New measures were decided during a meeting on Thursday at the Ministry of the Interior, chaired by Minister Socratis Hasicos and attended by representatives of the municipalities of Nicosia, Aradippou, Livadia, and Ypsonas, and involved state services to prevent so-called “marriages of convenience” in Cyprus.
Marriages of convenience are defined as marriage where at least one of the parties is a foreign national and wants to get married solely for the purpose of securing residency rights.
It is believed many such marriages take place in Cyprus every year. For example, of the 200 marriages previously performed in Nicosia between European citizens and citizens of third countries, 12 had been found to be marriages of convenience.
Speaking after the meeting, Hasicos said there would be a joint interview of the couple who wished to marry, and it would be determined if they spoke the same language, how long they had been in Cyprus, and if they worked.
Hasicos said there had been cases when one partner had arrived in Cyprus on the day before the wedding and had left immediately afterwards.
The Minister of the Interior also noted that marriages of convenience are on the rise and that there appeared to be circuits which promoted these marriages, leading to an issue of human trafficking.
He pointed out that the effort is to prevent the marriages of convenience from taking place, noting that the Civil Registry and Migration Department has already denied entry to 68 persons because it appeared they were coming to Cyprus for such marriages.
Source: CNA
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