Crack down on sham marriages in the capital

Brussels prosecutor has handled 5,722 cases of presumed marriages of convenience for immigration purposes over the past three years. While many cases have been dismissed, the prosecution office is currently looking into 1,400 cases with the intention of bring them to court. The Midi police zone announced on Tuesday the setting up of a special unit to handle the increasing problem. An existing unit in Ixelles treated 418 cases in 2011, of which 168 were proved to be scam marriages. In another 201, there was remaining doubt. Another unit in the north zone of the city (Schaerbeek/Evere/Saint-Josse-ten-Noode) was set up in 2006 and receives 450-500 cases a year, half of which are investigated. Brussels North police said the cases also concerned visa and residency requests by conjoints resident in Belgium and ‘grey marriages’, where one conjoint was thought to be manipulated by the other.