THE Attorney General, Paul Gallagher, has intervened to restrict
marriage registrars from interviewing couples they suspect may be
entering into "sham marriages".
Marriage scams in Ireland
are mainly organised by men from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and parts
of Africa, who are seeking residency in Ireland. They recruit women to
marry, mainly from EU states in eastern Europe, offering them up to
€3,000 in exchange.
Until recent weeks, marriage
registrars who were suspicious that a couple were entering into a sham
marriage had the power to interview the couple separately, asking them a
series of questions to determine how well they knew each other and each
other's family background.
If the couple knew little or nothing about
each other, the marriage registrar could then write a "letter of
objection" opposing the marriage. It is understood this was one of the
most successful ways for marriage registrars to identify sham marriages.
However, the Attorney General recently informed the
Registrar General of Marriages that the practice of questioning people
about their knowledge of their partner was "not supported by law",
according to an informed source.
New guidelines have been
issued to registrars in recent weeks to try to halt the increase in
suspected sham marriages, but the source said the fact that staff can no
longer quiz couples has "effectively left them powerless".
It
is the practice in many European countries, and in Australia and the
US, to interview couples to determine that they are not entering into a
marriage of convenience so that one of the parties can secure residency.
In Australia and the US, couples must provide photos, letters and joint
bank account details where possible to prove they have been in
long-standing relationships. They are also interviewed separately to
determine they are in a genuine relationship.
The garda
source added that, despite the new guidelines, Ireland remained a "soft
touch" for those attempting to enter into sham marriages.
A
spokeswoman from the department of social protection declined to
comment on the attorney general's intervention.
"The General Register
Office does not comment on legal advice received. However, it is
satisfied that the guidelines currently being applied by registrars are
in accordance with the law," it said in a statement to the Sunday
Tribune.
SIC: ST/IE