Policymakers should consider the impact that visa regimes may have on wider issues of human mobility (see Chapter Facilitating pre-arrival: Passport and visa management) and, consequently, on the smuggling of migrants.

On one hand, a visa regime should be seen as – and structured as – an integral part of the policy to counter migrant smuggling. Target risk analysis should guide the overall visa regime policy in order to harness the full potential of visa regimes to obstruct the “illegal business of migrants smuggling” with the “legal business” offered to potential migrants to migrate in a safe, orderly and regular manner.

On the other hand, law enforcement and judiciaries should constantly verify that visa processes are not penetrated by unlawful activities that would undermine the integrity of the entire immigration legal apparatus. Risks to consider in the visa regime field could be external (for example, forgery of entry visa stickers, fraudulent documentation in support of visa applications or impostors) or internal (corruption, inefficiencies, bureaucracy).

Note that while smugglers resort to fraudulent documents, they are not the only ones. Fraud is widely used in regular applications for visas, as well. 

Example
Some methods by which visas are fraudulently obtained

 

  • Supplying forged or altered passports showing a record of travel and compliance with immigration conditions;
  • Supplying forged or fraudulent support documentation, such as employment letters, bank statements and other financial documents, sponsorship declarations or education certificates;
  • Providing student acceptance letters for colleges that exist in name only, even though they are properly registered in the destination country;
  • Providing documents offering employment from companies that have no intention of employing the migrant;
  • Providing funds in cash or proof of funds that are returned when the visa is issued;
  • Arranging sham marriages to enable “spouses” to reunite;
  • Providing false documentation for family reunification of migrants who are not related as claimed;
  • Providing false invitation letters or invitations from accomplices;
  • Providing fictious hotel bookings and flight itineraries;
  • Adopting a false identity and acting as an impostor.

Migrant smugglers, particularly those who are well resourced, organized and connected, may use visa fraud in migrant smuggling operations. Therefore, visa officers have an important role to play in identifying cases of smuggling.

Policy Approaches
The smuggling of migrants and visa fraud

 

  • Strengthen the capacity of border officials to detect fraudulent documents.
  • Ensure visa officers are trained to identify fraudulent applications, including from visitors, students, migrant workers and prospective residents.
  • Provide adequate time, resources and advanced technology to properly assess visa applications against smuggling indicators. Ensure that visa officers have the capacity to verify relevant documentation at the source, and ensure they have the skills to interview applicants to assess the consistency of the information provided when applying for entry visa.
  • Strengthen cooperation among border control agencies by, among other things, establishing and maintaining direct channels of communication.
  • Take measures to ensure and strengthen the quality and security of travel and identity documents so that they cannot be unlawfully altered or created.
  • Use evidence of fraudulent documents to corroborate the crime of migrant smuggling.

Find more information on this topic in Chapter Facilitating pre-arrival: Passport and visa management.

To Go Further
PreviousSmuggling of migrants during crisisNextTrafficking in Persons and Associated Forms of Exploitation and Abuse