A passport is an official document issued by a government that certifies a holder's identity and citizenship, allowing them to travel internationally. However, some people obtain illegal or fake passports for various purposes like escaping legal issues, illegal immigration, or organized crime. Fake passports can be obtained from criminal groups and cost between $1000-$5000. If caught with a fake passport, one can face 10 years in prison. Refugees sometimes turn to illegal passports by finding identifying information of others born around the same time and using fake documents to clone their identity to apply for a passport.

1. ILLEGAL PASSPORTS BY KATE BRADFORD

2. WHAT IS A PASSPORT?
A passport is an official document issued by a
government that certifies a holder's identity
and citizenship; entitling them to travel under
its protection to and from foreign countries
across the globe.
To be eligible for a British passport, for
example, you must be a citizen of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
However having British nationality doesn’t
guarantee you a passport; you may not be
eligible for a passport if:
1. you’re suspected of a serious crime and an
arrest warrant has been issued
2. a court order stops you having a UK
passport or restricts your travel
3. you’re on bail and bail conditions mean you
can’t leave the UK
4. you’ve been brought back to the UK before
at the government’s expense and haven’t
repaid what you owe
5. you’ve received a European Union or United
Nations order which restricts your travel

3. WHAT IS AN ILLEGAL/FAKE
PASSPORT?
A fake passport is a passport issued by the
government which is then copied or modified by an
illegal person or group that is not authorized to
create passports, pass documents or authorised to
engage in activities such as this. People such as these
are known as clobbers.
Illegal/Fake passports are also known as:
1. Camouflage passport – this is an ‘passport’ that
was never a real passport; it has been modified
and manufactured to be fake.
2. Fantasy passport - produced by United Passports
that are novelty items used as souvenirs and are
not made with the intention to be used as a fake
passport or to trick customs officials.

4. WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT AN
ILLEGAL PASSPORT?
Fake passports can be used for escape into
exile, age deception, identity theft, illegal
immigration, and organized crime.
An illegal passports costs $1000-$5000 to
buy; this is around £645-£3235. If you get
caught holding an illegal passport you can
get 10 years in prison.
For the head of Europe's border agency,
Fabrice Leggeri, Leggeri warns Business
Insider UK readers about the emerging fake
Syrian passport market: "There are people
who are in Turkey now who buy fake Syrian
passports because they know Syrians get
the right to asylum in all the member states
of the European Union," Leggeri told radio
station Europe 1.

5. HOW DO MIGRANTS OR REFUGEES
GAIN ILLEGAL PASSPORTS?
HERE is link to an article on The Guardian website on how
Thailand’s trade in fake passports fuels crime gangs around the
world to start selling illegal passports to migrants and refugees
in need of asylum.
STEPS TO ALLEGEDLY CLAIM AN ILLEGAL PASSPORT – often taken
by refugees in need:
1. Illegal passport websites that advertise illegal passports for
sale at cheap prices.
2. Move into a new property or bedsit/squat and visit local
Family Records Centre and look up the name of a person who
had a Birth Certificate and was born at around the same time
as you/I. You don’t need proof of identity and you could pay
cash to receive a certificate.
3. Open up an account with utility provider and ‘clone’ identity
with fake Birth Certificate
4. Receive a passport application form, ask professional to fill in
form and send off passport information to receive shortly one
in the post.