Mongolia - IOM has concluded a two-day technical workshop in Sukhbaatar, Mongolia for 20 officials from Mongolia’s immigration services to improve their knowledge of fraudulent travel document examination and the security features of travel documents. Sukhbaatar is located in northern Mongolia on the Russian border, some 25km from the border crossing at Altanbulag.

With rising numbers of Mongolian labour migrants moving overseas and incoming foreign workers, Mongolia has seen a rise in the use of fraudulent travel documents. Many foreign irregular migrants transit via Mongolia onwards to other destinations, or pay for counterfeit visa documents to be able to work irregularly in Mongolia. Returning Mongolian migrants also use other Mongolian citizens’ documents to get back into the country to avoid detection when they use false documents.

The workshop, which was supported by experts from Germany and Thailand, is part of IOM's support to the government to help it to improve how it manages migration into and out of the landlocked country. The project to support migration management policy and training of border officials is funded by the IOM Development Fund (IDF).

It follows on from an earlier technical workshop: ‘Fraudulent Document Examination and Security Features of Travel Documents’, held in December 2014 in Ulaanbaatar.

Bukhchuluun Purevdorj, former Director General of Mongolia’s Migration Department, emphasized its importance. “Participants are gaining knowledge from international experts, sharing experiences and building a platform of collaboration between IOM and Mongolia’s migration services,” he said.

For more information please contact Oyunbileg Rentsendorj at IOM Mongolia, Email: orentsendorj@iom.int, Tel: +976 7014 3100.