Wed in secret, labelled a sham: appeal court quashes ruling

The man’s status as a prohibited immigrant and the deportation and detention orders against him still stand, because he did not challenge them on appeal.

A Cypriot appeal court has overturned a ruling that a Nigerian man’s marriage to a Cypriot woman was a sham, finding that immigration authorities failed to properly assess key evidence, Philenews reports.

The couple married in September 2019. In November 2022, the Civil Registry and Migration Department declared the marriage a sham, citing the couple not living together, contradictions in their statements and alleged problems with his residence permit. In April 2023, he was declared a prohibited immigrant and ordered deported and detained. The Administrative Court dismissed his challenge in October 2023.

The Administrative Court of Appeal said the authorities had not properly assessed a joint bank account, a more recent address he gave in June 2022, or the woman’s explanation that she kept the marriage secret because her family disapproved of the relationship over his nationality. It said her parents’ letter confirming the marriage may have supported that explanation.

The court said the conclusion that the marriage was a sham was “not reasonably reached.” It annulled the decision and awarded him 3,000 euros in costs.