Marry me and I will take you to the UK

The only difference between this script and one of Tyler Perry’s Hollywood blockbuster films is that it is true, and the characters are actual people from Zimbabwe.

A middle-aged guy is asked to match up with a 32-year-old woman for an organized marriage in a WhatsApp group message.

Various societies have organized funerals. However, this “planned” marriage that is publicly promoted online is only done so to benefit both parties financially.

The man and woman can easily move to the United Kingdom once they become a married couple, which is a great convenience for them.

Such a fictitious marriage of convenience is intended to speed up the spousal visa application procedure so the false couple can go to the UK for employment.

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Brokers who make convenience transactions possible are doing brisk business. And hordes of Zimbabweans are content to get into fake marriages in order to board the next flight for better climes.

The Saturday Chronicle was informed that obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship is necessary in order to gain a job, for example, in the UK (COS). A COS is an electronic document provided by foreign businesses to demonstrate that an employee has a job, which qualifies them for an exit visa.

The COS document is not supposed to be sold, but greedy individuals and businesses have discovered a loophole and are now willing to pay roughly £6,000 (US$7,000) for it.

Couples can establish a phony marriage to split the expense of the COS thanks to spousal visas that the middlemen set up.

Fixing bogus marijuana advertisements is the business of one social media page with thousands of followers.

“We have a 32-year-old woman here looking for a companion who is also willing to split the expense of the COS. Each will contribute half.

“When the spousal visas are available, you can travel as a married couple and divide without issue once you arrive in the UK. Send us your contact information, including your age, location, and profession, and we’ll get the process started.

But there’s a problem. The newlyweds are unable to immediately separate once they arrive in a country like the UK. It was advised to Saturday Chronicle that they should stay married for at least two years before ending the fictitious union.

Registrar-General (RG) Henry Machiri acknowledged the presence of phony marriages in all of their forms, but added that there is little the department can do to stop the pandemic.

“We do keep records of every marriage in the nation, but we are unable to determine whether or not a marriage is false.

“Convenience marriages are not limited to Zimbabwe and are widespread worldwide since people enter into such relationships for a variety of reasons. For instance, some do it to obtain work permits, according to Machiri.

However, not everyone who relocates abroad in search of greener pastures finds all that glitters to be gold. There are several accounts of Zimbabwean carers in the UK being subjected to unfair labor practices, exploitation, and low pay.

A victim of such mistreatment in the UK told her experience to the British media two weeks ago. She claims that during an interview with Home Office compliance inspectors following an inquiry into unethical recruitment methods, she was sacked from her employment and victimized.

The woman claims that following a visit to her place of employment by the Home Office in Coventry City, she was victimized and paid hourly rates of £8 rather than the required £15 for caretakers.

Image: Representative Purpose