Gardaí to investigate 400 ‘sham’ marriages

GARDAÍ are investigating 400 marriages by Latvian citizens in Ireland to non-EU spouses, believing many of them to be a sham.

The single greatest number — 173 — were to Pakistani nationals followed by 33 to Ukrainians and 53 from India, according to figures from the Department of Justice.

The 400 applied for residency in Ireland last year, which they would be entitled to on the basis they were married to EU nationals.