By Political Bureau
Some South Africans agree to marry foreigners for money but later deny having given consent, Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says.
She was explaining how South Africans end up in fraudulent marriages.
Almost 7 000 South Africans have ended up in fake marriages with foreigners in the past three years.
The "victim" agrees and receives money, but later, if the deal is not honoured, denies consent was given.
The "victim" then applied for the marriage to be annulled, but by that time the foreigner had obtained citizenship or permanent residence, the minister said.
"In cases where the transaction is honoured, the victim will approach Home Affairs... to apply for a new identity document, claiming his or her ID is lost.
"When records show the applicant is married, he or she will claim the marriage took place without his or her consent, and will then seek annulment.
"Often, when this scam happens, the foreigner has by then already obtained citizenship and or permanent residence in the country," Dlamini-Zuma said in a written parliamentary reply.
Coincidentally, Dlamini-Zuma featured in the SABC soapie Generations this week, advising a couple about fraudulent marriages.
In her reply, she said other marriages took place through bogus employment agencies, which would use IDs submitted by job-seekers to conclude a false marriage. The victim would later find out by accident that they were married.
The third is through crime syndicates, helped by corrupt Home Affairs officials, religious leaders and "unscrupulous" marriage officers, who "take advantage of poor controls and the lack of basic amenities" to marry South Africans without their knowledge to foreigners.
By April this year, 554 cases of fraudulent marriage were reported, with 135 still under investigation.
Dlamini-Zuma said that of the 6 769 cases reported since 2007, investigations into 5 205 had been completed. The rest were still being investigated.
None of the cases was referred to the police as Home Affairs has an internal counter-corruption unit.
Last year, 1 916 cases were reported, with 368 of them still being probed.
In 2008, 2 185 cases were reported, of which 967 remained under investigation.
Of the 2 114 cases reported in 2007, 94 had yet to be resolved.
Dlamini-Zuma attributed the problem of fraudulent marriages to the strong economic climate in South Africa.
"As South Africa stabilises and its economy grows, the country will continue to be a favourite destination for people across the globe who seek greener pastures and safe places of abode."
"Unemployment and rampant poverty" made it easier for fraudulent marriages to take place, Dlamini-Zuma said.
In the same answer, she said the department had not discovered any cases of children sharing birth certificates, as children were allocated unique identity numbers. The department was redesigning its procedures to close loopholes.
Since 2004, 12 874 foreigners had been caught staying in South Africa after their visas had expired, with most of them being deported and 2 965 being fined.
Dlamini-Zuma acknowledged that the department had no idea how many foreigners were in the country on work and study permits, saying the movement control system was "unable to generate" such reports.
It was possible to say only how many permits had been issued.