A Chinese citizen is wanted in Palau for allegedly using a fake Philippine passport to obtain a worker’s permit.
The Bureau of Immigration had put out wanted posters against William Lim aka William Estacio Lim. It is unknown if charges have been filed against him nor whether Immigration has revoked the national’s entry visa.
Lim was found to have submitted a counterfeit Philippine passport upon due diligence check from the government.
According to documents provided to Island Times, Lim reportedly arrived in Palau as a tourist in December 2023 and applied for and applied for a worker’s permit under HK Lucky Restaurant in January 2024.
Lim obtained a worker’s permit on February 20, 2024, despite the pending result of the background check.
The Division of Employment Service upon receiving LIm’s permit application in January requested assistance from the Palau National Security Office (NSO) for a background check of the national.
NSO sent Lim’s passport to the Philippine government for further analysis. In May, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in its diplomatic note to the NSO confirmed that Lim’s Philippine passport was a fake.
“The passport was secured through fraud and misinterpretation, or that it has been tampered with subsequent to its release or issuance to its holder,” the diplomatic note from the Department of Foreign Affairs stated.
It added that Lim’s passport would not be honored by the Philippine government.
The Division then alerted the Bureau of Immigration that Lim’s worker’s permit had been canceled. (By: Bernadette Carreon)