Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web

Current Trends and Challenges
One route takes smuggled migrants by air from
China to Moscow, 62 from where they continue by
air to Belarus, Ukraine or, albeit less frequently,
to Romania. 63 From there, smuggled migrants
continue overland westward to Hungary, the Czech
Republic, Austria, Germany and, in some cases, on
to the Netherlands, Belgium, France or the United
Kingdom. 64 Others have been found travelling
from Russia to the Baltic States. According to
Estonian authorities, this is particularly common
for smuggled migrants seeking to reach Finland,
Sweden or other Scandinavian countries. 65
Another route leads through Greece, the Balkans
and Eastern European countries to Western
Europe — a route that is frequented by a great
range of nationalities from other countries. After
entering Greece, smuggled migrants usually travel
to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
and Serbia and on to Hungary and other EU
Member States. 66 There are reports of Chinese
migrants flying to Belgrade or Serbia and then
travelling in the opposite direction via the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with Greece as
the intended destination or as a transit point en
route to other European Union destinations. 67
Several sources single out Belgrade and Prague
as hubs for the smuggling of Chinese migrants to
Europe. Belgrade and other parts of Serbia are
important transit points; some Chinese migrants
arrive on long-haul flights to Belgrade. 68 Czech and
German smugglers maintain bases in Belgrade,
where they receive incoming migrants from China
and then furnish them with information and, in
some cases, with fraudulent travel or identity
documents for their onward travel. Similarly,
some Chinese nationals arrive on long-haul
flights into Prague, where their onward travel is
organized, often involving transportation by truck
into Germany and, in some cases, on to France or
the United Kingdom. 69
The many reports on the characteristics and
methods used to smuggle Chinese migrants into
the United Kingdom are reflective of the magnitude
and sophistication of such smuggling and are also
illustrative of the patterns of Chinese migrant
smuggling to Western Europe. British authorities
have identified three main routes and methods
used to smuggle Chinese migrants into the United
Kingdom: The first involves travel from mainland
China to major airports in neighbouring Asian
countries or Hong Kong (China), from where they
travel by air to the United Kingdom. This route is
said to frequently involve fraudulent documents.
The second route involves more circuitous air
travel via transit countries that offer easy or visafree
entry to Chinese nationals, including African
and South American countries, and onward travel
by air to British or other European airports. In
the third method, Chinese nationals obtain visas,
often through fraudulent means, to gain access
to countries in the Schengen area then travel
to continental Europe before being smuggled
into the United Kingdom. According to British
authorities, Spain is a main entry point for Chinese
nationals in the Schengen area, and migrants are
then smuggled by car or truck across the Channel.
British authorities have also detected smuggling
ventures from China via Russia and Turkey to the
United Kingdom. 70
The smuggling of Chinese migrants by truck, car
or boat into the United Kingdom is generally more
cumbersome and, in particular, much slower than
smuggling by air. As mentioned earlier, in some
cases, smuggled migrants initially travel by air and
only make the last leg (or legs) of their journey
overland. In other cases, only a short part of the
distance is covered by air before a long overland
journey across multiple countries, which takes
many months to complete. 71 The advantages of
smuggling by land for migrants are the reduced
need for fraudulent travel or identity documents
and the cheaper fees. The advantage for the
smuggler is the ability to smuggle large numbers
of migrants in individual ventures.
The routes and methods employed to smuggle
Chinese migrants to Western Europe are often
supported by sophisticated techniques. Some
smuggled migrants are disguised as students
seeking to study in Europe and travel with
academic transcripts, language proficiency
certificates and enrolment documents that are
sometimes forged. Documentation may be issued
by educational institutions that are complicit in
the smuggling ventures or that are set up as a
sham just for these purposes. 72 A great variety of
fraudulent travel and identity documents have
been uncovered, often involving documents and
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