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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
2001/SOM3/CTI/IEGBM/Rev1
Informal Experts’ Group on Business Mobility
Agenda Item 7
STANDARDS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF TRAVEL
DOCUMENTS
Informal Experts’ Group on Business
Mobility
Senior Officials’ Meeting 3
Dalian, People’s Republic of China
17-18 August 2001
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STANDARDS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
I. Introduction
1. The APEC Business Mobility Group (BMG) recognises that standards are essential
to achieving the overall goal of capacity building within the APEC framework. A
previous paper, Business Mobility Standards: A Key to Capacity Building, identified
common immigration standards in the areas of pre-arrival, entry, stay and departure.
This paper builds on that initial effort and describes standards for the effective
examination of travel documents that economies can strive for on a best endeavours
basis. It was developed by representatives of the BMG who met in May 2001 to
develop generic fraudulent document detection training materials.
2. Recognising that standards are critical because they are an agreed upon benchmark
for what an individual economy should strive for, the APEC BMG has encouraged the
development of standards for the examination of travel documents as a means to
facilitate travel. When economies increase their capacity to quickly examine travel
documents, and make a proper determination about the bona fides of the traveler and
his or her travel documents, they enhance business mobility within the APEC region.
Based on the benchmark standards presented here, each economy can (1) identify its
needs through self-assessment and (2) develop an individual capacity building
strategy tailored to meet its specific, individual needs.
II.
Standards for Document Examination
3. Document examination standards are critical to an economy’s ability to safeguard
its borders and ensure compliance with its immigration control requirements. Each
economy can increase its capacity to effectively examine travel documents by
developing an individually tailored action plan to meet its specific individual needs
and problems.
4. A successful document examination program will have several components.
Among them are:
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A set of rules and regulations that provide sanctions for the production, sale,
and use of fraudulent documents;
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Informed and well-trained inspectors who can quickly evaluate key document
security features and detect fraudulent documents;
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Specialised document examination equipment to assist the inspector in
identifying genuine and fraudulent travel documents;

Access to forensic document expertise and document intelligence information
to ensure that sophisticated fraud can be detected;

An automated document identification system to provide up-to-date
information concerning the security features of legitimate travel documents;
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
III.
Effective internal processes for producing, issuing and controlling travel
documents.
Rules and Regulations
5. Economies will need to examine their own legal framework to determine whether
modifications are needed or if new immigration rules and regulations should be put
into place to enable authorities to take appropriate legal action against forged
document producers, vendors and users. Effective rules and regulations:
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IV.
Must be precise in specifying what constitutes document fraud and what the
sanctions are for producing, selling or using fraudulent documents, including
criminal sanctions where appropriate;
Will support inspectors, investigators and prosecutors in apprehending and
taking action against fraudulent document producers, vendors and users,
together with those who obtained genuine documents using illegal means;
Will promote business facilitation as well as protect the economy’s
inhabitants.
Informed and Trained Personnel
6. Inspectors should receive initial and refresher document examination training in
the following areas. Training for different personnel at different levels should be
provided at different levels.
Level One:
 Document examination steps and techniques;
 Basic travel document security features;
 Common counterfeiting techniques;
 Common alteration techniques;
 Use of new examination equipment like magnifier, ultraviolet viewer and
retro-reflective viewer;
 New trends in fraudulent documents;
 Passenger assessment;
 Identifying imposters;
 Information on new travel documents.
Level Two:
 Basic document producing, binding techniques;
 Document issuing procedure;
 New trends of document security techniques;
 New trends of counterfeiting and alteration techniques;
 Use of specialised equipment;
 Analysis of features of fraudulent documents and counterfeiting techniques.
7. Each economy should have its own way of collecting genuine and forged
documents, and sharing the lost and invalid document data that were once issued by
each economy. In addition, economies should put in place a method to disseminate
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new information on document fraud trends. Each economy should provide access to
samples of both genuine and fraudulent documents to help their inspectors recognise
security features and identify fraud. An internal information system should be
included as a component of the document examination program. The information
system is needed to efficiently pass information on new genuine documents and
newly detected fraudulent documents as a method keep each economy’s inspectors
well informed.
V.
Document Examination Equipment
8. Officers must quickly examine passengers seeking entry and make decisions
regarding each individual’s identity, nationality, and admissibility. A system for
referring individuals with suspect documents to a more private, secure area with more
experienced officers and specialised examination equipment is necessary to ensure all
travelers’ mobility as well as integrity of the economy’s borders. There are a wide
variety of tools and equipment available to assist in the detection of fraudulent
documents. Economies should assess which of these would be most helpful in
examining the documents they most often encounter. Among them are:
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Ultraviolet and Infrared viewing equipment;
Magnifying devices;
Retro-Reflective viewing devices;
High-Intensity Light;
Image transmission systems;
Machine readable document readers;
Camera equipment;
Admission stamps and security ink;
Fingerprinting processes.
The attachment describes each of these devices in more detail.
VI.
Forensic Document Expertise
9. Inspectors should have access to a cadre of individuals with expertise in the
various types of fraudulent documents (counterfeits, photo and page substitutions,
alterations, etc.), e.g. a forensic document center. Such a center could serve as the
source of information on trends regarding fraudulent documents. It could prepare and
distribute document intelligence alerts to assist field personnel in the identification of
fraudulent documents that have recently been encountered and identified. The center
could maintain an extensive library of exemplars of visas, passports and civil
documents (e.g. birth certificates) to compare with suspect documents. Forensic
document experts can provide technical advice and assistance in developing major
cases involving fraudulent documents and also serve as expert witnesses in judicial
proceedings.
