Thaindian News

London, Nov 18 (THAINDIAN NEWS) An English woman had a nightmarish surprise on her “wedding day” when the police picked her up for arranging a sham marriage to get a visa for a Pakistani man. 33-year-old Elizabeth Balogh had reportedly received £400 to marry 25-year-old Asif Hussain so he could get a visa to stay in the United Kingdom.

Prosecutors told the court that the marriage registrar who supervised the wedding alerted the immigration office when he suspected that the two were not real couple. The court heard that as the two were going through the wedding ceremony last August, the two barely spoke to each other.

Chief prosecutor Hywel Hughes told the Cardiff Crown Court that, “It was apparent that there was very little verbal communication between the bride and groom.”

The pair reportedly got the marriage arranged in a matter of weeks and they seemed to be in a rush to complete the ceremony. The matchmaker who happened to be Elizabeth’s cousin was also arrested for the fraud. The suspects admitted to the crime and the court sentenced them accordingly.

Hussain was jailed 12 months with Elizabeth going in 10 months. The matchmaker, Valerie Farkas, was jailed 6 months for the role that he played.

Marriage for visa is one of the common forms of marriage shams in the developed world. Most of those marriages are ended shortly after the other partner gets the visa.