Number of Stolen & Forged Passports & Visas Detected by Italian Border Police Increased in 2023

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 21 people were arrested by Italian Border Police in 2023, and 130 foreigners were returned back to their countries of origin.
• 796,000 passengers were identified and subjected to police checks in Galileo airport, which is 15 per cent more compared to 2022.
• Authorities noticed an increase in falsified and stolen passports as well.

In 2023, the Border Police Office in Pisa observed a notable surge in activity during border checks on the Schengen Area’s external borders compared to 2022, as reported by PisaToday, an Italian digital newspaper.

21 individuals were arrested during 2023, including those with arrest warrants for prior serious offences or deemed a threat to public safety.

Border Police also revealed that 45 people were reported for offences that were mainly related to the possession of stolen or forged passports, some of which contained altered entry visas. Moreover, they added that numerous stolen “blank” visa vignettes from the Italian Consulate in Pakistan were also identified to have been filled in with fraudulent data.

They highlighted that the number of seized, stolen, forged passports or those containing falsified visas has also increased compared to the previous year.

Increasing the identification of false documents has an important role in mitigating the threats related to uncontrolled migration patterns, and the movement of individuals sought at an international level, according to the Border Police.

Furthermore, 130 foreigners were identified and turned back to their countries of origin by the Border Police of Italy in 2023. Such a figure marks a 50 per cent increase compared to last year, with approximately 15 per cent being declined for surpassing the maximum allowed stay in the Schengen area.

Whereas within the ‘Galileo’ airport in Pisa, about 796,000 passengers were identified and subjected to police checks, which is almost 15 per cent more compared to 2022.

Regarding checks on airlines, carriers operating outside border control regulations faced fines over €20,000 and 20 penalties were given for breaking navigation codes.

As reported by authorities, checks by the border police were focused on third-country nationals trying to enter Italy as tourists without providing the required substitute documentation for entry visas, as per international agreements. Some of them were reported for attempting to enter the illegal immigration circuit.

In general terms, Italian authorities have taken several measures amid security concerns. In October 2023, Italy, along with Slovenia and Croatia, implemented stricter border controls, thus joining the list of other countries in the Schengen area that already had such measures in place.

Within the same month, authorities in Italy reintroduced police checks with Slovenia for ten days, and this measure was extended in the following month.

According to the Italian authorities, such a decision was made in response to heightened threats of violence in the EU due to the Israel-Hamas war and concerns about the irregular migrant influx.