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Some immigrants are marrying their sister -- or even their mother -- to get them into Canada, Sun Media has learned.
Awatif Lakhdar, a Montreal lawyer specializing in immigration, says he is aware of two cases in which bogus couples managed to thwart the law before appearing in his office.
"The first had married his sister, the second, his mother. They had managed to slip through the cracks in the system, but eventually they found themselves before the courts," he said.
It is much quicker to get a spouse into Canada than a sibling or parent. In addition to presenting forged documents to immigration officials, many produce phoney wedding photos depicting the couple kissing.
According to Immigration Canada, 70% to 80% of those claiming marital status are accepted on production of documentation only.
The practice is not un-heard of in several ethnic communities of Montreal, including Somalis, Congolese and Guineans, and from other countries where it is relatively easy to falsify documents.
One case cited involves a Guinean man arriving in Montreal in 2001. He married his sister in 2004 after wedding another woman in another country.
His sister arrived in Montreal this year and he has since left the country to be with his real wife.
Another man from Guinea, however, was tripped up in his attempt to bring his sister to Canada.
Sources say Immigration officials raised questions when he attempted to bring in more than the two children registered in his file and ordered DNA tests.
An Immigration Canada official told Sun Media the department is aware of the practice of using fraudulent marriages between brothers and sisters to gain entry to the country, but is not planning any special attention to address it.
"We have no particular position on this subject," said Stephane Malepart, adding a reliable system is already in place to verify the authenticity of family relationships.
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