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Marriage Investigations Marriage investigations Version 5.0 Page 1 of 45 Published for Home Office staff on 8 June 2021 Contents Contents ..................................................................................................................... 2 About this guidance .................................................................................................... 5 Contacts ................................................................................................................. 5 Publication .............................................................................................................. 5 Changes from last version of this guidance ............................................................ 5 EU Exit and sham marriage ....................................................................................... 6 Overview ................................................................................................................. 6 From the end of the transition period ...................................................................... 6 During the grace period .......................................................................................... 7 After the grace period ............................................................................................. 7 Pending EUSS applications .................................................................................... 7 Definitions .................................................................................................................. 9 Sham marriage, civil partnership and durable partnership. ..................................... 9 Relevant national .................................................................................................... 9 Forced marriages.................................................................................................. 10 Arranged marriages .............................................................................................. 10 Marriage by proxy ................................................................................................. 10 Sham marriage determinations ................................................................................ 12 Burden and standard of proof ............................................................................... 12 Sham marriage intelligence and data sharing .......................................................... 13 Section 24 duty to report sham marriages ............................................................ 13 Handling sham marriage intelligence .................................................................... 13 Suspected victims of trafficking ............................................................................ 14 Types of marriage investigation ............................................................................... 16 The marriage referral and investigation scheme ................................................... 16 Conduct of investigation under the scheme ...................................................... 17 Genuineness of relationship .......................................................................... 17 The compliance decision ............................................................................... 18 Roles and responsibilities under the scheme .................................................... 19 Investigations following applications for leave ...................................................... 21 IE investigations following tasking or other encounters ........................................ 22 Reasonable grounds to suspect a sham marriage raised during an enforcement operation ........................................................................................................... 22 Visits to residential premises ............................................................................. 23 Unannounced marriage investigation visits ....................................................... 23 Page 2 of 45 Published for Home Office staff on 8 June 2021 Actions during a marriage visit .......................................................................... 24 Criminal investigations .......................................................................................... 24 Marriage interviews .................................................................................................. 26 Key elements for each marriage interview ............................................................ 27 Genuineness of relationship .............................................................................. 27 Credibility and reasonableness ......................................................................... 29 Complicity of each party .................................................................................... 29 Length of UK residency ..................................................................................... 29 Date the sham marriage abuse commenced .................................................... 29 Record of the interview ......................................................................................... 30 No comment responses ........................................................................................ 30 Interviews while detained ...................................................................................... 31 Interviews in residential premises ......................................................................... 31 Post investigation actions ......................................................................................... 33 EUSS checks ........................................................................................................ 34 Pending EEA applications .................................................................................... 34 Sham marriage related convictions....................................................................... 35 Overstayer and illegal entrants ............................................................................. 35 Culpability and proportionality ............................................................................... 35 Students ............................................................................................................... 35 Removal Pathways................................................................................................... 37 Withdrawal agreement protection ......................................................................... 37 Determining when relevant conduct commenced ................................................. 37 Participant or facilitator ......................................................................................... 37 Single or multiple determinations .......................................................................... 38 Individuals with withdrawal agreement protection: pre-transition period conduct . 38 Public policy grounds ........................................................................................ 38 EEA or Swiss nationals, service providers from Switzerland and S2 Healthcare visitors ............................................................................................................... 39 Frontier workers ................................................................................................ 39 Third Country Nationals: genuine family members............................................ 39 Individuals with withdrawal agreement protection: post transition period conduct 40 Holds EUSS leave ............................................................................................. 40 Grace period savings apply: eligible to EUSS, pending EUSS application, or outstanding EUSS appeal ................................................................................. 40 Service provider from Switzerland or S2 Healthcare visitor .............................. 40 Conducive to the public good ............................................................................ 41 Page 3 of 45 Published for Home Office staff on 8 June 2021 Third Country Nationals: withdrawal agreement protection obtained through deception .............................................................................................................. 41 EUSS applications ............................................................................................ 41 Individuals without protection under the withdrawal agreement ............................ 42 No leave held and not eligible for the EUSS ..................................................... 42 Holders of other forms of leave ......................................................................... 42 Section 10 administrative removal: fast-track cancellation of leave ...................... 42 Summary: removal pathways from 1 January 2021 .............................................. 43 Page 4 of 45 Published for Home Office staff on 8 June 2021 About this guidance This guidance tells you about marriage investigations. This guidance is primarily aimed at: • Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) team officers • Immigration Enforcement Investigation Officers • members of staff investigating allegations of sham marriage, civil partnerships, and marriages of convenience Within this guidance, all references to sham marriage also apply to sham civil partnerships. Contacts If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual
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