Officials of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs during a ameeting. File

As many as 366 passengers with fake passports were caught by the Documents Inspection Centre of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai (GDRFA) during the first quarter of this year compared to 355 passengers during the same period last year.

While some 16,127 documents were examined in 2023, 1,232 documents were seized and 443 cases were referred to the Public Prosecution, where the forged documents were dealt with accordingly, the GDRFA said. 

"The centre, which has an integrated laboratory with the latest dedicated technologies, examines travel papers and the related documents including passports, ID cards, entry permits and residency cards issued by foreign countries such as the American green card," said expert Aqeel Ahmed Al Najjar, consultant at Documents Inspection Centre.

In conducting its work, the centre relies 100 per cent on Emirati staff, who have adequate experience acquired through continuous training and qualification, he said, adding that these include 1,500 passport officers in Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, in addition to 30 document examiners.

Al Najjar pointed out that the centre checks the departures referred to the judicial authorities in the country in case they held fake or forged travel documents, whether or not they were aware of this, or were victims who were misled by perpetrators, noting that public prosecutions and courts would decide on their case.

"As for those coming to the country with forged documents or passports, they are denied entry and immediately returned to the destinations and countries, which they came from," he said.