported languages. Additional free text information contained is translated later by specialized linguists of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
.
Target audience
The information on the website has been released to the general public, providing information especially to non-governmental organizations with a need or legal obligation to check identities, for example to:- Banks and credit institutions,
- Employers,
- Mobile phone providers.
- Notaries and lawyers,
- Postal services,
- Security and guarding companies,
- Vehicle rental companies and agencies,
See also
- EuropaEuropa (web portal)Europa is the official web portal of the European Union . It is intended to improve the public’s interaction with EU institutions by quickly directing website visitors to the services or information they are seeking. Europa links to all EU agencies and institutions in addition to press releases...
- Identity documentIdentity documentAn identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
- Passports of the European Union