Forging Passports--Thailand

Thailand has emerged as the passport forgery capital of the world.^[1] Passport forgery, which is a transnational crime taken very seriously in the United States, was previously viewed in Thailand as a petty crime.^[2] However, in the post-9/11 world, Western governments are pressuring Thailand to crack down on the makers of fake passports.^[3]

The most commonly faked passports are Belgian, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, which Thai police say are easily copied. In one particular arrest, Thai police seized 353 fake passports from a courier heading to London; in another, they found 452.^[4] It is estimated that roughly 90 percent of forged passports are sent to London.^[5]

The United States and the United Kingdom have passports that are harder to duplicate.^[6]

In the United States, passport fraud is criminalized by 18 U.S.C. §§ 1028 and 1546.

18 U.S.C. § 1028
Under section 1028, it is illegal for a person to

• knowingly produce a false identification document;^[7]
• knowingly possess, with intent to use or transfer unlawfully, five or more false identification documents;^[8] or
• knowingly possess a false identification document with the intent to defraud the United States.^[9]

Violating this section can be punished by a fine, imprisonment for up to 30 years, or both.^[10]

18 U.S.C. § 1546
Under section 1546, it is illegal for a person to knowingly forge any type of document used to enter the United States, or use such a document knowing that it is forged.^[11] Violating this section can be punished by a fine, imprisonment for up to 25 years, or both.^[12]

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[1] Alisa Tang, Thailand Emerges as Fake Passport Capital, Associated Press, Sept. 8, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(1).
[8] Id. § 1028(a)(3).
[9] Id. § 1028(a)(4).
[10] Id. § 1028(b).
[11] Id. § 1546(a).
[12] Id.