15 Apr
It is certainly a part of common knowledge around the world that even the simplest immigration-related processes can be lengthy, time consuming and incredibly frustrating.
The reasons for it vary, but it all comes down to the fact that over the years, travelling and migrating to different countries became a common occurrence and not something out of ordinary for the majority of people.
International labor market, migration of employees and transformation of the way companies hire their workers, as well as popularization of digital nomad’s lifestyle, certainly made immigration-related issues and procedures become a part of their lives for many.
For example – according to the United Nations, the United States has the highest number of immigrants (foreign-born individuals), with 48 million in 2015, five times more than in Saudi Arabia (11 million) and six times more than in Canada (7.6 million).
The main issues with immigration-related procedures
One of the biggest immigration-related issues around the world is the time it takes to actually go through the process of obtaining a visa. Each nation has its own rules and regulations that, in theory, are supposed to make the process not only lawful, fair and clear, but also efficient. Both for the officers that are in charge of the decision-making, and those who show interest in obtaining a visa.
Unfortunately, statistics show that despite a massive change that was the digitalization of documents, files and administrative procedures, those processes are still incredibly time consuming. Often, the main reason for that is the bureaucracy and the need of constant back-and-forth communication with immigration officers who deal with immense workloads.
Submitting required documents or updated information requested by the immigration authorities over time can turn seemingly simple, quick tasks, into a weeks- or months-lasting process. Those processes often need to be repeated time and time again in order to obtain visas and work permits.
That can be not only frustrating for those who have the willingness to migrate, but also for immigration authorities and administration employees who deal with incredible amounts of data to process daily.
Importance of accurate identification procedure
One of the top priority tasks for immigration authorities is to screen the potential new residents of the country thoroughly. It is essential to ensure that they meet the requirements set by strict immigration regulations.
It takes place to ensure national security, clear and fair assessment of each case, and to verify personal details of a candidate, as well as find irregularities or matters that need further explanation or attention.
The most common points that a standard identity check consists of, are:
- Verification of the identity document/documents
- Current place of residence and history of obtaining other visas
- Verification of health and character-related matters of a candidate (or assessment of a potential criminal record)
- In case of work visas – verifying validity of obtained degrees, qualifications and previous experience
Is today’s identity verification process safe and reliable?
Even today, in the world of almost complete digitalization of documentation, some countries still require a physical check of certain documents. The process consists of sending out an identity document by an off-shore candidate so the manual check of the validity and the ownership of the document can be performed, as well as making sure that things such as identity theft or forgery do not occur.
It is not difficult to guess that often, just the process of sending out such documents can not only be long, but also to some degree, dangerous and stressful for a candidate. Posting such an important part of their identity internationally brings out the risk of having it lost in the process, stolen or not returned in time in case of an emergency.
Number of countries already introduced a possibility of uploading required documents online instead of having to ship them to one of immigration’s offices. It makes the process easier, less time-consuming, and more comfortable for immigrants.
Unfortunately, although this solution simplifies the process for the institutions too, by making the documents and data more accessible in an easier and quicker way, it also raises concerns for the security reasons.
Modern technology makes identity theft and forgery easier and more common.
As of today, the editing softwares is something that most people encounter this way or another in their lives. It doesn’t take much to perform quick touch-ups and edits to photos and documents.
It means that not only regular pictures can be edited, but also those of higher importance, such as identity documents, contracts, invoices, government-issued documents – the possibilities are endless.
Of course, experienced officers are taught to search for any abnormalities while assessing each case, as well as having the help of highly developed softwares. This being said, there is data that cannot be visible and clear for commonly used softwares.
The assessment of the size and proportions of the document, the substrate it’s made of, the details that could indicate an attempt of forgery and various security features visible for a human eye only – often only at certain angles and with specific lighting conditions.
Video identification can make the process more EFFICIENT and SAFER
Considering all of these factors, there is only one solution left, that would combine the pros of both – physical and digital assessments’ – into one, this being a face-to-face verification.
But, of course, in majority of cases, it would be impossible to require every single candidate to make an appointment in order to verify their identity – it would be just as time consuming, frustrating, and often not possible due to immigration offices working in certain places that travelling to, just in order to do this, would not be efficient.
That is where the video identification procedure comes into play.
Such quick, short face-to-face assessment of the document and the person verifying their identity allows the operator to:
- See and talk to a person verifying their identity
- Observe overall behavior (to ensure the person verifying themselves was not in any way coerced or pressured into doing it)
- Confirm the ownership of the identification document
- Assess and inspect the identity document thoroughly with particular techniques
- Assess the presence of important security features as well as the validity of the document
- Verify various types of documents, such as proof of address and residence, certificates, etcetera – depending on particular country’s regulations and requirements.
It is extremely important to ensure that, due to the seriousness of the matter and the possible negative consequences of identity theft, forgery and other fraudulent activity related to immigration processes, only dedicated services such as Fully-Verified are delegated to perform such identity checks.
It is essential to make sure that identity verification procedures are performed by highly-trained, experienced personnel that are compliant with the standards and regulations regarding such sensitive matter as obtaining, processing and verifying personal information and identity-related data.
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