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Wedding Stopped by Police After Discovering Visa Scam

The Hungarian bride and Pakistani groom couldn't even communicate to each other

Dec 2, 2013 21:46 GMT  ·  By
The couple was discovered after officials saw they were not able to talk to each other
   The couple was discovered after officials saw they were not able to talk to each other

Pakistani immigrant, Sufyan Shahzad, paid a Hungarian woman, Katalin Ottlyk, $2,456 (€1,813) to marry him in an attempt to get a visa. At the ceremony, the two had the surprise of having a few uninvited guests that took them straight to jail.

The alleged couple weren't even able to understand each other because of the strong language barrier and claimed that were having a strong and passionate romance. Officials noticed the communication problems between the two and became suspicious, deciding to keep a close eye on the issue.

When officers were sure of the scam, they reported it to the police and decided to surprise the fake couple on the day of their ceremony. Law enforcement officers showed up at the wedding and arrested the couple and the woman suspected of arranging the marriage.

The pair confessed to being guilty and Shahzad told the police he paid his bride to be in an attempt to remain in the UK after his student visa had expired, according to Daily Mail. The couple was first reported when an official noticed that they “did not interact with each other or speak the same language.”

Before confessing, the so-called groom insisted that the relationship with Katalin was true and that they loved each other. After a few more in-depth questions, the Pakistani citizen was troubled, being unable to give any personal information about his alleged bride. After being cornered by the police, he finally admitted to setting everything up for a visa.

The fake couple was sentenced to 20 months in jail for fraud. The woman admitted to everything from the beginning, but besides that, she was sentenced to an additional four months in jail for using a fake ID card stolen from another Hungarian citizen.

When the two appeared in court, both of them needed translators because of their poor knowledge of English. This kind of bogus marriage is an offense to the state and an abuse of the law, citizenship is one of the state's most valued gifts for their people, and taking it by fraud is not only illegal but also disrespectful.