Marriage Abuse

The police have warned us that the Church of England is being targeted for sham marriages. There are highly organised networks seeking to use such marriages as a way of getting around immigration legislation. The problem seems to be getting worse and during 2009 there is reported to have been a 54% increase in such marriages.
The police remind us that under the Immigration Act 1999 foreign nationals wanting to be married should:

1) prove the they have been resident in the area they are wanting to be married for at least a week
2) provide proof of ID. 

The Home Office is required to be notified of any suspicious marriages.

The Church of England has been targeted because the Church has not been required to inform the UK Boarder Agency of suspicious marriages and because it seems the Church is less aware of the potential the marriage presents to people wishing to legitimise their stay in the UK.

The scam involves a UK residents or someone from an EEA country marrying a person from a non EEA country. Once the marriage has taken the place the non EEA individual uses the marriage to legitimise their stay in the UK, it confers permission to work and an accelerated path to permanent residence in the UK. The EEA national is paid a small sum of money and is flown into the UK generally from Eastern Europe (but the breadth of EEA nationals involved is widening the more we uncover) specifically for the purpose of the marriage. Once the marriage has taken place the EEA national returns to their own country and the non EEA national has a legitimate claim to work/stay in the UK.
 
Large sums of up to £8000 are paid by the non EEA individual and there is significant evidence to suggest that this money is used to fund other more serious crime.

For more information please contact
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Force Intelligence Bureau
Derbyshire Constabulary HQ,
Butterley Hall, Ripley, DE5 3RS

Tel:    01773 572533 (extn: 700 2533)
Mob: 07515 200218

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