Kurdistan security arrests network issuing fake German, Turkish visas
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry on Thursday announced the arrest of underground networks forging visas for people flying to Germany and Turkey.
The counterfeiters are from Erbil and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), said Sami Jalal, Chief of Staff at the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in a press conference held in Erbil, without revealing the number of individuals involved in the illegal activity.
The bands were operating under the guise of travel and tourism agencies, he added.
“They were taking around US $15,000 - $20,000 from clients to bring them a guaranteed Schengen visa without requiring interviews with the consulates or embassies,” Jalal continued.
“When one of the clients received their Schengen visa and traveled to Europe [Germany], the person was arrested at the airport on arrival because the visa turned out to be fake.”
A similar issue happened with the holder of a Turkish visa, which was confiscated at the Kurdistan Region’s Ibrahim Khalil International Border Crossing as the traveler was trying to legally enter Turkey.
The Consulates of those countries in Erbil have informed the authorities in their respective capitals that the confiscated visas were not issued by them, according to Jalal.
Turkey offers e-visa to the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with clients able to receive their visas via email within 24 hours. However, getting a Schengen visa, which is in high demand, remains difficult for many people in the country.
The Kurdish official also noted they had arrested some individuals for issuing fake visas on behalf of the autonomous Kurdistan Region, stating the fake ones are recognizable to local authorities.
He stated that in 2019 alone, they have arrested 25 people for issuing fake visas for the Kurdistan Region.
Editing by Nadia Riva