Getting Married for Citizenship? Canada Clamps Down
21/05/2008 by Ajay Hasija
Marriages of convenience have been an immigration issue for years and remain a massive problem in Canada, where spousal visa legislation is far more lenient than other countries.
It is directly due to this that the Canadian Government has deployed teams around the world whose main task is to root out fake relationships aimed at duping the Canadian immigration system.
Many relationships, where one half is foreign and the other Canadian are faked for passport purposes. Some of these people even go as far as arranging lavish wedding with realistic photographs to try and deceive immigration.
According to Colin Romberger of Global Visas www.globalvisas.com, "the Canadian spousal visa is much more lenient than, for example, the US. That is why marriages of convenience are common. Often people feel as if marriages of convenience are probably the easiest way to enter Canada."
The massive backlog of 900 000 applications at Canadian immigration could be a reason for this. You could wait as long as ten years before acquiring Canadian citizenship, but by marrying a Canadian, you get a quick pass to citizenship.
In the US spouses receive only conditional status, whereas in Canada under the spouse visa, immigration is permitted for the spouse, common-law or conjugal partner of a permanent Canadian resident through a system of sponsorship, allowing them to migrate to Canada without requiring a work permit and with no points based skills assessment.
Surprisingly enough this fake marriage phenomenon seems to be on the rise, therefore not only causing concern from government but immigrant communities as well.
Visa officials are now receiving full training on asking better questions to couples suspicious of being part of marriages of convenience. Immigration Minister Diane Finley is also expected to announce more clampdowns to this in the coming weeks.
However many genuine arranged marriages may be doubted due to these new laws. Arranged marriages are extremely common in Asian countries, but may be seen as fraudulent due to strict immigration laws.
Countries like India, China and Vietnam are common places where marriages are arranged, but these countries are also rated as the most common sources of marriage fraud. This therefore creates problems for officials whose job it is to uncover the true from the false.
Despite this a clampdown on fake marriages is essential, especially as many honest foreigners wait for years to begin a new life in Canada.
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