About preventing illegal acquisition of passport

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that there have been cases of people fraudulently obtaining passports by impersonating other people, and that they will strengthen screening to prevent fraudulent acquisitions. I will write it below.

　In light of the fact that cases of fraudulently obtaining passports through identity theft continue to occur, on February 2th, Passport Day, passport offices nationwide will be holding a ``Examination Period to Prevent Fraudulent Obtaining of Passports Through Identity theft.'' ” will be carried out. The implementation period is from February 20th to March 2th.

　Passports illegally obtained by impersonating another person can be used for illegal entry and exit from the country, facilitating international organized crimes such as international terrorism, human trafficking, and illegal immigration, as well as crimes such as borrowing money in another person's name or wire transfer fraud. This could lead to further criminal damage, such as being misused to open a mobile phone contract or bank account for use in other areas.

　During the screening enhancement period, each prefectural passport counter will carry out strict identification screening while gaining understanding from applicants regarding the importance of identification, and will work closely with related organizations such as the police. We will strive to prevent and eradicate fraudulent acquisition of passports by people pretending to be other people.

[Reference matters]
過去5年間に把握したなりすましによる旅券の不正取得数は、令和元年が8冊、令和2年が3冊、令和3年が3冊、令和4年が3冊、令和5年が5冊。

If a passport is obtained through fraudulent acts,Imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 300 million yen will be imposed..

For details, Ministry of Foreign Affairs pagePlease confirm.