Dubai Airport Seizes 1,000 Fake Travel Documents Every Year

With DXB International Airport being one of the busiest

You wouldn’t guess that part of the millions that make their way through the Dubai-based airport is attempting to do so with forged passports.

In a recent report by officials on Tuesday, a shocking number of forged documents were seized by Dubai officials at the airport in 2018.

More than 1,043 forged travel documents have been claimed and discovered at the Dubai International Airport this year thanks to the help of 1,700 passport control officers.

Part of the training airport officials must undergo is to spot forged passports and travel documents immediately – they are also asked to screen all the passports entering or passing through the airports to make sure of their authenticity and ensure the UAE’s safety.

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While airport officials may be trained to spot forged documents with the naked eye, it doesn’t hurt that they also have state-of-the-art technology systems to help identify fake documents too.

By using the latest in technologies, officers are able to scan, examine and determine the forged documents with the help of the vast digital database.

These procedures also help the UAE apprehend any wanted people by the country or from abroad that may be attempting to pass through the airport.

Forging attempts

2018 saw 1,043 attempts at forges and officials say that these forgers varied from person to person.

Some may change their passport data to enter the country illegally, others may change their personal photos or remove the original page of the passport and replace it with a new page that holds fake data.

The most common type of forgers is when travellers attempt to use another person’s passport to enter the country – which is called “impersonation,” and is punishable by law in the UAE.

SEE ALSO: What Can Get You Arrested at Dubai Airports

Officials also declared that some travellers, who arrive on a transit visa, attempt to travel to their final destination through forged identity cards, visas, residence IDs and driver licenses etc…from various countries.

All forgers are immediately sent back to the country that they came from.

Spotting forged documents

If you’re wondering what the officials at the airport are looking out for when it comes to forged documents, here’s a few:

• Guarantee thread
• Colour and phosphoric fibres
• Phosphoric inks
• Watermarks
• Microscopic print