AN ALBANIAN man who used a fake EU identity card to fly to the UK and find work in Oxford has been jailed.

Erjon Kanolja, of Hillsborough Road, Oxford, went under the guise of “Stefano Vitale” when he first bought a plane ticket with budget flight operator Ryanair on December 23 last year.

Once in the country, Oxford Crown Court heard at his sentencing on Friday, the 21-year old fraudulently used the fake Italian national identity document six times between February and August this year.

Kanolja used the card to obtain a National Insurance number and to secure employment at various locations including at Bella Italia, George Street, and at Tesco.

He admitted all seven charges of possessing the false identity document with improper intent.

In mitigation, John Bryant, defending, said that his client had come to the UK to seek legitimate work and not to undertake any criminal activity.

He said: “He had very little prospects in Albania, he has entered this country and has tried to obtain work.

“He has paid taxes for the work he has done and he has not committed any offences while he has been here, apart from the obvious underlying reason that he is here.”

Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle QC said that the offence was so serious it had to be marked by an immediate jail term.

Kanolja was jailed for a total of 14 months - a sentence made up of eight months for the single count of using the ID card to purchase the plane ticket to run consecutively with six months for each individual offence thereafter - all to run concurrently with each other.

He will also pay a victim surcharge.