---
title: Does easyAML support foreign-language passports?
description: Does easyAML support foreign-language passports - Internationally compliant passport includes a Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) on the photo page - two lines of.
---

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# Does easyAML support foreign-language passports?

## Yes, every internationally compliant passport includes a Latin-script Machine-Readable Zone.

Internationally compliant passport includes a **Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ)** on the photo page - two lines of OCR-friendly characters at the bottom - that contains the passport holder's name, nationality, DOB, document number and expiry, formatted in English using the Latin alphabet, regardless of what language the rest of the passport is in.

**How the platform reads them:**

- The customer captures the photo page with their phone camera.
- The platform's OCR extracts the MRZ and decodes it into the standard fields.
- The captured face is matched against the live selfie via biometric comparison.
- PEP, sanctions and adverse-media screening run on the Latin-character name as decoded.

**Languages tested and working** include Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Thai, Greek and most others - the MRZ standardisation is global because it's part of the ICAO 9303 passport specification.

**Where this doesn't fully apply:**

- **Older passports** (pre-2000 in some jurisdictions) without an MRZ - these still exist but are rare. Document-based verification falls back to manual review.
- **Other foreign-language ID documents** (driver's licences, national identity cards) - these don't have MRZ equivalents, so automatic extraction isn't possible. The document can be captured as supplementary evidence but won't drive the automated flow on its own.
- **At least one document in English** is required for the automatic extraction step; the foreign-language passport itself counts because of the MRZ.

For Japanese non-resident verification specifically, see "How is a Japanese non-resident director of an Australian company verified?" later in Section 4 - there's a tested workflow combining Japanese passport, Japanese driver licence and other supporting documents.

See AUSTRAC's [Overview of initial customer due diligence](https://www.austrac.gov.au/industry-and-business/obligations-and-guidance/your-amlctf-program/customer-due-diligence/initial-customer-due-diligence/overview-initial-customer-due-diligence) page.

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