VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Some newlyweds may have to follow a new rule the federal government says will bring down the number of fraud marriages.  

The rule states when a Canadian or permanent resident sponsors their spouse from another country, they will have to live together in a ‘legitimate’ relationship for two years or else the the sponsored person will be sent back home.

Vancouver based immigration lawyer Dennis McCrea says it won’t stop people from scamming the system.

It is a known scam in the Lower Mainland, one family pays another a large sum of money to get married so one party can obtain immigration to Canada.  They host a wedding, get legally married, invite friends and family and then after citizenship is obtained the marriage dissolves.

“I think that people that would be willing to be involved in that sort of thing are also willing to be involved in not accurately representing a marriage after the person has arrived,” says McCrea.

Another type of marriage fraud that occurs is when one party thinks they are happily getting married to someone and again after citizenship is obtained, the other party simply disappears.

Director of the Centre for Indo-Canadian studies at the University of the Fraser Valley, Satwinder Bains, agrees with McCrea.

“People will just buck up and do what they need to do, if it means staying with your spouse for two years they’ll do that, I really don’t think it [the new rule] has enough teeth,” says Bains.

Bains says she does credit the immigration minister for trying to find ways to prevent this from happening, but says it’s not enough.

The rule applies to couples who have no children together at the time of their application and who have been married less than two years.

Although the federal government says the law will be waived if there is evidence of abuse or neglect, but McCrea says this could still be detrimental because people might be reluctant or scared to report the abuse in fear of being sent home.