Sham marriages are 'golden loophole' in UK borders as many registry offices fail to report sucpicious 'weddings' Illegal nuptials 'undetected' despite laws saying registrars must report them If sham marriage goes through the couple can obtain residency for five years They can then settle permanently, even if relationships are not genuine Brent register office in North London arrested immigrant almost every day Sham marriages are becoming a more viable way for illegal immigrants to become British residents because a smaller number of cases are being reported to border staff, according to the Home Office's chief inspector. Suspicions about illegal weddings are being under-detected by officials, despite there being a duty on registrars to refer such marriages to the Home Office. This means immigrants can abuse the system with greater ease and obtain residency in this country for five years with a view to settling permanently, even if the relationship is not genuine. Undetected: A suspect is taken into custody during a UK Borders Agency raids into sham marriages Chief inspector of borders and immigration John Vine said the Home Office should work with the General Register Office to ensure that all suspicions are reported. 'Many register offices refer few, if any, cases of suspected sham marriage to the Home Office, despite the fact that they have a statutory duty to do so,' he said. This means that a significant number of sham marriages may be going undetected. It also creates a risk that sham marriages will be displaced from areas where they are identified to those where they are not. The Home Office must work with the General Register Office to ensure that all such marriages are referred to it by local register offices in order that a true picture of this problem can be painted. Mr Vine and his team looked at an enforcement operation at Brent Register Office in north west London, under Operation Mellor, the Home Office's initiative to tackle sham marriages and sham civil partnerships, which began on January 14 last year. Loophole: A huge number of sham marriages are going undetected, despite a statutory duty for registry officers to report them to the Home Office An enforcement operation at in the borough's civic centre was triggered by reported suspicions about two couples due to be married on the morning of the inspection. Following the Brent operation, two immigration offenders were identified and were taken back to the west London offices in a celled van and transferred to a detention facility. Removal arrangements were made for both, but these had to be dropped as they sought and were granted permission to seek a judicial review of their removals on Human Rights Act grounds, the inspector said. The two were detained for a combined total of 51 nights before being released on bail, which cost more than £6,000, he added. Problem: An enforcement operation at Brent register office, north west London, found arrests were made for sham marriages nearly every day Between January 14 and September 30 last year, the Home Office carried out 500 enforcement operations, leading to 334 arrests for immigration offences. By September 30, 78 people had been removed from the UK. Home Office staff and managers told inspectors that sham marriage was a 'growing problem' but added that knowledge of the extent of the problem and the intelligence to deal with it was 'lagging behind'. Brent Register Office told inspectors that it considered it would have enough sham marriage and immigration offences work for an enforcement officer to be stationed there every day. But Mr Vine warned that more reports from register offices and the Home Office's increasing focus on tackling sham marriage will pile pressure on the 19 enforcement teams around the country as they will not have enough resources. He said: 'The Home Office should therefore ensure that local enforcement teams are adequately resourced to deal with any increase in referrals of suspected sham marriages.' If a sham marriage goes through undetected, the couple gain British residency for five years and can then apply for a permanent residency The Home Office also accepted there were intelligence gaps in relation to setting up sham marriages and other linked criminal activity, the inspector's report said. There is no requirement for churches to report any suspicions about marriages, but some staff believed sham marriage was a problem in church weddings, he added. A spokeswoman said: 'The Government is already taking action to crack down on those who abuse the marriage system in an attempt to cheat our immigration system. And we are determined to do more. Registrars have a duty to report suspected sham marriages to the Home Office and we are working more closely with the General Register Office to increase awareness and improve the national response. The Immigration Bill will introduce new measures to give our officers and registrars more time to investigate, prosecute and remove those attempting to stage sham marriages.