Madagascar to give biometric resident cards to foreigners to fight terrorism

Madagascar will give biometric resident cards to foreigners to fight against terrorism, a government official said on Friday.

"This reform of the resident card is part of the implementation of Madagascar's migration policy and contributes to the fight against terrorism, the fight against fraud and corruption," General Secretary of the ministry of Interior and Decentralization Philibert Herve Andriamanantsoa said on Friday.

A biometric residence card costs 170 U.S dollars and is issued in 72 hours. "Unfalsifiable, it includes the data, including the location on the movements of its holder and replace documents allowing them to circulate on Madagascar's territory," Andriamanantsoa said.

"To facilitate the acquisition of this new biometric card, twenty registration centers will be installed in five regions because of many demands of resident cards," Andriamanantsoa added.

Foreigners living in Madagascar will have one year from September 2015 to apply for this new resident card.