Desperate migrants from the subcontinent and other Middle East countries are dumping their true identities at the Hungarian border and pretending to be Syrian, according to reports.

Police in Serbia, which has a border with European Union member country Hungary, are dealing with up to 3000 migrants each day, many who are now falsely claiming to be Syrian citizens, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Refugees from war-torn countries are far more likely to granted asylum than economic migrants who are fleeing poverty.

Authorities in Serbia are routinely discovering identity documents from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iraq discarded in the bushes.

Syrian citizens, who are fleeing their homeland, are disturbed about the development and how it might impact their own plight.

"Everyone says they are Syrian, even those who are obviously not," said Kamal Saleh, who is camped up in a Belgrade park.

"That is not good for us Syrians because of limited number of people who will get the asylum."

Last week Germany changed its rules for asylum seekers – but only for Syrians.

Under EU law, the country where a migrant first arrives must process the asylum claim.

However, Germany has now removed this barrier for Syrians, and this has led to a surge of migrants desperate to travel across EU member countries to reach Germany at any cost.

"I'm leaving my old life behind," said a man identified only as Rafik.

Rafik is from Pakistan, but he had destroyed his travel documentation, as he continues try and make his way to a new life in Germany.

The European Union border agency Frontex is also reporting a spike in the trafficking of fake Syrian passports being sent to Germany.

German customs have said packages containing Syrian passports, both real and fake, destined for the blackmarket have been intercepted.

The well-trodden Balkan corridor for migrants starts in Turkey, and winds its way through Macedonia and Serbia.