According to a new Europol report, illegal migrants are charged €8,000 for smuggling services that facilitate entry into Ireland using fraudulent documents.
In the newly-released “European Migrant Smuggling Centre 9th Annual Report 2025”, the EU’s official law enforcement agency outlined how “criminal networks are systematically profiting” from the vulnerability of migrants to “generate profits.”
“These criminals offer a wide variety of services ranging from transport, guidance, accommodation in transit locations or fraudulent documents to enable the illegal travel, entry and stay,” the report reads.
Europol noted these groups are decentralized but structured, with key leadership often situated outside the EU, allowing the networks to remain operational even when local cells are dismantled.
Violent traffickers are also extensively exploiting the digital domain, using social media for advertising services and initial contact, including using AI-generated videos, while communicating securely via encrypted messaging platforms.
Furthermore, Europol has observed a growing trend of criminal groups utilizing cryptocurrencies to transfer smuggling fees, with some traditional hawala systems now integrating crypto assets to conceal illicit profit flows.
According to the report, smuggling with fraudulent documents from various EU countries to Ireland by air costs €8,000. The same amount is charged to smuggle a migrant to the UK over land.
A forged ID card costs anywhere from €500 to €3,000, while a look-alike passport – as in, a real passport of someone who looks similar to the migrant in question – costs €1,000 to €3,000.
Meanwhile, a forged counterfeit passport costs anywhere from €1,000 to €5,000.
“Fraudulent documents, accommodation in safe houses and arrangement of air transport from Greece to EU countries” costs €3,000 to €5,000, while “Payment to women to join marriages of Convenience” costs €1,000 to €2,500.
Smuggling with fraudulent documents from Pakistan via Spain to Norway, Denmark, or Sweden can cost anywhere from €2,300 to €27,500.
On the topic of human trafficking, the report claims that criminal networks “lure victims” with “false promises” of legal employment or safe transit into the EU, “many of whom are later subjected to abuse, forced labour, and sexual exploitation.”
“These victims originate mainly from Eastern European and non-EU countries, with various transit points and destinations often in Western European countries.”
Europol urged cooperation and international coordination on tackling the issue of illegal migration and human trafficking, stating that it is a growing and “shared challenge for the EU”.