A Turkish national has been detained in Lithuania’s Vilnius International Airport for possessing a forged Schengen visa in his passport.
According to the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service, the Turkish national arrived on a flight from Munich and attempted to enter the country on a fake multiple-entry visa, Schengen.News reports.
On Tuesday night, a plane from Munich (Germany) landed at Vilnius Airport. Among its passengers was a 32-year-old Turkish citizen. He had a Turkish passport with a multiple-entry visa (issued in France), which grants the holder a 90-day stay in the Schengen Area.
During the passport control, a State Border Guard Service officer discovered on the system that the Turkish national was originally granted a visa with a validity period from February 9, 2022, to April 9, 2025.
However, the visa on his passport indicated that the visa was valid from February 9, 2022, until February 9, 2025. Since the information did not match, the officer carried out a more thorough examination and found signs that the dates were altered, the paper was scraped, and the protective grid was damaged.
Turkish National Placed in Temporary Detention Facility
As soon as it was determined that the visa was forged, the Turkish national was detained and placed in the temporary detention facility of the Vilnius Border Guard Unit, Lrytas explains.
The forged document is now in the hands of the Lithuanian authorities, and a pre-trial investigation has already been launched by the Vilnius Border Guard Unit
Under the current laws that Lithuania has in place, a number of penalties can be imposed against those attempting to enter the country on forged documents, including a fine, community services, or imprisonment of up to three years, among others.
Since the process is still ongoing, it is yet to be seen what decision the authorities will take against the Turkish national and in the meantime, it is believed that additional details will be revealed regarding his intention of entry to Lithuania.
A number of other member states have also been seeing attempts from foreign nationals for entry on fake Schengen visas.
To put an end to such illegal activities, the EU is working to soon launch the Entry/Exit System (EES). The system will register all travellers entering the Schengen Arearequiring them to provide biometric information and other personal details.
The aim of the system is to keep track of non-EU nationals entering and leaving the bloc, detecting overstayers and those who use fake identities, among others.