Serbian border police say that 90 per cent of those arriving from Macedonia, about 3000 a day, claim they are Syrian, although they have no documents to prove it. The so-called Balkan corridor for the migrant flight starts in Turkey, then goes through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the European Union in Hungary. A discarded, torn and ripped identity document of a migrant sits on the railway tracks as hundreds of migrants and refugees continue to cross the border from Serbia into Hungary. Credit:Getty Images "You can see that something is fishy when most of those who cross into Serbia enter January 1 as the date of their birth," border police officer Miroslav Jovic said. "Guess that's the first date that comes to their mind." The chief of the European Union border agency Frontex said that trafficking in fake Syrian passports has increased. "A lot of people enter Turkey with fake Syrian papers because they know that they'll get asylum in the EU more easily," Fabrice Leggeri said.

In Germany, customs have intercepted packages mailed to Germany containing Syrian passports, both genuine and counterfeit, the finance ministry said. People collect their papers after getting off a bus from Proshevo at the main bus station in Belgrade, Serbia. Credit:Getty Syrians transiting through Serbia are concerned about the trend. "Everyone says they are Syrian, even those who are obviously not," said Kamal Saleh, pointing towards a group of people camping in a Belgrade park. "That is not good for us Syrians because of limited number of people who will get the asylum." Migrants try to board a train that would take them towards Serbia at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija. Credit:AP

Mr Saleh left everyone he loves in Syria – his wife, a baby boy and a shattered home in Damascus. But, unlike many other migrants surging into Europe, he feels fortunate: he has a Syrian passport that he keeps carefully wrapped in a plastic folder and tucked inside his secret trouser pocket. The document, if genuine, should prove that he is a refugee fleeing war, and not a migrant fleeing poverty – a huge difference when asylum applications are considered. Migrant families gather in the main train station in Belgrade, Serbia. Credit:Getty His countryman, who identified himself only as Yemen, said: "There are too many people saying we are from Syria, but he is not from Syria. He is black and he said `I am from Syria.' Unbelievable. " International aid agencies estimate that nearly 340,000 people have sought to cross EU borders since January. Two-thirds of the latest European arrivals are believed to be from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea – countries considered by international aid groups to be "refugee producing states," due to ongoing war or records of human rights abuses.

According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, those fleeing violence and persecution are entitled to basic rights under international law, including the right not to be immediately deported and sent back into harm's way. A migrant could be someone who chooses to resettle to another country in search of a better life and is eligible for deportation. EU rules say the country where a migrant first arrives must process the asylum claim. But Germany last week abolished this obligation for Syrians, triggering a surge of people trying to travel through the EU to get there, adding that only refugees fleeing for their life, and not those fleeing poverty, will be allowed to stay. Aware of the potential asylum rejection, many migrants fleeing poverty are dumping their identity documents. Among those who had no second thoughts about ditching their true identity was Rafik from Pakistan. "I'm leaving my old life behind," Rafik said, as he dashed under the fence into Hungary. He gave only his first name because he feared repercussions when applying for asylum in Germany. "I'm starting a new one."

"I don't have a passport, nor any other identity paper. Let's see which country they will choose to kick me back to." AP Follow FairfaxForeign on Twitter Follow FairfaxForeign on Facebook