How migrants exploit EU rules to get their families into Britain
THOUSANDS of migrants are exploiting lax EU rules to bring their f amilies and spouses to Britain by the back door.
Foreign nationals from outside Europe who would be unlikely to gain a visa to live or work in the UK are instead applying for citizenship elsewhere in the EU.
Under Brussels rules, they can then move to Britain and apply for permission to bring in their spouse or children. Now a damning report by an immigration watchdog has found that the immigration system is suffering ‘significant abuse’ at the hands of immigrants who falsely claim they are related or married to a non-European living in the UK.
Yesterday, Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine called it a ‘growing problem’.
He said: ‘Our findings suggest the European citizenship route is becoming an increasingly important way into the UK for those whose origins lie outside the EEA [European Economic Area], particularly now that the immigration rules have been tightened.’ The report looked at more than 100 sample cases from the Home Office between April and September last year.
It found that more than a third of Western European nationals – 36 per cent – who were applying for citizenship for their partner were born in Africa, Asia or South America and had gained European citizenship before arriving in Britain.
In a quarter of cases the ‘sponsors’ – whose new nationalities i ncluded German, Italian and Spanish – were born in the same non-EU country as their partner.
In one case, a migrant who acquired Italian nationality before then moving to the UK received 97 per cent of his income from welfare handouts. Some 60 per cent of those applying f or citizenship f or a so- called spouse last year failed because immigration officials feared the relationship was fake – but thousands still slip through the net.
Some had taken part in a sham marriage while in the UK and others claimed they had been wed by proxy, where a couple remain in Britain and both are represented at an overseas wedding ceremony, usually by family members. Most proxy marriages were found to be invalid, according to the report.
‘Significant attempted abuse’
It found that there is also a problem with Eastern European women moving to the UK and applying for citizenship f or men they had supposedly married, mainly from Nigeria, Ghana and Pakistan.
Mr Vine said there had been ‘significant attempted abuse by non-EEA nationals applying on the basis of marriage or civil partnership with a European citizen’.
He added: ‘If the Home Office does not act decisively to identify and tackle these abuses, many of the individuals involved may go on to obtain settlement in the UK on the basis of relationships that are not genuine.’ Inspectors found that in some cases where there was suspicion of a sham marriage, the c ul pri t s were not properly investigated. The report added that the Home Office targeted sham marriage and trafficking by organised cri me gangs, but prosecuted fewer individuals.
Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: ‘I am deeply concerned by these findings. It is vital that all applications for admission to this country are subjected to appropriate levels of scrutiny. We have seen during the passport crisis that standards of scrutiny for applications should never be lowered.’
Shadow immigration minister David Hanson said: ‘ It is clear that after f our years i n office Theresa May just hasn’t got a grip on sham marriages.’
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We are taking ever tougher action to crack down on those who try to cheat our immigration system by abusing marriage laws and we are pleased the Chief Inspector has praised our robust approach to identifying sham marriages. Last year, we intervened in more than 1,300 sham marriages – more than double that of the previous year.’