Being approached at work for an arranged marriage to get an immigrant into the UK

kitrat

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

I wonder if they would want my sister (or just SOMEONE) to go ahead with it all the way as far as it can go, in order to then bust them.

I think that would then be classed as entrapment.

d123

kitrat wrote: »

I think that would then be classed as entrapment.

Maybe not .

It is established case law that, while offering significant mitigation at sentence, there is no defence of entrapment in English law (R v Sang [1980] AC 402).

However, it is also considered to be an abuse of court process for agents of the state to lure citizens into committing illegal acts and then seek to prosecute them for doing so. State-created entrapment of this sort will result in a stay of proceedings.

The leading case on entrapment is R v Loosely [2001] UKHL 53. The case was concerned with the actions of undercover police officers carrying out test purchase operations. Lord Nicholls identified that a useful guide when considering whether the conduct of the police amounted to inciting or instigating crime was to ascertain whether the police did more than present the defendant with an unexceptional opportunity to commit a crime.

If the police conduct preceding the commission of the offence was no more than might have been expected by others in the circumstances this would not constitute entrapment. If, however, it went beyond this an abuse of process by the state may well be established.

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/in-practice/practice-points/the-law-regarding-entrapment

Coraline

The Criminal Justice system has enough to deal with already than to "hope" people "go ahead with it all the way" to commit crimes. The paperwork alone they'd have to deal with would be a deterrent.

Voyager2002

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

As much as you'll be forgiven for thinking so, this is not a wind up.

I've just found out that my sister was approached at work yesterday by this non-British woman. My sister was asked whether she was single. When she asked why, this woman asked her whether she would take part in an arranged marriage as she needs to get her brother into the UK but he needs to be married to stay over here. When my sister said not on your life this woman begged her not to say anything to anyone.

My sister went straight to her boss who basically said - if this woman brings up that topic again, try & get her off it.

Apparently this woman has also contacted another young worker there & requested the same from her. When this other person said she was going to uni, the foreign woman asked what for. Girl replied to study law to which foreign woman cut the conversation off - oh no, doesn't matter, don't tell anyone i spoke to you about this.


Surprising as this may sound, i've not dealt with too many of these instances, so what should she do since her boss doesn't seem interested? Should she go direct to the police (who no doubt will be more interested in stopping folk that they don't like the look of on a Friday night) or some immigration department somewhere or what?

She's also concerned that if she does report it, it'll be flipped on her & seen as being racist.

At present there is nothing to report. Your employer might tell this woman that conversations of this kind are not appropriate for the workplace, but that is as far as anything should go.

This woman sounds desperate and poorly informed: a good deal more than just a marriage certificate would be needed to get an 'alien' permission to live and work in the UK. If she knew the first thing about the process, she would know that she should be looking for a "bride" who is not British but a citizen of another EU country.

d123

Coraline wrote: »

The Criminal Justice system has enough to deal with already than to "hope" people "go ahead with it all the way" to commit crimes. The paperwork alone they'd have to deal with would be a deterrent.

Perhaps, but a quick google shows UKBA are willing to follow up on this sort of information.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ukba+fake+wedding&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

Coraline

d123 wrote: »

Perhaps, but a quick google shows UKBA are willing to follow up on this sort of information.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ukba+fake+wedding&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

Absolutely, they are keen on cracking down sham marriages, my point was that law enforcement don't hope for people to "go all the way" so they have more arrests and casework! I should have clarified, but of course they would investigate if they had something to go on and stop it.

Having gone through the immigration process myself to join my partner in the UK it's pretty thorough in what they want in order to prove a genuine relationship. (some people coming from certain countries are scrutinised much more so than others).

But as always people figure out ways to game the system and slip through the cracks....

lama_pdx

Actual arranged marriages--wherein the family members, according to tradition, play matchmaker and help the couple meet--are genuine.

This isn't an "arranged marriage" being proposed, but a sham one. This person didn't say, "Oh, you have to meet this guy, he'd be perfect for you!" but "Want to help him come to the UK?"

According to Section 25 of the 1971 Immigration Act, helping someone to enter the UK in breach of immigration rules carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. Doesn't matter whether money is exchanged or not--still a crime.

What a strange situation--her request was so blunt that I too can't shake the feeling of "set-up." It's like someone coming up to you at work and saying, "Hey, you're going to Paris next week on holiday? Could you do me a favour and deliver this cocaine to my friends there?"

If it happened to me I would make a police report. This person is encouraging others to commit a terribly serious crime. She will eventually meet someone naive or foolish to go along, and then what?

baggers02

Contact the Police straight away - job done.

baggers02

ValHaller wrote: »

Has anything illegal actually been done? It seems that the proposed action is intended to do something in compliance with the law rather than break it. Even to the point that if the proposed marriage is genuine rather than a sham ....

If it's illegal to help someone get into the country, which it is - the discussion by this woman is conspiracy to do it, the OP must report this straight away partly to protect herself from any potential charges of conspiracy - the more people get involved and the more people talk about it without reporting it the more it will look like a conspiracy.

ValHaller

baggers02 wrote: »

If it's illegal to help someone get into the country, which it is - the discussion by this woman is conspiracy to do it, the OP must report this straight away partly to protect herself from any potential charges of conspiracy

Ridiculous. It is not illegal to help people get into the country - it is illegal to help them get into the country illegally - if you can see the distinction. So it is not illegal to marry someone and bring them into the country and therefore your talk of conspiracy is OTT - until and unless it becomes a sham marriage.

Plainly, no financial inducement has been offered at this point, there is no evidence that a sham marriage is proposed, so until and unless, the woman is playing cupid and people should keep their hair on about it.