{"id":2673,"date":"2021-11-16T12:37:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T12:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wembleysolicitors.com\/blog\/?p=2673"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:03:23","slug":"what-is-sham-marriage-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wembleysolicitors.com\/blog\/what-is-sham-marriage-in-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Sham Marriage in the UK?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a sham marriage, two people who aren\u2019t in a genuine relationship get married for some gains. Since the relationship isn\u2019t genuine, the couple doesn\u2019t have a proper dependency or relationship with one another and has no intention of living together as a married couple. Usually, these marriages are used for circumventing immigration laws. In the UK, thousands of sham marriages occur every year.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h3><strong><b>How are sham marriages investigated?<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For the marriage to occur, a couple must give a Register Office notice of their intention to marry. If at least one of the fianc\u00e9s isn\u2019t exempt from notification, the registrar must tell the Home Office. Following are individuals who are exempt from notification:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Individuals exempt from immigration control or with a marriage visitor visa, civil partnership, or a valid fianc\u00e9; and<\/li>\n<li>Individuals who have permanent residence or Indefinite Leave to Remain; and<\/li>\n<li>British nationals and Swiss or <a href=\"#:~:text=The%20EEA%20includes%20EU%20countries,UK%20as%20other%20EEA%20nationals.\"><u>EEA nationals<\/u><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><b>Who will be investigated?<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Home Office doesn\u2019t have the grounds or resources to investigate every wedding where at least one party to the planned marriage isn\u2019t exempt. The Home Office should only begin the investigations if there are appropriate grounds to believe it\u2019s a sham marriage. The Home Office has come up with guidance on the factors that it\u2019ll consider when deciding whether or not it suspects a sham marriage. Best immigration lawyers in London\u00a0advise the factors the Home Office considers comprises whether either fianc\u00e9:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Has the information in their immigration history, which, depending on immigration intelligence, gives rise to a sufficient ground to suspect that the proposed civil partnership or marriage may be a sham.<\/li>\n<li>Has an incredible immigration application based on their relationship with another partner or spouse, or has previously sponsored by another partner or spouse to remain in or come to the UK; or<\/li>\n<li>Has previously acquired leave, or tried to do so, based on forged\/false documents; or<\/li>\n<li>There\u2019s evidence of links to criminality or has been convicted of a criminal offence; or<\/li>\n<li>Entered the UK illegally; or<\/li>\n<li>Is in breach of the conditions of their immigration leave or is immigration over stayer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><b>Consequences of entering into a sham marriage<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>EEA and non-EEA under EEA Regulations can be removed from the UK if they\u2019re found to have entered into a sham marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1971\/77\/contents\"><u>1971 Immigration Act<\/u><\/a>, a criminal prosecution could take place for obtaining leave by assisting unlawful immigration or deception.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><b>Call Wembley Solicitors\u2019 <\/b><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wembleysolicitors.com\/uk-immigration.html\"><u>immigration lawyers in London<\/u><\/a><strong><b>\u00a0for an initial consultation<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/wembleysolicitors.com\/\"><u>Wembley Solicitors<\/u><\/a>, our immigration solicitors in the UK\u00a0offer a fixed-fee service, meaning there are no nasty surprises or hidden costs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wembleysolicitors.com\/contact-us.html\"><u>Reach out to us<\/u><\/a>\u00a0for more information on our UK immigration lawyers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a sham marriage, two people who aren\u2019t in a genuine relationship get married for some gains. Since the relationship isn\u2019t genuine, the couple doesn\u2019t have a proper dependency or relationship with one another and has no intention of living together as a married couple. Usually, these marriages are used for circumventing immigration laws. In [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[51],"class_list":["post-2673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-uk-immigration-lawyers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Is Sham Marriage in the UK? - Wembley Solicitors (Law Firm in London)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wembleysolicitors.com\/blog\/what-is-sham-marriage-in-the-uk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Sham Marriage in the UK? - Wembley Solicitors (Law Firm in London)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a sham marriage, two people who aren\u2019t in a genuine relationship get married for some gains. Since the relationship isn\u2019t genuine, the couple doesn\u2019t have a proper dependency or relationship with one another and has no intention of living together as a married couple. Usually, these marriages are used for circumventing immigration laws. 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