A total of 449 German language proficiency certificates – often used when applying for a visa – have been falsified at the Goethe Institute in Beirut, Lebanon.
The incident has been confirmed by the Goethe Institute to the FAZ, while criminal charges in this regard are being filed, Schengen.News reports.
Two employees of the Goethe Institute in Beirut used their access to the system in order to falsify the data, alter the scores of failed tests and sell the wrongly issued language certificates.
The report from Faz notes that in 245 cases visas were issued by obtaining such certificates, therefore being eligible to enter Germany.
The cooperation between the Goethe Institute and the visa offices of embassies worldwide and with the headquarters of the Federal Foreign Office is close and trusting.
However, the Institute said that nothing like this has ever happened in Beirut.
German embassies make authenticity inquiries to the Goethe Institute when the applicant’s language level is incompatible with the certificate.
In March this year, an embassy employee made a similar inquiry to the Goethe Institute and identified that the certificate was invalid.
We assume that two employees worked together with criminal intent and were thus able to bypass the Goethe Institute’s security barriers.
In this regard, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office said that the Office takes the attempted fraud in visa procedures very seriously and immediately and comprehensively investigates any indication of irregularities in each individual case.
German language proficiency is among the most important factors for foreigners planning to live in Germany. For some purposes such as work or study, a certain level of German language knowledge is required. When applying for a German visa, internationals are often required to show proof that they can speak the German language to a particular set standard.
Germany Began Investigations Related to Questionable Visa Issuance Practices
Last year, Germany approved 1,233,561 visa applications out of the total 1,459,560 visa applications received. Of the approved visas, 1,115,424, were granted as multiple entry visas.
However, reports related to questionable visa issuance practices in this country led the authorities to start investigations on staff and embassies abroad for accepting fake and incomplete visa documents.
The decision came following reports that staff at German consulates and embassies abroad, including countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria were advised to accept fake documents, thus allowing migrants to reach the country in an irregular way.
When it comes to obtaining a multiple-entry Schengen visa, Germany is the best choice, according to the data provided by Schengen Visa Statistics.
