Council Recommendation of 29 April 1999 on the provision for the detection of false or falsified documents in the visa departments of representations abroad and in the offices of domestic authorities dealing with the issue or extension of visas
Date: 1999-04-29
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU visa policy, admission of aliens, diplomatic representation, fraud

20.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 140/1

(Acts adopted under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION

of 29 April 1999

on the provision for the detection of false or falsified documents in the visa departments of
representations abroad and in the offices of domestic authorities dealing with the issue or
extension of visas

(1999/C 140/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

HEREBY RECOMMENDS TO THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER
STATES:

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Article 1

Whereas,
in accordance with Article K.1 of
European Union, without prejudice to the powers of
European Community,
regard
following areas, inter alia, as matters of common interest:

the Treaty on
the
the

the Member

States

In future, Member States should improve the conditions for
issuing visas,
are
increasingly better able to detect false or falsified documents
through:

in particular by ensuring that

staff

(cid:151) rules governing the crossing by persons of the external
borders of the Member States and the exercise of controls
thereon,

(cid:151) immigration policy and policy regarding nationals of third

countries,

(cid:151) conditions of entry and movement by nationals of third

countries on the territory of Member States,

(cid:151) conditions of residence by nationals of third countries on
the territory of Member States including family reunion and
access to employment,

(cid:151) combating unauthorised immigration, residence and work
by nationals of third countries on the territory of Member
States;

Whereas it is intended to prevent document abuse when third-
country nationals enter and stay in the territory of Member
States;

Whereas document abuse can be effectively counteracted by
preventive measures;

(cid:151) being equipped to an appropriate level, and

(cid:151) a corresponding emphasis on the skills and abilities
including the

required to carry out
systematic training measures needed for that purpose.

these examinations,

Article 2

The decision, which falls within national competence, on how
to provide for offices engaged in the issue and extension of
visas should be taken on the basis of the following determining
factors:

(cid:151) number of visa applications,

(cid:151) known levels of falsifying and counterfeiting documents.

The decisive factor for the provision of equipment shall be not
so much the size of the office or the number of visas which it
falsification and counterfeiting
issues as the actual risk of
occurring during the visa procedure. The aim shall be to
detect
falsification of passports on
which visas are to be entered, passport substitutes, requisite
to the visa
invitations and other proof which is material
procedure.

the counterfeiting or

Article 3

The minimum level of technical provision is laid down in the
Annex to this recommendation. The Annex shall be regularly
adapted to technical progress.

Article 4

Whereas it is important to establish uniform levels of expertise
and equipment for detecting forged documents in the visa-
issuing authorities of Member States of the European Union,

Member States should endeavour, on the basis of a national
evaluation of the risk in each case and after due consideration
of the financial resources, to bring the staff training and staff

C 140/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

20.5.1999

level and equipment required gradually into line with the
criteria of this recommendation.

Knowledge and experience should be shared among technical
staff.

In the context of local consular cooperation, Member States
should consider the possibilities for making their equipment
available as and when necessary to other Member States. Alter-
natively, Member States may consider as a further possibility
the common use of equipment at local level. Training courses
from other Member States.
could be opened up to staff

Done at Luxembourg, 29 April 1999.

For the Council

The President

W. M(cid:220)LLER

ANNEX

RECOMMENDED PROVISION

A. LOW RISK

Staff:

Staff with basic training

Equipment required:

(cid:151) Ultra-violet light source

(cid:151) Portable ultra-violet lamps

(cid:151) Magnification/lighting

(cid:151) Hand-held lenses, or transparent slide (cid:151) oblique light source

(cid:151) Combined document testing device equipped with magnifier, transmitted light and oblique light sources

(cid:151) Special testing devices

(cid:151) Retroviewer (to check reflective materials)

(cid:151) Test lenses, filter screens, etc. to check for latent security features in standard documents

(cid:151) Reference material

(cid:151) Reference guide to genuine passports (e.g. passport manual, annual passport guide)

(cid:151) European Fraud Bulletin.

B. INTERMEDIATE RISK

Staff:

Staff with basic training; additional presence or availability of document specialists or other qualified staff from the
visa office for the detection of false or falsified documents

Equipment required:

(cid:151) Ultra-violet light source

(cid:151) Portable and fixed ultra-violet lamps

(cid:151) Magnification

(cid:151) Low-power stereozoom microscope

(cid:151) Light source with flexible fibre-optic light guide
(cid:151) Light box for examinations using transmitted light

(cid:151) Special testing devices

(cid:151) Retroviewer (to check reflective materials)

(cid:151) Test lenses, filter screens, etc. to check for latent security features in standard documents

(cid:151) Reference material

(cid:151) Reference guide to genuine passports (e.g. passport manual, annual passport guide)

(cid:151) European Fraud Bulletin.

20.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 140/3

C. HIGH RISK

Staff:

Highly qualified officers widely experienced in the detection of forgeries and/or permanently stationed document
specialists

Equipment required:

(cid:151) Ultra-violet light source

(cid:151) Portable and fixed ultraviolet lamps

(cid:151) Magnification

(cid:151) Stereozoom microscope

(cid:151) Light source with flexible fibre-optic light guide

(cid:151) Light box for examinations using transmitted light

(cid:151) Special testing devices

(cid:151) Retroviewer (to check reflective materials)

(cid:151) Test lenses, filter screens, etc. to check for latent security features in standard documents

(cid:151) Infra-red scanning equipment

(cid:151) Infra-red document examination apparatus

(cid:151) Devices for the machine inspection of documents

(cid:151) OCR scanning devices (with verification of check digits)

(cid:151) machine authentication devices (e.g. for kinegram patterns)

(cid:151) Reference material

(cid:151) Reference guide to genuine passport (e.g. passport manual, annual passport guide)
(cid:151) European Fraud Bulletin

(cid:151) Database systems (information systems on genuine and false documents, and subject-search systems to

identify stolen documents).