IOM hosted a two-day technical workshop in Ulaanbaatar this week for 30 Mongolian government officials, to strengthen their capacity to examine potentially fraudulent documents and to learn more about security features of travel documents.

The workshop, attended by officials from the newly established Immigration of Mongolia, updated officials on the latest technology and developments, and built capacity for improved migration management in Mongolia.

On 26 December 2013, the Mongolian Parliament approved a Border Management Law, which aims to improve border management. As part of the new law and to establish a new single-window administrative body that will help reduce bureaucratic procedures, Immigration of Mongolia was created by merging the former General Authority for Border Protection (GABP) and the former Mongolian Immigration Agency.

With rising numbers of Mongolian labour migrants moving overseas and incoming foreign migrants, especially labour migrants, there has been a related increase in the detection of fraudulent travel documents.

It is believed that irregular migrants transit Mongolia en route to other destinations. Foreign workers also pay for counterfeit visas to be able to work irregularly in Mongolia. In order to get back into the country, returning Mongolian migrants also use other Mongolian citizens’ documents.

"This workshop provided Mongolian senior immigration officers with the necessary knowledge and skills to better strengthen procedures to detect fraudulent travel documents" said IOM’s Head of Office in Mongolia, Pär Liljert. “We are delighted to have had documentation experts from the governments of China, France, Germany and the Netherlands sharing their knowledge with us on this.”

This activity is part of an IOM Development Fund supported project: “Supporting the Government of Mongolia to Improve Migration Management through Migration Management Policy and Training of Border Officials.”

For more information please contact:

Oyunbileg Rentsendorj
IOM Mongolia
Tel: +976 7014 3100
Email: orentsendorj@iom.int