How the EU Circumvents British Immigration Law
Yet another shocking example of how the EU has completely subverted British immigration law has come with the news that a Brazilian man, married by proxy to a Polish citizen, has gained permanent residency in Britain because he is now married to an EU citizen.
The bizarre case came to light with a landmark court ruling which said that a Polish immigrant and a Brazilian man who were married at a ceremony which neither attended have been given the right to remain in the UK. Aneta Kowalczyk and her fiance Carlos stayed in London while their wedding went ahead without them in Brazil. (Image: street scene from the Estrutural slum in Brazil).
Their places at the altar were taken by friends, and a lawyer ensured the 15-minute marriage went ahead smoothly. Though illegal in Britain and open to abuse, ‘marriage by proxy’ is perfectly above board under Brazilian law. Now a landmark legal judgment has ruled that the union must be recognised as legitimate here on human rights grounds.
As a result, Carlos, now the husband of a European citizen, has been granted a visa to live and work in the UK permanently.
The proxy marriage loophole was exposed last month when Carlos – whose surname is unknown – appealed against a Home Office decision to deny him UK residency. The Brazilian, who is in his early 20s, was unable to marry Miss Kowalczyk here as he had only a temporary visitor’s visa. So he arranged for a proxy marriage in his home country.
The couple simply signed forms and the wedding took place in Brazil in March last year without either of them present.
Once he had paperwork showing the marriage had taken place, the Brazilian argued that the Home Office refusal to grant him residency breached his human rights.
Last month Senior Immigration Judge David Allen agreed, saying: ‘Since . . . Brazilian law recognises proxy marriages, the marriage of the appellant and his wife is indeed valid under English law.’
The judge went on to say that because the Brazilian is married to a Pole, European law requires that he should be given UK residency.
This gaping loophole in immigration law is fast becoming one of the most popular ways for otherwise ineligible migrants to live in Britain.
It threatens to undermine completely an already severely damaged Government pledge to crack down on people obtaining visas as a result of sham marriages.
Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, said: “This is a ludicrous outcome. It drives a coach and horses through the Government’s efforts to prevent sham marriages.
“Those who succeed by this bizarre route can obtain a meal ticket for life at the British taxpayers’ expense.”
The Brazilian’s solicitor, Vitoria Nabas, confirmed that the proxy marriage tactic was being used to circumvent UK law, and said she had ’several’ more clients who are currently pursuing the same route in the hope of getting a British visa.
The London-based immigration lawyer said: “If you are not allowed to get married here this is the only way to do it.”
Of her clients, she said: “They wanted to marry but they couldn’t. They could have moved to Poland but it would have been extremely complicated. They would have had to translate all their documents into Polish.
“Also, there is no way he would have been allowed back into the UK.”
Mrs Nabas, who is Brazilian, insisted the couple are genuine and that the marriage is not a sham. However, there is no reason in Brazilian law why a sham couple may not take advantage of proxy marriage rules.
The Government announced a crackdown on sham marriages in 2005 after the number of suspicious weddings reached 3,700 a year. Though the tough stance had some early success, it was severely weakened this year when the House of Lords ruled that asking a couple to prove their union was genuine was a breach of their human rights.
