Best female lawyer in Newcastle and Hexham, Lucinda Connell, Senior Solicitor with Major Family Law, top leading family lawyers states new powers to enable the Home Office to tackle sham marriages have been announced by the Minster for Immigration and Security, James Brokenshire.
The reforms, under the Immigration Act, will see the notice period in England and Wales for marriage and civil partnership extended from 15 days to 28 days.
All proposed marriages and civil partnerships involving a non-EEA national with limited or no immigration status in the UK are to be referred by registrars to the Home Office. This will give the Home Office more time and scope to identify and investigate suspected sham marriages and civil partnerships and to take effective enforcement action. Home Office Immigration Enforcement and the General Register Office are working with local authority registration services to tackle sham marriage.
For couples including a non-EEA national who are referred under the scheme, the Home Office will be able to extend the notice period from 28 days to 70 days where it decides to investigate a suspected sham marriage or civil partnership. Couples who fail to comply with an investigation under a 70 day notice period will not be able to marry or form a civil partnership on the basis of that notice.
British couples will have to give 28 days notice of their intention to marry or form a civil partnership but will not be subject to the referral and investigation scheme.
The new scheme will be introduced across the UK on 2 March 2015, subject to Parliamentary approval of the required secondary legislation to extend it to Scotland and to Northern Ireland. The Home Office is giving sufficient notice so that legitimate couples should generally be able to ensure enough notice is given before their marriage or civil partnership.