Migrant crisis: Over 2,000 people a year use fake passports trying to enter UK

Figures compiled from think-tank Migration Watch UK have revealed that more than 2,000 people a year use fake documents when attempting to enter the UK.

UK Border Force staff report that they find fake documents daily, with 21,256 false passports being discovered by Border Force in the decade leading up to 2020.

Immigrants found using fake passports could face up to ten years in prison if action is taken.

Prosecutions have decreased since the year 2013 from 1,200 to around 300 in 2021, when the UK ceased taking ID cards from the EU.

Alp Mehment, spokesperson for think-tank Migration Watch UK, said: “Presenting false and fraudulent documents is nothing new.

"What is new — and not lost on traffickers and fixers — is that the absence of genuine documents, and even lying to an official, makes little difference to whether an illegal entrant is allowed to stay.”

The Home Office said: “People using false documents will be refused entry to the UK . . . Through the New Plan for Immigration we will be implementing an electronic travel authorisation scheme . . . to block the entry of those who present a threat to the UK.”