2nd November, 2009

A recent article on www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk demonstrated how a team of UKBA immigration and intelligence officers used their astuteness to prevent a suspected sham wedding from going ahead. Seven people were arrested in the operation which happened at St.Pauls Church in Salford, six of the individuals were Nigerian nationals with the seventh a Dutch national. The individuals in question are still being interviewed, six of them could face criminal charges whilst the seventh immigration offences. The UKBA in the North West has certainly done its job well in this case by managing to identify this situation and preventing this sham marriage from going ahead. It is now investigating these individuals to ensure that they are fairly punished for breaking UK immigration laws. The UKBA recently raised the minimum age to 21 to qualify for a marriage visa, also known as Spousal visas in another attempt to crackdown on forced marriages.