Immigration-screening methods across the world are directly threatened by the proliferation of fraudulent documentation which has become a major threat to national security, a report released by Economic Intelligence Unit said.

Fraud documents undermine the governments' immigration-screening methods like capturing biometric data, adopting objective points-based screening systems and international border collaboration, it said.

The report said there is a greater danger that would-be terrorists will use fake documents in order to obtain a passport, entry visa or other form of identification for their movements across borders.

Technology such as biometric information in passports and visas can neither fix a particular identity nor prove whether the identity itself is valid or based on fake documents, said the report, which examined the rising trend of global migration and the challenge posed by fake documents.

Giving an example of increasing use of false papers, it said that in 2005, United States Customs and Border Protection apprehended 84,000 individuals entering America with fake documents.

The report expressed concern that despite the scale of the problem, there are no standardised international procedures for document verification.

It is estimated that the developed world would witness an influx of over 100 million people between 2005 and 2050.