Venkat Raman
‘Marriages of Convenience’ are a constant headache for Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and the worst sufferers are those who are genuinely married, since the latter become embroiled in the overall ‘rejected application syndrome.’
Many affected persons (that is those in bona fide marriages) have told us that their applications for visas (often Visitor Visa) were rejected by INZ, obviously suspecting them to be fake, on the face of rising incidents of fraud.
We sympathise with INZ officials because they could err either way.
But it is indisputable that there has been a sharp rise in the number of ‘Marriages of Convenience’ and hence a cause of worry.
INZ Assistant General Manager Peter Elms said that the Department is boosting its risk and verification processes in the ongoing battle against visa fraud.
The result is that INZ officials exercise greater care and scrutinise applications with greater intent, to detect and keep out fraudsters.
“As part of our new operating model, additional resources are earmarked for risk and verification. As well as verification officers onshore, we have a presence in a number of strategically important locations offshore, including Mumbai, Beijing, London, Bangkok, Pretoria, Manila, Washington DC and Dubai,” he said.
He said that INZ is keen to eliminate partnership fraud and hence partnership applications could take longer for processing.
“Every application is assessed for its genuineness and stability. Most relationships are absolutely genuine and can be approved with a minimum of fuss, but a minority will fabricate, manipulate or exaggerate a relationship in order to obtain a visa to come to or remain in New Zealand. In those cases where we are suspicious of the relationship we will undertake additional verification in order to maintain the integrity of the immigration system. This means we may take longer to decide some applications, but it’s important we take the time needed to make the right decision,” he said.
Marriage is a sacred institution in India and it is not uncommon for the bride’s family, including her parents and siblings incurring huge debts, selling or mortgaging their movable and immovable assets in India to raise the money required to meet marriage costs and the demands of bridegrooms.
While marriage is still an eternal bond between a man and a woman leading to strengthened ties between families, it has also unfortunately become the playground for fraudsters and those perpetrating violence.
We have handled complaints from Indian women (from India and Fiji) of the sufferings they had to undergo after arriving in New Zealand.
The Indian Government is considering ways and means of bringing the perpetrators to justice.
But that is not an easy process, as proved in recent years. In a majority of cases, the perpetrators are New Zealand citizens and hence remain beyond the reach of the Indian Government and its Diplomatic Mission in Wellington.
New Zealand laws are inadequate to safeguard the interests of abandoned brides.
According to Mr Elms, INZ received 1361 allegations about relationship fraud since July 2010.
As with every other type of immigration offending each allegation is triaged to see whether it meets the criteria for investigation.
He said that 49 cases were investigated, but on average INZ declines almost a third of partnership visitor applications and almost one in 10 of work and residence partnership applications.
Applicants who are unsuccessful are generally prevented from travelling to New Zealand or, if already here, are required to leave or face deportation.
“We urge anyone who is aware of any immigration fraud to contact us through our Contact on 0508-558855,” Mr Elms said.
