Some 400 fake identification documents were confiscated at the airport and the harbour by border control officers over the past two years as the authorities clamp down on irregular movements in and out of the country. More than half of the fake documents were passports.

A border control officer said the forgeries are getting better. "It’s often very hard to spot a fake. Luckily, we know what to look for. There are tell-tale signs such as the quality of paper and the printing,” he said, adding that the introduction of biometric passports had made the forgers’ job much harder.

Italian documents make up the bulk of forgeries. Sometimes, however, fake rubber stamps are used on legitimate documents instead of falsifying entire passports.  

Many eastern Europeans do not require a visa to enter Malta but if they plan to stay for more than three months they would have to leave and then re-enter the country so their travel document/passport can be rubber stamped by the immigration authorities.

More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.
 

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