Nearly 900 expatriates who were deported from Bahrain tried to enter the country on forged travel documents within four years.

Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs director of exits Shawki Al Sobei said Bahrain International Airport and the King Fahad Causeway registered a total of 898 cases of forged travel documents between 2008 and 2012, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The fingerprint devices used by border control helped officials arrest those entering the country illegally.

"The fingerprint device at Bahrain International Airport has proved effective in checking deported workers who try to return with a changed name and a new passport," he said.

"Such violations are quite common, especially in East Asian countries."

He said they detected 767 cases of forgeries at the airport and 131 at the causeway.

He added that in 2008, there were 126 cases of forgeries of travel documents, which increased to 214 in 2009 and 246 in 2010.

A total of 104 cases were registered in 2011 and 77 in 2012.

At the causeway, the number of forgeries was 131 between 2009 and 2012, with 23 cases being detected in 2009, 41 in 2010, 17 in 2011 and 50 in 2012.

"We are seeing a gradual increase in the number of travellers entering and leaving Bahrain which requires speeding up and facilitating procedures at the exit ports without compromising security," Al Sobei told the Interior Ministry's Al Amn magazine.

"For this, one has to strike a balance between dependence on technology in completing travel procedures and ensuring that security is not compromised," he said. - TradeArabia News Service