2.43 PM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

DED warns of fake passports, immigration offers

Published
By Staff

Fraudsters masquerading as immigration agents offering passports and nationalities of various countries are all over the Internet conning people to the tune of thousands of dollars, said a senior DED official.

Warning people to be wary of these so called agents, he said most of these agents are not registered with any authorities and are not approved to issue immigration permits, Emarat Al Youm reported.

He also said that, though unauthorized, several agents are also working in the country duping gullible residents by claiming to offer them passports of countries like US, Australia and other countries.

However, the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) has taken measures to check such violations and is slapping heavy fines against anyone who is involved in the racket.

Ads offering permanent residence in the US, UK, Australia and Caribbean islands are found all over the internet and agents reportedly charge up to $300,000 for issuing passports depending on the nationalities.

Omar Bushehab Executive Director of the control trade and Consumer Protection of DED confirmed “it has fined some offices providing services to migrate abroad without obtaining prior permission.

He pointed out that department has a permanent monitoring cell which keeps an eye on ads that offer immigration service “We make sure these offices are legal and take every care to ensure the consumer rights are protected.”

Elaborating on the process to get an immigration agent’s licence he said: “DED issues license to immigration offices under the name of management consultants and requires them to get and official authorization in advance from the Embassy of the State concerned.”

A US passport is offered for $275,000 while a Dominican Republic nationality is offered for just $75,000.