Only methods officially permitted by law can be used to combat sham marriages in Germany
As "Russkaya Germaniya" notes, these are just a few selected places from the lively "marriage market" that thrives on the World Wide Web, not only on Russian-language websites. Due to the fact that in recent years obtaining legal "registration" in Germany has become increasingly difficult, this semi-criminal "business" is steadily gaining momentum, and the stakes for a "place in the passport" are rising, rivaling local salary increases.
Marriage mafia, or criminal Hymen
In addition to private "marriage entrepreneurs," organized marriage gangs (Schleuserbande) operate in Germany and other European countries, seeking local citizens willing to profitably "sell" a place in their passport to solvent foreign "grooms" and "brides."
One such marriage gang operated in Berlin, organizing over 50 sham weddings in less than seven years of criminal activity. The gang's service for finding a German groom or bride cost a foreigner relatively little (by current "marriage black market" rates) – 20,000 euros, a third of which went directly to the German citizen. But as the saying goes, the pitcher goes to the well once too often – eventually, the gang's activities were stopped by law enforcement, its leader sentenced to five years in prison, and the sham grooms and brides fined.
According to law enforcement, several thousand foreigners settle in Germany each year after entering into a sham union with local citizens. As the Foreigners' Office continuously improves its methods of combating sham unions, marriage fraudsters also constantly refine their tricks.
To lend seriousness to a sham marriage, they acquire wedding rings, organize a wedding celebration with "friends," and memorize answers to interview questions like exam tickets. A sham bride deliberately appears before neighbors, playing the role of a virtuous housewife by weekly wet-cleaning the stairwells at the "spouse's" place of residence.
Under suspicion of the Foreigners' Office
Employees of the Foreigners' Office (Ausländeramt) are wary of any "binational" marriage if one spouse does not have the right to reside in Germany. Under particular scrutiny are marriages where:
• there is a significant age difference between spouses;
• one spouse is in the process of obtaining refugee status (Asylantrag);
• the newlyweds do not share a common language allowing them to communicate freely;
• one spouse is at risk of losing the right to stay in Germany;
• the German groom (or bride) has a history of numerous attempts to marry foreigners or short marriages followed by divorces.
If the marriage has already taken place in the foreign partner's home country, the German consulate may refuse an entry visa if a mercenary interest is suspected. This happened, for example, in the case of a 27-year-old Tunisian resident who married an 84-year-old German woman in his home country and applied for family reunification in Germany.
Checking the honesty of a matrimonial union
"Bride, what are your neighbors' names?" – in certain cases, even such a question addressed to the happy newlywed is not excluded. If a planned or already concluded marriage raises doubts with state authorities, they have the full right to verify their suspicions.
One of the most common ways to check the honesty of a matrimonial union is to interview spouses separately and then compare their answers. This method has as many supporters as those who consider it unacceptable and a violation of personal privacy. Such an interview can last 2.5–3 hours and include questions on the following topics:
• Living conditions (how many rooms in the shared home, on which floor is the apartment, what is the rent, where is the washing machine, is there a dishwasher in the apartment, etc.);
• Questions about the marriage (where did you meet your future partner, how was the proposal made, why did the wedding take place abroad, how and where was the wedding celebrated);
• Family relationships (what are the names of your partner's parents, does he/she have siblings, where do they live);
• Personal questions (what education does your future spouse have, color of his/her eyes, does your partner wear glasses or contact lenses, what is his/her height and shoe size, what drink does he/she prefer for breakfast and what method of shaving – wet or dry, etc.);
• Other questions (what did your future spouse give you for your birthday, what brand of cigarettes and what perfume does your future spouse prefer, where and how was your last joint vacation and Christmas spent, etc.).
In addition to individual interviews, the Foreigners' Office has other methods to expose sham marriages. These may include unscheduled visits by officials to the "love nest" of the newlyweds, detailed conversations with their neighbors. Of course, newlyweds are not obliged to accept unexpected visits from officials, but it should be kept in mind that a refusal will only strengthen the suspicions of the controlling authority.
In any case, only methods officially permitted by law can be used to combat sham unions in Germany, which, for example, excludes covert video surveillance.
Crime and punishment
The German Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz) clearly states that a German citizen who enters into a sham marriage with a foreigner for selfish purposes (for remuneration or to obtain the foreigner's right to reside in Germany) acts unlawfully and risks being fined or even imprisoned. Let us consider the specific consequences of entering into a commercial marriage for both parties: for the resident of Germany and for the one who decided to settle here on the basis of a "stamp in the passport."
The amount of the fine for entering into a "commercial marriage" with a foreigner ranges from several hundred to several thousand euros. If the amount paid as remuneration to the German citizen becomes known, it will be decisive for the amount of the fine.
The foreign spouse faces not a fine, but the loss of what he or she actually committed the marriage fraud for – the right to stay and reside in Germany.
It should be noted that the very fact of entering into a sham marriage (Scheinehe) is, oddly enough, not a crime; the law punishes this act only if its purpose is to obtain a residence permit in the status of a spouse of a citizen of the country. This method of acquiring the right to reside on German soil is fraudulent and therefore subject to legal sanctions.
When a sham marriage is exposed, the foreigners authority may revoke both temporary and permanent (unbefristet) residence permits. For example, this happened in the case of a Turkish citizen who married a young German woman to obtain the right to stay in Germany. The "bride" received a monetary reward of 5,000 euros. Over time, the deception was discovered, and the enterprising Turk had to part with his recently obtained permanent residence permit.
A marriage on a non-material basis (i.e., one where the foreigner does not pay the German "spouse" for the service), but still intended to protect the foreigner from deportation from Germany, also falls into the category of sham marriages. This type is called a "protective marriage" (Schutzehe). Despite the absence of a commercial basis, this type of marriage is prosecuted by law on a par with "commercial" ones.
Blackmail with the "sham" nature of marriage
"A good deed will not be called marriage!" – joked a famous comedian. We leave it to the maestro's conscience to mock marriages entered into for love. But as for sham – or, as they are also called, "commercial" marriages – the stage master is certainly right.
Cases are not uncommon where the relationship of partners who entered into a marriage for love deteriorates over time, and the German spouse threatens the foreign "other half" with a report to the relevant authorities about the sham nature of the marriage, hoping for the deportation of the now-unwanted foreign spouse from the country.
Note: a statement from one of the spouses is not sufficient to determine the sham nature of the marriage. Especially if there is evidence to the contrary (running a joint household, personal letters, testimony from friends and neighbors).
Furthermore, a marriage cannot be considered sham if at least one of the spouses entered into it out of love.