18 Mar Marry-your-sister visa racket exposed

Police in the Indian state of Punjab are investigating a brother-sister duo, believed to be currently living in Australia, who are accused of forgery and marrying each other in order to get Australian visas.

The Conservative Party has long called for urgent reform of the visa system with rorts and scams abounding.

SBS reports, the pair’s cousin complained to the police earlier this month that they had forged a bank account, a passport and other documents in her name and used them for getting an Australian spouse visa.

Police say six members of the same family have been named in an official police report.

“According to our investigation, we have come to know so far that the brother was already a permanent resident of Australia and documents were forged to give his sister the identity of their cousin and they first got a marriage certificate from a local registrar’s office,” a police statement said.

The alleged forgery and the marriage registration reportedly took place in 2012.

The Department of Home Affairs told The Australian newspaper that all identity documents of spouse visa applicants are thoroughly checked and verified with relevant authorities of the issuing country, where required.

“But the department has no control over genuine passports issued by the foreign government which may have been issued based on fraudulent documents.”

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