Sham Marriages Encouraged by Amendment to Immigration Law?
Law is a constantly changing field. Ask immigration solicitors Leicester or in other parts of Great Britain, and they will confirm that this is especially the case with immigration law. Since the face of Europe is changing as we speak and the notion of borders has become much more flexible than it once was, it is understandable that laws also need to change, in order to accommodate current conditions, socio-economic trends and events. To this end, the Border Agency from UK has come up with all-new policy guidelines. The new policy emerged after a publicized case, which involved two defending spouses brought to court by the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The case raised the issue of the legality and ethics of marriages to foreign spouses, as well as the latter’s status in the UK.
Issues Raised
The situation of Quila and Bibi (defended by immigration solicitors Leicester) versus the Secretary of State for the Home Department, essentially challenged one particular provision of the immigration law, or the Immigration Rules—specifically paragraph 277. Those who are not familiarized with the text should know that the paragraph addresses the issue of the youngest possible age accepted by law for foreign spouses. Also discussed in the text is the minimum age for the age of the spouses’ local, United Kingdom-based sponsors. It says that all parties involved must be at least twenty-one before the spouse can obtain a visa, either to simply enter the country, or to set up a more permanent arrangement. This paragraph was amended on 27 November 2008, together with several other provisions of the Immigration Rules. In 2008, the minimum age was increased from eighteen to twenty-one.
The Supreme Court admitted that the aim pursued by the Secretary of State was reasonable and made sense, as they meant to put a stop on sham or forced marriages. However, changing the law in order to raise the minimum age needed to obtain a marriage visa to twenty-one would eventually come to interfere with the rights of spouses involved in actual marriages.
Notable Amendments
The changes to the Immigration Rules were recently debated in Parliament. According to the new policy guidance, eighteen is the minimum age for all types of partnerships romantic and sexual in nature, be they sanctioned by law or civil partnerships. The same rules apply both to heterosexual and homosexual relationships, as well as to UK-based sponsors. The rules entered force and started being applied on November 28, 2011. Additionally, they also explain how applicants whose living arrangements in the UK were impacted by the decision could ask for a reevaluation of the previous decision, which resulted in their application being denied, no later than May 31, 2012.
Sham marriage cases are rather frequent in the United Kingdom, as proven by a recent event in Leicestershire, which ended in the arrest of two Indian ethnics and a British citizen. Essentially, the two people of Indian origin had wed in India, with the Brit as their witness. The husband applied for a marriage visa and eventually gained entrance in the UK, while his supposed ‘wife’ had a baby… by her sponsor and former wedding witness. When the legal husband applied for a permanent visa, local police started an investigation and eventually uncovered the fraud.
December 21, 2011