Katlego Sekhu
The Department of Home Affairs has noticed a disturbing trend of arranged marriages between undocumented foreign nationals and South African women in exchange for money.
According to Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledis, the department records over 2000 of these cases every year. To shed more light on this issue, immigration and refugee lawyer Ashraf Essop joined the conversation on 959 Breakfast.
Essop emphasized that this is not a new phenomenon; “it has been happening for a long time.” He explained that these marriages are commonly referred to as “paper marriages,” where the parties involved simply “put their details on paper, with or without their knowledge being documented.”
Foreigners may “take advantage of the high unemployment rate and other factors on the ground.” They either find a “willing partner to commit the fraud or someone to carry out the fraud in their name.”
For concerned citizens who fear becoming victims of this scheme, the department has a “portal where you can put in your ID number, and they will tell you whether you are married or unmarried.”
Once it is discovered that there is fraud at play, Esspon explains that the department can do one of two things: “It can charge both parties, and in other instances, the foreigner might lose citizenship after due process, of course,” he said.
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