Residents of the country have warned of scams targeting bank money and data via fake immigration and nationality programs.
They confirmed that they receive anonymous calls from outside the country, and text messages via their phones, as well as advertisements via e-mail, in continuous attempts to catch them.
They warned of the danger of registering personal data, especially the phone number, in unknown websites via the internet and social media, which promote immigration and obtaining a foreign passport, pointing to the spread of sites promoting citizenship programs (citizenship) through investment, with the aim of looting money.
The Dubai Documentation Center at Dubai International Airport, which is affiliated with the General Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, seized 1034 fake travel documents during the past year, according to official statistics.
Fraud gangs have developed methods for catching and trapping victims through advertisements for obtaining a second citizenship and a new passport, and have called themselves "immigration and citizenship programs agents".
And «Emirates Today» monitored social media ads promoting the purchase of nationalities of foreign countries within three to six months, in exchange for non-refundable amounts of money, or the purchase of real estate. The amounts vary according to the country of immigration, reaching 275 thousand dollars for some nationalities, 200 thousand dollars, and 100 thousand dollars for other countries, as well as advertisements for offices and agents selling and marketing passports, nationalities of European and Caribbean islands, and facilitating procedures for obtaining dual citizenship, and that In exchange for buying a property worth up to eight million dirhams, or donating to a government agency in these countries amounts ranging between 500 thousand and three million dirhams.
Most advertisements for naturalization companies focused on marketing the nationalities of Dominica, Grenada, Cyprus, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Malta and Moldova.
The ads motivated those wishing to obtain additional citizenship, that the passports of these countries "allow the holder to enter more than 150 countries, including the European Union, with the right to live, work, travel and study in any of them", in addition to that "most countries do not require visiting or Residence there ”, as her nationality can be obtained through her nationality marketing agents.
The state courts witnessed cases of forging multiple passports, in which some of the convicts were the victims of frauds, after purchasing passports that were later found to be forged, which made them subject to legal accountability.
The Director of the Law Respect Culture Bureau, Colonel Dr. Abdullah Al Shamsi, warned against frauds and the drifting behind fake advertisements spread on the internet and social media, including those that promote the purchase of real estate abroad, or the payment of sums of money in exchange for obtaining foreign passports.
Al-Shamsi stated that "cyberspace is a wide field for fake advertisements that aim to obtain victims’ money, after they are accused of providing services or doing some business that many think is a source of profit or investment. "
He stressed the necessity of dealing with licensed offices and companies in the state to ensure protection of rights, and the possibility of submitting complaints upon breach of agreement between them.
He also warned of frauds carried out by posting advertisements on social media sites, the victims were accused of the advertiser's ability to facilitate their obtaining of foreign passports or immigration, calling for making sure of the legality of these offices practicing immigration services activity within the state, and the presence of an embassy for the country to migrate to Within the Emirates, with a view to reviewing them at any time to ensure the correctness of the procedures followed, and not being consistent with immigration advertisements spread across the Internet, when their source is unknown, as they are aimed at defrauding clients and obtaining their money.
As for advertisements that promote the purchase of real estate, many of them will be polytheistic, to deceive the victims, and defraud them by making fake deals.
Al Shamsi stressed the necessity of reviewing the relevant departments in the Ministry of Economy, to ensure that the company that publishes legal and registered advertisements in the country according to the laws in force, and has the authority to exercise this type of commercial activity, and take the necessary measures to inspect the sold real estate and ensure that it is in accordance with what came in the contract.
He also stressed the necessity of resorting to the judiciary to complain against any cases in which the individual is exposed to any fraud, so that the competent authorities in the state can take legal measures against the fraudsters, and prevent them from carrying out their work that aims to seize the funds of others without right.
For its part, the legal advisor, Hadiya Hammad, confirmed that the promotion of forged passports is criminalized by law, as the Federal Penal Code provides for imprisonment or a fine for anyone who has obtained the seizure of himself or others on movable money, or the bond or signature of this bond, or its cancellation or destruction Or amend it, using the use of fraudulent methods, or using a false name or an incorrect characteristic, when this would deceive the victim and make him surrender.
The act also constitutes the crime of forgery as defined by the Federal Penal Code, and forgery is punished in an official editor by imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years.
Hammad indicated that the person who obtains a forged passport - if his knowledge of the forger or the passport is proven - is punished with the penalty prescribed for the crime of using a forged editor, but if his knowledge is not valid that the editor is forged, there is no penalty for it, because the act is not criminalized from the ground, pointing to That if the person was aware from the beginning that the office or company that provided these documents visited you, and yet you get a false passport, then he is considered a partner in the crime of forgery.
Hammad warned those wishing to migrate not to be victims of fraud through fake immigration ads, warning that it is necessary to ensure the legality of these offices practicing the activity of immigration services within the state, and not to be led by immigration advertisements spread across the Internet, when their source is unknown, and most of them target fraud against people, And get their money with the illusion of immigration, and obtain the nationalities of foreign countries.
She explained that immigration offices are supposed to have a license to practice their activities, and are authorized to promote their services by the embassies of their countries and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting the need to review the embassy of the country that promotes its nationality to ensure the legal status of the intermediary company, and the legal and safety of its procedures, in order to prevent falling into the window of companies and offices Delusional.
Officials in naturalization services companies and offices stressed the need to deal with accredited and licensed offices in this field, pointing to the high demand for second nationality from Arab nationalities whose countries are experiencing instability and wars, as the demand for the second passport doubled by 300% compared to five years ago Years.
