Immigration NZ aware of marriage visa sham claims123RF The number of declined visas on the basis of relationship status has been increasing for the past six years. "It's beyond belief and beyond conception that somebody can start a relationship as sacred as marriage like a business deal," Kolati said. Kolati said the woman also faced deportation for allegedly providing false information to Immigration New Zealand and feared for her safety. An Immigration NZ spokeswoman said it was aware of the term "IELTS brides" but it had not receive any complaints in relation to it. Providing Immigration NZ with false and misleading information could be punished by a term of seven years' imprisonment.

Source: Stuff March 19, 2018 07:00 UTC