FRAUD SUMMARY (SAN MARINO)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FLORENCE 000019 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR KCC WILLIAMSBURG KY STATE FOR CA/FPP STATE FOR EUR/WE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC SM SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY (SAN MARINO) REF: 08 STATE 74840 -------------- Country Conditions -------------- ¶1. Relations between the United States and the Republic of San Marino (RSM) were upgraded in 2006 from Consular to Diplomatic. For consular purposes, the republic is within the jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Florence for all functions except for immigrant visas, which are processed at the Consulate General in Naples. There is also a virtual presence post at http://sanmarino.usvpp.gov. The Vice Consul in Florence acts as the Fraud Prevention Manager and supervises a fraud prevention FSN. ¶2. With a population of approximately 31,000, San Marino is the third smallest state in Europe. The key industries include manufacturing, banking and insurance, and public administration. Main agricultural products are wine and cheeses. Tourism remains a significant activity, drawing about two million visitors a year. San Marino's per capita level of output and standard of living are comparable to that of the most prosperous regions of Italy, a country with which San Marino is closely aligned in terms of foreign policy, social and political trends. San Marino maintains the lowest unemployment rate in Europe and has no national debt. ¶3. San Marino is a democratic, multiparty republic. The popularly elected unicameral Great and General Council (parliament) selects two of its members to serve as Captains Regent (Co-Heads of State). The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has some of the prerogatives of a prime minister. The judiciary is independent. We believe this to be a low fraud post. -------------- NIV FRAUD -------------- ¶4. San Marino is a participant in the Visa Waiver Program. NIV fraud, whether by citizens or foreign residents, has yet to be detected. In 2008, all nine NIV applications from citizens of San Marino were approved. Third country nationals are generally well-rooted in their communities. Due to the extremely low number of applicants applying from San Marino, no validation study has been run. -------------- IV FRAUD -------------- ¶5. Florence does not adjudicate IV cases. See Italy's fraud summary. -------------- DV FRAUD -------------- ¶6. Florence does not adjudicate DV cases. See Italy's fraud summary. -------------- ACS AND U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD -------------- ¶7. There are approximately 1,000 U.S. citizens resident in San Marino, with an estimated 12,000 Amcit tourists visiting annually. Post has not noted any ACS or U.S. passport fraud. -------------- ADOPTION FRAUD -------------- ¶8. Post is unaware of any adoption fraud. No Sammarinese have been adopted by American citizens. -------------- USE OF DNA TESTING -------------- ¶9. Post does not issue IVs and has never used DNA testing for investigation of suspected relationship fraud. -------------- -------------- ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD FLORENCE 00000019 002 OF 002 -------------- -------------- ¶10. Florence does not process asylee/refugee cases. See Italy's fraud summary. -------------- -------------- -------------- ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORIST TRAVEL -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶11. Post is unaware of any alien smuggling, trafficking, or organized crime. Post has not noted any fraud trends that affect post consular operations, or border and national security. -------------- -------------- DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS -------------- -------------- ¶12. The Consular Section Chief is also the Post Security Officer and maintains a close relationship with the RSOs in Milan and Rome. There are no DS criminal fraud investigations concerning the San Marino. -------------- -------------- -------------- - HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY -------------- -------------- -------------- - ¶13. Sammarinese apply for passports through the Passport Office of the State Department of Foreign Affairs. If abroad, they can receive a temporary Italian travel document (annotated for return travel to San Marino) from an Italian consular office. San Marino missions abroad CANNOT issue them. Alternatively, while abroad, Sammarinese can apply by mail for a new passport and wait until it is sent by mail from the government of San Marino. San Marino passports are EU and ICAO compliant. ¶14. A foreigner can apply for a "permit of stay" in San Marino. After five consecutive years of "permits of stay", a person may apply for permanent residency. Once a person stops holding a "permit of stay", the permanent residency application process resets. At that point, the person must begin again the process of obtaining five year's worth of consecutive permits before applying. ¶15. Schengen country citizens with employment in San Marino and "commuters" (Italians and Schengen citizens who live in Italy and work in San Marino) are generally granted work permits automatically. San Marino employers who want to hire other foreign workers may apply for a work permit through the Office of Labor of the Department of Labor. ¶16. Post is unaware of any cases of document fraud. -------------- -------------- -------------- COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶17. Post is unaware of any instances of consular fraud pertaining to San Marino, and therefore we have not engaged with host government authorities on any suspected fraud cases. Sammarinese officials do report their nationals' lost and stolen passports to Consulate General Florence. Sammarinese officials have reported 30 lost or stolen passports in 2005, 50 in 2006, 60 in 2007, and 52 in 2008. Counterfeiting an identity document is considered a serious crime in San Marino. The penalty for this crime is six months to three years of imprisonment (Two to six years plus interdiction from holding public offices if the guilty party is a public official.) Making false declarations to obtain an identity document is also punishable with imprisonment from six months to three years. -------------- --- AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN -------------- --- ¶18. There are no areas of particular concern to report. COUNTRYMAN