A passport is a travel document issued by a government to a citizen of that country. The purpose of this document is to allow entry back into the home country, as well as access into other countries around the world by providing legal proof of identity and citizenship. Misusing a passport is a crime in many jurisdictions.

China

The Passport Law of the

People’s Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, adopted in 2006, prohibits applying for a passport fraudulently. It provides that fraudulently obtained passports are

null and void In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document, or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity—the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened. The term void ''ab initio'', which means " ...

and that "the holder of the passport shall be fined not less than RMB 2,000 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan".{{cite web , title=Passport Law of the People's Republic of China , url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/vpna/faq/t710009.htm , website=www.china-embassy.org , access-date=31 July 2021

United States

Passport fraud is a federal crime. Usually, this crime is committed to facilitate another crime such as, illegal immigration, contraband smuggling,

economic crime Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud ( cheque fraud, credit card fra ...

, or

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. The

US department of state The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

's law enforcement,

Diplomatic Security Service The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS or DS) is a security and law enforcement agency that acts as the operational division of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which is a branch of the United States Department of State. Its primary mission is ...

, have special agents who work with

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEA ...

in over 160 countries all over the world to investigate passport fraud. Millions of stolen passports are used by terrorists and other dangerous criminals at any given time and it is considered the single largest threat to U.S. national security.

Committing the crime

Passport fraud is usually committed by: * Stealing the identity of a deceased person to use their passport * Using false documents; i.e. fake

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensui ...

* Using stolen or modified passports, such as altering the photo I.D portion of an old passport * Circumventing the parent signatures required for the passport of a person 16 years or younger

Violations

Possible violations of the following statutes are investigated by the United States

: *18 U.S.C. 1541 Issuance Without Authority *18 U.S.C. 1542 False Statement in Application and Use of Passport *18 U.S.C. 1543 Forgery or False Use of Passport *18 U.S.C. 1544 Misuse of Passport *18 U.S.C. 1546 Fraud and Misuse of

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

s, Permits, and Other Documents *18 U.S.C. 371 Conspiracy to Commit Offense or to Defraud the United States *18 U.S.C. 911 False Claim to

Citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

*18 U.S.C. 1028 Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Identification Documents and Information Statutes do not specify that the passport must be a US passport.

Conviction

If a person lied on a passport application form, they can be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced up to 10 years in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

. If the crime includes human trafficking, narcotics, or both, the sentencing can be raised up to 15 years in prison. If terrorism is involved, the penalty can be raised to 20 years in prison. As well as being charged with further penalties, if the person is caught engaging in any of these additional illegal activities.

References