VII.
Automated Document Identification
10. Samples of valid travel documents from all countries provide a means of
comparing travelers’ documents to known legitimate ones. Since it is expensive and
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very time consuming to collect these documents in a book form for each port-of-entry,
economies may wish to consider an automated system that would house samples
electronically. A travel document information database, which has samples of travel
documents of almost all economies, may form the basis of an information system to
be utilised by an economy. The issue of standardisation of such a system merits
further consideration and study.
VIII.
Effective Internal Processes
11. Control authorities should develop effective internal procedures that support the
overall goal of process integrity. Among the effective processes:
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IX.
Procedures for establishing cooperation and coordination among relevant
authorities, agencies and other economies regarding information on document
fraud;
Procedures for producing secure travel documents that are resistant to fraud
and conform to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards
for travel documents (Document 9303);
Internal controls to ensure that documents are issued only to those entitled to
them and that blank stock is kept secure from theft or misuse;
Procedures developed in cooperation with airlines and other entities to ensure
that, after travel documents have been verified at check-in, opportunities for
substitution and other types of fraud are minimised prior to the passenger
boarding the aircraft.
Conclusion
12. This paper describes the components of, and basic standards for, an effective
document examination program. The combination of trained personnel,
specialised equipment, access to forensic expertise and up-to-date intelligence,
the effective use of automated support systems and effective internal procedures
are all standards that should be considered for incorporation into an economy’s
strategic immigration plan. As with the other standards being developed within
the Business Mobility Group, each economy will have to conduct a selfassessment to determine what legal modifications, infrastructure, training,
technical assistance or other actions are necessary to build the capacity to achieve
this important immigration objective.
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ATTACHMENT
Description of Various Aids in Document Fraud Detection
Ultraviolet and Infrared Viewing Equipment
This type of equipment enables examination in the ultraviolet and infrared range of
the spectrum and can vary in sophistication from simple lights to complex video recording
systems.
To assist in the examination of documents for signs of alteration or counterfeiting,
economies should be equipped with ultraviolet viewing equipment or “black lights”.
Inspectors should view the data page and visa page of each passport presented. They will
need to become familiar with the fluorescent properties of inks used in commonly
encountered documents and endorsement stamps. Counterfeit watermarks, erasures, the use
of chemical eradicators, and other evidence of alterations are also frequently visible under
ultraviolet light. Document studies are a valuable source of information concerning the
ultraviolet properties of various documents. Many international passports have other security
features that can be detected only under ultraviolet light. Infrared light may reveal variances
in inks, paper quality, chemical erasures, and certain alterations. In addition, infrared light is
useful for reading through obliterated text to read the original writing.
Magnifying Devices
Inspection areas should have a variety of microscopes and hand held magnifying
devices. Such devices are extremely valuable for detecting data alterations, photo and page
substitutions in travel documents and counterfeit or altered visas. They are also essential for
examining micro printing and other security features and are useful for fingerprint
comparisons.
Retro-Reflective Viewing Devices
These hand-held devices are used to verify security laminates found in the passports
of certain countries. Approximately twenty-three passport-issuing authorities use, or have
used, retro-reflective laminate in their passports. Each economy has its own unique design
imbedded in the laminate.
High-Intensity Light
High-intensity light is used to provide “transmitted” light for viewing genuine
watermarks or to detect photo substitutions and other alterations. The high-intensity light also
provides oblique light (side lighting) necessary to examine closely raised or embossed images
and to inspect for certain paper disturbances often caused by erasures.
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Image Transmission Systems
Image transmission systems provide an excellent way of transmitting and receiving
high quality photo images of documents, photographs, and fingerprints. They provide for
quick verification of an individual’s identity or detection of an altered or counterfeit
document. Some have additional capabilities including the ability to view and transmit
magnified images through a microscope. Images may be permanently stored on a disk for
intelligence and training purposes or for permanent records. They are an excellent aid for
conferring with forensic experts at other locations.
Machine-Readable Document Readers
Many economies are now using machine-readable passports or visas. These
documents conform to the international standard established by the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO). The electronic scanning device can be connected to a watchlist database. There are also scanning devices that can be programmed to validate the
presence or lack of security features in passports.
Camera Equipment
Cameras and accessories may be used to make copies of documents for records, for
intelligence gathering and for posting lookouts. Different lenses enable the user to make an
exact copy or an enlarged copy of a document or fingerprint image. Types of cameras can
include instant, digital and conventional film cameras.
Admission Stamps and Security Ink
Stamps are used to endorse documents that show evidence of status or immigration
benefits and are carried by persons inspected by the economy. This includes admission
stamps and temporary status stamps. Economies should consider using ink that fluoresces
when viewed under ultraviolet light. Stamps, inkpads, and supplies of the special ink should
be carefully safeguarded from unauthorized use. Each inspector should have an individual
stamp with an identifying code to provide accountability. Also, if separate entry and exit
stamps are used, they should bear a code or marking to indicate the stamp’s purpose (i.e.,
entry or exit).
Fingerprinting Processes
There are several types of machines that have been developed for the taking of inkless
fingerprints. Still, the basic method of manually rolling fingerprints can work effectively if
inspectors are taught how to recognize when they have taken good prints and when they
should be retaken. The actual reading of the prints is a course in itself that may be included in
the training program.
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