Couple must go to "interrogation"

Afghan woman not deported despite sham marriage

Further excitement surrounding the authorities' grotesque case of suspected sham marriages revealed by the "Krone" newspaper.(Bild: mehaniq41 - stock.adobe.com)

After the political wrangling between the ÖVP and FPÖ over the grotesque case of a marriage certificate in exchange for the right of residence revealed by the "Krone" newspaper, the first results of the investigation are now available.

The fog is slowly clearing up in the absurdity surrounding the suspicion that a young refugee from the greater Graz area entered into a fictitious marriage in order to obtain a visa for his Afghan wife. As reported, the man is said to have "met" his future wife via the internet in a video call - and then married her in her home country at their first meeting in accordance with Islamic law.

After the ÖVP and FPÖ accused each other of "asylum failure", an initial interim result of the investigation immediately initiated by the blue state governor Mario Kunasek is now available. In fact, the Styrian provincial administration, Department 3, which is responsible for the constitution and internal affairs, has dealt positively with the application for family reunification submitted via a lawyer by means of a "provisional settlement".

The department only issued a provisional approval for family reunification. The proceedings are still ongoing and no decision has yet been made on the granting of a residence permit.

Büro des steirischen FPÖ-Landeshauptmannes Mario Kunasek

Decision not yet made, "marriage hearing" to follow
As expressly emphasized, no warning of a "residence marriage" was received from the immigration police in advance. Furthermore, the proceedings are still ongoing.

But what happens now? The 25-year-old Afghan woman has to collect her Austrian visa from the embassy in Islamabad (Pakistan), which is already notoriously overloaded. In Styria, she and her new husband are then questioned separately to see if the ring exchange is not just a sham on paper. Both should therefore know personal details about the other's life.

Women are not handed over to the Taliban
The currently unemployed young refugee must also be able to keep his wife, who does not speak a word of German. And what happens if the application for the residence permit is rejected after all? In fact, nothing! Because once the 25-year-old Afghan woman is here, she can no longer be deported. Unlike the first forced repatriation of a man after the Taliban seized power, women are not handed over to the radical Islamic regime.