§ Sir John WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the procedures followed by registrars who conduct marriages so as to ensure that there is no evasion of immigration rules.
§ Mr. DorrellI have been asked to reply.
Superintendent registrars are statutory officers exercising functions under the Marriage and Registration Acts under the direction of the Registrar General. They are not immigration officers. If a superintendent registrar has good reason to suspect that the proposed marriage of a person from abroad has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls he/she is instructed to report the facts to the Registrar General. If the Registrar General is satisfied that the marriage is purely one of convenience then the facts will be passed on to the Home Office.