Australian Border Force recently busted an elaborate contrived marriages syndicate involving a 32-year-old Indian national in Sydney.
New Delhi: The Australian High Commission has warned Indian nationals wanting to permanently settle in Australia to beware of contrived marriage scams targeting South Asians, a rare diplomatic admission by a country.
The warning comes after the Australian Border Force (ABF) reportedly busted an elaborate contrived marriages syndicate in Sydney. A 32-year-old Indian national is, in fact, facing trial in Australia for allegedly being the “main facilitator” of the syndicate, a media release by the ABF said.
Four Australian citizens are also facing charges in this regard.
The operation by the ABF has resulted in partner visa applications of at least 164 foreign nationals, who had apparently become targets of the syndicate, being rejected.
The syndicate was seeking to facilitate fake marriages between Australian women and men from the South Asian countries in exchange for a significant sum of money.
“Those seeking a visa through a contrived marriage also need to understand that paying a facilitator will not buy them a permanent visa pathway in Australia,” ABF’s acting investigations commander, Clinton Sims, had said.
“There is rarely any financial recourse in the event that their partner visa application is unsuccessful,” Sims added.
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These syndicates “undermine the integrity of Australia’s visa programme and exploit desperate individuals”, the Australian authority said.
“Many of the women involved in these scams have suffered a history of substance abuse, family violence and financial hardship, and are lured in with promises of substantial payments,” Sims said.
While India is grappling with its own problems with regard to NRI men who come to marry Indian women, only to later abandon them, this is a similar problem in which men of Indian origin are reportedly targeted after being lured with the prospect of permanent residency visas.
Meanwhile, most of the women who work in such syndicates are said to be disadvantaged as well and are desperate for money.