Fraudsters 'marrying' their way out to obtain UK visa

It is so difficult to obtain a UK visa through legal route that hundreds of immigrant fraudsters con Britons into getting married to obtain a UK visa. Increasing number of 'Sham marriages' is becoming a growing problem in UK as overseas nationals look to circumvent tough UK visa laws. It's estimated that 1,000 cases of 'fake' marriages' have been reported in the 2014 alone. Victims complain that the UK Home Office is not doing enough to combat the problem. 

Scam

Following marriage, perpetrators lodge an application to settle in the UK with their spouse, before leaving them "high and dry" after being granted indefinite leave to remain or citizenship, say 'victims'.

Once the marriage has ended, it is frequently the case that the immigrant fraudster spouse is a co-owner of the marital home. It is very possible that the fraudster has been able to persuade the UK spouse to add their name on the title deeds for the property with the Land Registry.

Quite often, fraudsters will also rack up huge debts on credit cards and loans, which are secured against the property owned by the victim.

James Brokenshire, the UK's Immigration Minister, has said that the Home is tightening the rules on UK citizens marrying overseas partners.

Immigration Fraud UK

Kim Sow, of victim support group Immigration Fraud UK, said: "These cons are calculated and well planned. What the authorities need to realize is that is more than just gaining citizenship, they're after as many material assets as they can get."

Mrs Sow, 58, has been an advocate for action after her Senegalese husband, Laye, left her in 2013 once he'd acquired British Citizenship. She was also left £50,000 in debt.

 

Following the split, Mrs Sow set-up Immigration Fraud UK with another victim, Delene Alouane, who lost £150,000 to her Tunisian ex-husband.

The group has since been contacted by over 600 people, 70 percent women and 30 percent men, duped into marriage so that their immigrant spouses can acquire a visa.

It's these kinds of actions that Mrs Sow fell victim to when marrying Laye. She met him at a London nightclub in May 2007; he misled her right from the beginning. He claimed that he was a widower with three children back in Senegal. In 2010, Laye was granted UK citizenship and that's when Mrs Sow found out the truth about her husband. She discovered his wife was still alive, and that he was the father of an unborn child expected by another British woman he'd been having an 'affair' with. It transpired that Laye was also under investigation by Dutch immigration police, after marrying a Dutch woman in 2002. He is accused of bigamy and fraud.

 Home Office sets up Intelligence Unit, UK amends laws

The Home Office has also set up an intelligence unit to deal with the growing problem, but victims say the Government needs to 'wake up' and begin investigating cases.

 The United Kingdom has also amended its laws to crack down on sham marriages. Registrars will now have to refer to the home office all proposed marriages, which involve non-European Economic Area (non-EEA) nationals such as Indian citizens, who have limited or no immigration status in the UK. An extended period of time will also be available to the authorities to investigate the genuineness of a proposed marriage. 

The tightened norms spell bad news for unscrupulous Indian citizens who hoped to resort to this shortcut to stay on in the UK. Many rackets of sham marriages involving Indians have been busted in the past. 
A UK's home office report said sham marriages are typically entered into when a migrant's visa is about to expire and it is unlikely that the person will be able extend it, or if a person has overstayed his visa. But on the basis of their marriage to a UK citizen or even an EEA national, such persons can continue to stay in the UK.