Wasn’t that an interesting snippet in the paper during the week. Under the current Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2013, Civil Registrars are going to be granted the power to halt so called ‘sham marriages’ and inform immigration authorities if they suspect a marriage of convenience is being planned.
Since when did Civil Registrars need a law to take this particular power into this own hands? They have been doing it for a very considerable period of time and getting away with what I consider to be entirely illegal behaviour. They have taken the power upon themselves to halt marriages, which in many cases have been planned for months in advance, where family members had travelled from other countries and where venues had been booked and honeymoons organised. They did that generally on the basis that a non-white person was marrying a white European. They generally did it by giving four days notice.
Instead of these individuals being sacked, they are now being told that their powers will be enhanced as they get the stamp of legislative authority to back up their previous unauthorised actions.
Kevin Brophy
No comments:
Post a Comment