Spanish authorities have confirmed plans to deport 65 of the 69 Bolivian citizens who were unable to disembark from an MSC cruise ship on April 2.
Originally scheduled to enter the country, the passengers encountered a setback when their visas were found to be fraudulent, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
According to local media, four family members with ties to Spain have received permission to travel to the country.
A cruise ship with 1,500 passengers found itself stranded at a port in Barcelona due to visa issues involving a group of Bolivian passengers. While the Bolivians’ final destination was Barcelona, the Spanish state news agency reports that most of the 1,500 passengers on the cruise ship were first headed to Croatia.
As SchengenVisaInfo previously reported, despite being allowed to disembark in the port’s transit area, Spanish authorities quickly launched deportation proceedings due to the invalidity of their visas.
Spanish authorities have revealed that the Bolivian passengers aboard a cruise ship faced visa issues, preventing the vessel from continuing its journey through the European border-free Schengen area. The discovery of false visas disrupted the travel plans of over 1,000 passengers, causing the ship to remain stranded in Barcelona for two days.
As authorities addressed the situation, the Bolivian passengers were temporarily accommodated on another boat while police conducted interviews. Only after the issue was resolved did the cruise ship set sail once again, resuming its route through the Mediterranean Sea.
Spain Faces Increasing Challenges in Immigration Document Fraud
Considering such cases, Spain has increasingly become one of the countries facing challenges with immigration document fraud. As a result, last month, Spanish National Police agents in Valencia apprehended three individuals suspected of document forgery. The arrested individuals, comprising two men and one woman aged between 26 and 61, are believed to have been involved in a scheme to fabricate documents.
The arrests followed an investigation into a suspected plot where falsified payrolls were used to secure a family residence permit in the community. The detained trio includes a married couple and an immigration lawyer.
Authorities allege that the three collaborated to alter the residency status of an associate by submitting a doctored payroll.
Spanish Citizen & Moroccan Immigrant Held for Immigration Fraud
In January of this year, the police also arrested a Spanish citizen and a Moroccan immigrant in Melilla on suspicion of involvement in fraudulent activities related to immigration documentation. The arrests include a woman who ran a consultancy specializing in processing immigration documents.
The individuals face charges from a suspected case of falsifying data in an application for a residence and work permit. The investigation revealed that the consultancy may have been facilitating the submission of false or misleading information to secure client permits.
