Consulassist 2

closed

As of the reconducted Work Programme of the EU Network of Immigration Liaison Officers (ILO) 2023-2027, the action aims at providing assistance and support to consular authorities to tackle documentary fraud issues related to visa applications and detection of forged documents (registers of births, marriages etc.). Even though the visa sections heads of the EU MS already conduct regular meetings (Article 48 of the Community Code on Visa) the core action is the information-sharing with the foreign affairs partners posted in EU consulates on documentary fraud, profiling, and corruption prevention. The project mainly targets visa services and EU consulates, in particular Schengen visa application services, heads of departments and consular staff under local law in addition to externalized services. The action aims at spreading knowledge about visa application fraud and explaining the ins and outs of fraudulent documents issuing. Hence, the activity leans on raising awareness among local authorities and EU agents as the spearhead of the struggle against forged documents. The ILOs are expected to draw attention on the trickiest parts of visa fraud. Thus, such assistance aims at fostering the development of a breeding ground for a relevant EU operational cooperation. Some EU consulates already operate in confidence with their national ILOs, hence the objective of this project is to develop strong interaction with other EU representations in the country that don’t have ILO, to meet the diplomatic posts not physically covered by ILO, to establish a link and facilitate information exchange and interaction about the growing challenges of document fraud. It should also allow to structure and streamline the interaction of EU ILO/ALO to strengthen links with local authorities as to foster synergy between the various actors.