paper marriage

[ostap77]

What would you call a marriage, if some went to the UK and got married there just to get her UK nationality? "Paper marriage" or " marriage of convinience"? Any other options?

 

[bhaisahab]

What would you call a marriage, if some went to the UK and got married there just to get her UK nationality? "Paper marriage" or " marriage of convenience"? Any other options?

"A marriage of convenience" is a common term.

 

[ostap77]

"A marriage of convenience" is a common term.

I'm not sure,but " marriage of covinience" sounds more like as If one expects a lot from his/her marriage in terms of profiting from it, not just a work permit or whatever....citizenship?

 

[Barb_D]

In the US, if you marry a citizen, you can get a "Green Card" which allows you to stay here and work here. I've heard of "Green Card marriages."

 

[ostap77]

In the US, if you marry a citizen, you can get a "Green Card" which allows you to stay here and work here. I've heard of "Green Card marriages."

if one says ''paper mariage" it will be wrong?

 

[bhaisahab]

if one says ''paper mariage" it will be wrong?

I've never heard that term.

 

[ostap77]

I've never heard that term.

So marriage of convenience refers to any kind of convenience one might get from getting married to another person?

 

[Barb_D]

I suppose you could say "Their marriage was on paper only." That means that although they were legally married, they didn't act like husband and wife. They still continued their separate lives.

 

[emsr2d2]

I suppose you could say "Their marriage was on paper only." That means that although they were legally married, they didn't act like husband and wife. They still continued their separate lives.

I agree, but that's not necessarily the same thing as a marriage of convenience. Two British nationals could get married but live separately. They might be doing it for show or for some other strange reason and I would say that theirs is a marriage on paper only.

However, I can't say what I used to do for a living but I can assure everyone that when a foreign national marries a British national purely in order to obtain residency or nationality, it is most certainly called a "marriage of convenience".

I have seen adverts in the back of certain newspapers and magazines, where they are referred to as "mutually beneficial arrangements". In these cases, normally one party receives a fairly substantial sum of money and the other party gets a marriage which could lead to residency/nationality.

 

[SoothingDave]

The term "immigration fraud" comes to mind. As does "overdone sitcom plot."