Learnt a few things (the hard way) about the Machine Readable Zone in Passports.
1. The Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) refers to the blocky text with arrows (chevrons) on the bio page of your passport. The other (normal) portion above the MRZ is referred to as the Visual Inspection Zone (VIZ)
2. It contains a few things - the country of issue, full name, etc.
3. In case your passport doesn't separate given and surnames in the VIZ (I know this is the case for Vietnamese and some Indian passports), it might still be done in the MRZ. For example, the following information implies a surname of Nguyen and a first name of Thi Ngoc Binh
P<VNMNguyen<<Thi<Ngoc<Binh<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
4. The MRZ information is what shows up when immigration or a check-in counter scans your passport
5. The Canadian immigration authorities will use what's in the MRZ, in case of any discrepancies with the VIZ. Airlines and other countries may have different approaches.
6. If there are discrepancies between the VIZ and the MRZ (particularly name), do yourself a favour and get it fixed ASAP!
Here's information that the IRCC provided me with on the issue:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/identity-management/naming-procedures/read-travel-documents.html
1. The Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) refers to the blocky text with arrows (chevrons) on the bio page of your passport. The other (normal) portion above the MRZ is referred to as the Visual Inspection Zone (VIZ)
2. It contains a few things - the country of issue, full name, etc.
3. In case your passport doesn't separate given and surnames in the VIZ (I know this is the case for Vietnamese and some Indian passports), it might still be done in the MRZ. For example, the following information implies a surname of Nguyen and a first name of Thi Ngoc Binh
P<VNMNguyen<<Thi<Ngoc<Binh<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
4. The MRZ information is what shows up when immigration or a check-in counter scans your passport
5. The Canadian immigration authorities will use what's in the MRZ, in case of any discrepancies with the VIZ. Airlines and other countries may have different approaches.
6. If there are discrepancies between the VIZ and the MRZ (particularly name), do yourself a favour and get it fixed ASAP!
Here's information that the IRCC provided me with on the issue:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/identity-management/naming-procedures/read-travel-documents.html
