Sham Marriage?

[FredPuli43]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2489949/Police-storm-sham-wedding-Harrods-workers-realising-real.html

Not that exclusive a story; The Times has the same one; but the idea that it wasn't a sham marriage because, inter alia, the bride was carrying a Chanel bag, is amusing. Did our immigration officials act with principle but too much enthusiasm in how they exercised their powers?

[CokeTulip]

I thought the immigration officials inviting the press was OTT but it has backfired. a real Chanel handbag ...sweet.

I suppose they were responding to a tip off and things did perhaps add up but it must be awful for the couple to have to deal with that on the day. Hopefully it has made the day special.
I do think they should at least get a wedding present from the police and immigration...

[FredPuli43]

Agreed. If the police kicked my door in in a drugs raid, having got the wrong house, I would get compensation (if only they knew, eh?) And how did they know the Chanel bag was genuine ? There are thousands of fake 55s out there. Do they have a trained squad who can recognise such things as genuine? All right, it may have been the unfaked larger size, but still.

[jno]

Hopefully it has made the day special.

lol, yes, a day to remember. I wonder what symptoms justify a clinical diagnosis of sham marriage?

[emmie]

one where the people concerned hardly know one another, her visa expires shortly, perhaps that is what flagged this case up. If it's genuine, and many are obviously not, then they should apologise and pay some sort of compensation, perhaps a meal in a nice restaurant.

[ummmm]

My cousin married a man from Trinidad. They were interviewed quite a few times even though they had a honeymoon baby.

[emmie]

i think the biggest problem is that once married, and if it is a sham the partner not from the EU can then go on to claim endless benefits which they would not have been able to do without the piece of paper.. wasn't it a priest who was conducting these marriages for money, not sure but think he went to prison...

[ummmm]

He couldn't work or claim benefits until he was permitted to work here.

[emmie]

the man is Italian so would be permitted to stay and to work in UK would he not? same for all who join the EU. If his so called spouse is allowed a permit to stay and one assumes they will allow it if she shows she is married to a EU national, then what is to stop them both from working, if it's a sham marriage then she could present her passport, documents to show she is married to an Italian, then apply for work, which means getting a National Insurance number, which then could lead on to the benefits system, housing, etc, if it was a sham marriage and she was caught she would not have been allowed to stay.

[FredPuli43]

Don't know about the other blokes on here, but if I had been asked what my foreign (Welsh, but they are foreign to me) intended wife's birthday was, or what food she liked, I wouldn't have known !

[emmie]

but if you don't know where your intended was born and hardly remember her name, wouldn't that arouse some suspicions that this isn't entirely kosher.

[ummmm]

Lol...naughty Fred.

[mccfluff]

it says they had difficulty spelling each other names not forgetting them and they are both working, so not claiming benefits

[emmie]

at the moment, if it's genuine then fine. Many are obviously not.

[emmie]

i am sure there are lots of ways to stay

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336565/Now-half-sham-marriages-involve-foreign-students-Members-bogus-colleges-face-kicked-marry-Britons-EU-citizens-prolong-stay.html

[mccfluff]

i'm sure they are happy to receive your blessing....

[ummmm]

Do you think they will suddenly give up their jobs now they are married?

[emmie]

not really, this is in my borough and we already have enough asylum seekers, refugees, and illegals to worry about.

[emmie]

if her visa is about to expire that means she gets to stay?

[ummmm]

It's not YOUR borough...it's just where you live. You talk like you own it...

[jno]

fluff, I've decided you can stay as long as you don't marry any EU citizens from Harrods. And I've sent the journalists away. Satisfied?