As part of our work to keep up to date with the document checking industry, we have become aware of a particular abuse of Spanish and Portuguese documents; this includes passports and ID cards. The majority of these fakes are found in the hands of Central or Southern Americans who will speak Spanish or Portuguese. They may even have family links back to Spain and Portugal which can give an air of legitimacy to their ‘ancestry claim’.
Typically, a Central or South American will enter the UK legitimately. They will either enter as a visitor (Argentinian and Brazilian citizens do not need visa to visit the UK) or they will obtain a long term visa with restrictions on living or working in the UK. Once in the UK they will obtain fake Spanish or Portuguese documents to allow them to live beyond visa expiry and use these fakes to prove right to work.
With the high quality of some of these documents, the only real option is to consider the full circumstances fully. It is worth looking at a candidate’s CV, qualifications and places of past residence to consider if there may be any triggers to look into.
We are here to help, so if you have any doubts, let us know.
