Syrian passport

The German authorities believe that the Islamic State group has more than 11,000 empty Syrian passports that can be used, German Bild.

Germany will start holding personal hearings for asylum seekers from Syria as of Jan. 1, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters on Dec. 31, reversing a policy of granting almost automatic refugee status for Syrians.

France has asked the European Union to improve the detection of fake Syrian passports used by people trying to get into Europe after two of the suicide bombers in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks were found carrying such passports.

The proportion of people entering Germany with fake Syrian passports is far less than the 30 percent announced by the interior minister in September, the government has said.
 
Germany has to date maintained an open-door policy for Syrians escaping their country's bloodshed, giving them "primary protection" -- the highest status for refugees.
 

To get a fake Syrian passport isn’t all that difficult in Istanbul, Turkey – a place where there are many Syrian and Iraqi refugees. There are forums on Facebook and Twitter full of posts and ads offering refugees of any nationality a fake passport, birth certificate, international driving license, even a college degree.

A total of eight people entered the European Union in recent months using the same passport as the one found on the Paris bomber that had entered Europe through Leros, Greece, on October 3. The bomber in question, Ahmad Almohammad, had blown himself up outside the Stade de France after a killing spree in Paris on November 13.

Turkish Ambassador to Paris Hakk? Akil has denied claims put forward by CNN International's Christiane Amanpour that two Turkish passports were found on two of the Paris bombers. 

"No, not even a crumb of official intelligence about that has come to us," Akil said during a televised program on Turkish private station CNNTürk that was broadcasting from Paris on Nov. 15. 

Alternate Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas gave a press conference on Sunday on migration. He addressed the need for more effective controls in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon that need to be carried out so as to have more accurate registration and documentation of refugees.

A Syrian passport found outside the Stade de France on Friday night after the first explosion that led to a trail of violence in multiple attacks around Paris was traced to refugees who passed through Greece.

Images of thousands of Syrian refugees, attempting to enter Europe with their families and children under the most adverse conditions have touched the hearts of the international community.