New immigration law to track down ‘marriages of convenience’

Mauritius is to introduce new immigration laws in a bid to put a halt of “marriages of convenience”.

The new Immigration Bill, which has just been okayed by Cabinet, intends to consolidate and strengthen the law with regard to the admission, and stay, of non-citizens in Mauritius.

The Bill will make provisions to prevent situations where a non-citizen marries a citizen for the sole purpose of obtaining a residence permit in Mauritius.

“Accordingly, consequential amendments would be brought to the Mauritius Citizenship Act to, inter alia, empower the Immigration Department to investigate into whether the marriage between a non-citizen and a citizen is a marriage of convenience,” Cabinet papers said.

The documents to be submitted by a non-citizen at the time of making an application for the publication of a marriage will also come under enhanced scrutiny.