They pointed out that the citizenship program by investment allows foreigners and their families to obtain citizenship and a legal passport entirely, by paying a financial contribution or buying a property in the country of nationality, and the process of applying for a second citizenship or a second passport, usually through a government agency Licensed.
They added that the costs of applying for the citizenship program through investment depend on the state, the type of program and the number of family members, as well as whether the applicant wishes to obtain citizenship through the government fund or real estate investment option, noting that citizenship programs through investment , Which is currently available, is the most cost-effective, and starts from the amount of $ 100 thousand for individuals, and $ 150 thousand for a family of four (financial contribution to the government fund).
They affirmed that most passports have a 10-year validity period, after which they are renewed every 10 years.
The company "Citizenship" for services to obtain citizenship through investment stated that citizenship programs in Caribbean countries do not require visiting the country before, during or after submitting the application, while the countries of Antigua and Barbuda represent the only exception to this rule, as they require applicants to spend five days in them Five years of obtaining citizenship, while obtaining Cypriot citizenship requires visiting the country to take and record vital data at the beginning of the process, in addition to receiving the citizenship document and the personal passport in person from the Immigration Department in Cyprus at the end of the process, after six months of submitting the application.
The company «Sfory & Partners» indicated that the advantages of obtaining second citizenship in these countries include obtaining citizenship and a non-recoverable passport, enjoying protection through the government citizenship law, improving living conditions and life in safe societies, obtaining guaranteed citizenship and clean criminal records And registration of assets without restrictions, in addition to opening companies and bank accounts with full freedom and control of wealth without restrictions.
A report issued by the company «Petitos Real Estate» in Cyprus showed that families from the region of wealthy people contributed to the increase in demand for European passports by 76%, last year, noting that passports and permanent residence programs in Cyprus provide buyers from the Middle East Gateway to Europe. It also enhances access to better education and healthcare opportunities, as well as the ability to do business and reside in a wide range of countries.
The report indicated that buying a property worth eight million dirhams or more is sufficient to obtain a Cypriot passport with all its advantages, and the nationality of the European Union, with the right to live, work, travel and study in any country within the union, as well as the freedom to travel to more than 155 countries.
And «Emirates Today» communicated with the offices of mediation and second nationality services, through advertisements on social media, and the communication links mentioned in its ads.
Officials in it stated that they offer second citizenship and passport programs through investment, starting from $ 100,000, in addition to legal and professional fees, asking to leave the name and phone number to communicate through their representatives.
The «Emirates Today» received calls from callers who speak Arabic with different accents, they requested to transfer a money amount ranging between 3000 and 5000 dollars a fee to open the file, and start submitting procedures for obtaining the second citizenship, while the funds were transferred to external account numbers or through a well-known money transfer company.
The brokers offered several options for travel and immigration, including real estate investment offers amounting to $ 250,000, and travel offers without obtaining citizenship ranging between $ 30 and $ 50,000, in the same way as well. One of the passport sale brokers asked if the goal of communicating with them was the desire to obtain a second citizenship, or obtain a passport just for immigration and entry to one of the European countries, adding that he had other methods for the second option at a lower cost, provided that the person did not have the fingerprint At a European airport before, which is taken within the procedures of the passenger verification system.
Phantom offices
The expert in the field of immigration warned the regional director of Sanji Caldera Associates, Ram Pillay, who wish to migrate to Canada and Australia, against the proliferation of fake offices that defraud many people, pointing out that the Canadian government confirmed that when these offices are discovered inside the country, they are ordering By closing it and punishing it, but if it is outside the Canadian soil, it has no authority to do so.
Pillay said that there are large flows of people wanting to emigrate from different countries, seeking education, employment and trade opportunities, but fraudulent behavior for the purpose of migration harms the lives of those who end up completely losing confidence in any unknown person claiming to be an "agent" or "agency" , And promises them to provide a place or job in a foreign country designated by the person.
He added that «in light of the spread of pseudo-immigration practices, it is unavoidable that people take the necessary preventive measures not to be deceived, as it frequently happens that one encounters misleading advertisements that practice all kinds of allegations», stressing the need to search for immigration laws and the conditions of the country desirable to move to before proceeding In search of a credible and reputable immigration consulting firm.
cases
Emirates Today monitored comments made by social media users on ads for marketing second passports, which included warnings of frauds they were subjected to, and almost sent them to prison.
The young Ahmed Hassan (Arabic) said that he bought a passport for an African country for 10 thousand dollars, because his country is going through unstable circumstances that prevent him from obtaining an entry visa to most of the world, and he added that the validity of the passport was five years, but he did not use it throughout this period, And when he really needed it, the years of validity of the passport had expired, so he went to the embassy of this country to renew it, and he was surprised there that the passport was forged, and the matter was transferred to the competent authorities and the charge of forgery was charged to him, and it lasted more than a year until he obtained the patent from the charge of forgery.
An account called Samer Al Hariri confirmed that he lost 5,000 dirhams because of his desire to obtain a passport of European citizenship, as he was called through an advertisement and transferred more than 18,000 dirhams, and when he felt the length of the procedures he realized that he was fraudulent, so he asked the office to return his money, and he knew that he could not Recover them.
He published another account on the arrest of an Arab person on his departure from Dubai airport for using a fake passport, as it became clear from the investigations that the accused bought a British passport for 111,000 euros, through a mediator, after convincing him that he could use it in any European country.
1034
A fraudulent travel document seized by the Dubai Documentation Center last year.
300%
The turnout rate for the second passport, compared to five years ago.