Judge annuls marriage of convenience

The Family Court has declared a marriage null and void after hearing how a woman had been paid Lm1,400 to marry a man who wanted to obtain a Maltese citizenship.

Mr Justice Noel Cuschieri upheld the application filed by the woman who explained that she had got married one week after she first met her husband. She explained that the man had paid her and promised to look after her if she married him. She accepted but after the civil ceremony, they went their separate ways.

The woman explained that two days after the marriage ceremony, on the man's insistence, they went to the immigration office to sign citizenship documents. The couple never lived any form of married life.

For these reasons, the judge declared their union null and void.