Immigrants ‘seek pregnant women for sham marriages’ to exploit human rights laws

Immigrants are increasingly seeking out pregnant women they can marry in sham ceremonies in an attempt to gain entry to the UK, according to a new report.

Officials tasked with rooting out non-genuine couples have noticed a pattern of preparing for claims under the right to family life.

Men from outside Europe were said to be seeking pregnant brides or those who already had a child, apparently with a view to a potential human rights claim.

Authorities were now seeing more couples attending interviews where the woman was pregnant or had a child or children with her.

A report from the immigration watchdog said: “One team reported a new trend for non-EEA (European Economic Area) men paying extra for a sham bride who was already pregnant.

“While detailed inspection of trafficked and vulnerable persons involved in shams was out of scope for this report, one representative told inspectors that their team had seen ‘more vulnerability than ever before’.”

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The report added: “By marrying overseas rather than in the UK, the non-EEA national in question was able to avoid notifying their intention to marry and the possible IE (immigration enforcement) investigation and instead seek entry to the UK via the family permit system.”

A sham marriage or civil partnership is one entered into by a non-EEA national purely to gain an immigration advantage.

Inspectors were also told that, before attending an interview, some non-EEA nationals made multiple new applications to remain in an attempt to act as a barrier to removal from the country.

The Immigration Act 2014 introduced a range of measures aimed at creating a “hostile environment” for those in the UK without valid leave by denying them access to various services and benefits.

The crackdown saw the gap between notifying intent to marry and the marriage ceremony extended from 15 to 28 days, which could be further extended to 70 days, to enable the Home Office to investigate the genuineness of the relationship.

Couples failing to comply with an investigation are not allowed to marry.

If the Home Office determines a compliant couple’s relationship to be a sham, the new approach is to seek to refuse any future application to remain in the UK based on that marriage.

Figures published in 2013 estimated that between 3,000 and 10,000 applications to stay in the UK per year were made on the basis of sham marriages.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We will not tolerate those who attempt to cheat their way into the UK through sham marriages.”

Top pic: Rex