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MANILA, Philippines -- More than 70 Filipinos and foreigners have been arrested for faking documents to be submitted with visa applications to the United Kingdom, the British embassy here said Tuesday.
At rites to mark the donation of a sports utility vehicle by the UK embassy to the National Bureau of Investigation, Mark Date, entry clearance manager of the visa section, said those arrested either forged birth, death, marriage or bank certificates or belonged to syndicates that victimize those seeking to go to the UK.
Apart from the vehicle, which will be used for surveillance work, the embassy gave the NBI laptop computers, mobile phones, printers, and scanners.
Date said his office, in cooperation with the NBI, through its Police Referral Program, is hoping to expand its investigation and prosecution of people who attempt to go to the UK with false civil registry documents. For false bank documents, he said, it is up to the banks and owners of the documents to press charges.
"We're working with Bankers Association of the Philippines to have a direct relation with the NBI for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting those who have supplied private document," he said.
"The British government has a zero tolerance for falsification and fraud so much so [that] a legislation was brought in this year that [a] person who uses deception to obtain and apply for visa is banned [from the] UK for 10 years," Date said.
Date clarified that his job is not to stop people from going to the UK, but to ensure that only the "right people" are able to go to there.
"We want to entice many people to go to UK, but we do not want to entice people who are going to use any forged or fraudulent documentation or false declaration on any aspect of their application," he said.
British Ambassador Peter Beckingham said the embassy wants to help Philippine authorities detect and quickly respond to fraud and forgery.
"A large majority of visa applicants are legitimate travelers who enrich the UK culturally and economically, and we openly encourage and welcome newcomers, travelers, and visitors who want to work hard and enjoy the many attractions that Britain has to offer. However a minority of individuals try to abuse the rules, and our partnership with the NBI aims to secure the lives and property of people who travel to Britain," he explained.
The UK visa service office processes more than 40,000 visa applications from the Philippines, and welcomes over 2 million people a year to the UK.
All applicants for a UK visa are required to provide biometric data as part of the application process. This identifies if they have previously broken laws in the UK or applied under a different name. Developments in risk assessment and forgery identification have also made it far easier to uncover cheats.
The British embassy thus reiterated its call to all Filipinos wanting to visit or work in the UK to beware of fraud and get reliable and updated information on the visa application process directly from www.vfs-uk-ph.com.
"Our visa application procedure is very straightforward, so I hope no one will try to get around it through fraudulent means. We have no hesitation in applying the strongest measures against those who do," said Beckingham.
NBI director Nestor M. Mantaring admitted that the incidence of fraud is increasing.
"We have already filed cases and that's the warning to the public not to submit fraudulent documents, like certificate of employment, income tax returns, etc." he said, adding that the NBI's Interpol Division liaises with all embassies in Manila on these matters and the extradition of fugitives.
