Fraudulent passport applications ‘running at 30-a-year’

FRAUDULENT applications for Irish passports have totalled about 375 in the past 12 years, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Fraudulent passport applications ‘running at 30-a-year’

Documents obtained by the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act show between 1992 and 2002, the Passport Office had identified 250 cases.

However, an additional 125 suspected fraud cases may have been uncovered since then.

Foreign Affairs pointed out the number of fraudulent cases was low when compared to the volume of passports issued in the past 10 years.

There are now 3.75 million Irish passports in circulation and any increase of fraudulent cases in the past two years is proportionate to the increase in passport applications.

In 2003, some 560,000 Irish passports were issued, a virtual doubling of the number issued in 1996.

Last year 87,000 holders picked up their passports abroad, mainly in London.

Also 6,854 foreign-born people qualified for Irish citizenship as their parents or grandparents were Irish-born or Irish citizens. The figure was 2,000 lower than the comparable figure for 2002.

No specific details in relation to the fraud cases was released by Foreign Affairs.

However, fraudulent applications are running at about 30 a year at present.

The cases vary, according to reliable sources. Typically, some have involved Irish people who have lived illegally in the US who have applied for a passport in Dublin trying to pass themselves off as a younger sibling.

There have also been cases of a separated parent forging the signature of the second parent (whose consent is also required) when applying for a passport for their children.

There have also been cases of people applying using stolen or lost birth certificates.

The Passport Office was not in a position to state how many prosecutions or convictions have arisen from suspected cases of fraud, though they said that information on all such cases is passed onto the gardaí as a matter of routine.

The number of counterfeit or forged passports which have been uncovered is tiny. The increase in passport fees to €75 in March will mean revenue from passports is expected to top €33m in 2004, compared to €24m last year.

One of the reasons for the fee increase is the introduction of new security features.

These will include a laminated page for personal details and a photograph which will be much more difficult to tamper with or attempt to forge.

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