BLACK MARKET IN MIGRANT DOCUMENTS BOOMS IN GERMANY

Migrants and refugees in Germany have been going into business for themselves, selling and renting out their German residency and healthcare cards.

German investigative journalists looking into the scams uncovered secret Facebook groups where migrants already with ID documents passed them on -- at a price -- to would-be migrants, allowing them to enter the country easily and then access free healthcare and other welfare benefits.

The investigators Journalisten Watch got access to the secretive Facebook groups, where mainly Muslim users contacted each other to get round German immigration and welfare laws.

Journalisten Watch said:

"Entire families are now legally travelling to Germany because they can use real papers and even go directly to the doctor. Since they are real papers, neither entry nor treatment is denied."

One comment they reported read: 

"I need a German passport for refugees, born in 1998, preferably stamped from Sudan." 

This got a reply from another user that said she has, "a German passport with year of birth 1997 including head cover." This is a reference to Islamic headscarves which make Muslim women appear generally similar to overworked immigration authorities.

Other users were exchanging advice on the best way to travel to Germany, and enter the country in order to get its much coveted welfare benefits. Another comment explained that documents going missing was not a problem, as the authorities would simply re-issue replacements without delay.

"I simply say I lost the card and then get a new one immediately."

Official figures, reported by the German newspaper Bild, said there were 564,000 asylum seekers eligible for German unemployment benefits in March this year. That number looks set to grow.