UK Home Office sham marriage triage tool

The sham marriage triage tool is an automated system developed and used by the UK Home Office to detect fake marriages and civil partnerships in which couples get married to avoid immigration law rather than because they have a genuine relationship. 

The system was discovered to have been covertly introduced in March 2015 as part of a 'hostile environment' immigration policy. A machine learning-based triage system was introduced in April 2019.

The AI algorithm assesses couples against eight risk factors, including the age difference between the couple and any shared travel history, and divides them into 'red' and 'green' light categories.

A red light referral can put a person’s immigration and visa status at risk, and may lead to an investigation, legal action, and deportation.

Risks and harms 🛑

Lawyers and civil rights advocates warn the sham marriage triage tool is opaque and unaccountable, and may be inaccurate, discriminatory, and unfair.

Nationality, age discrimination

The sham marriage screening tool has been accused of discriminating according to nationality and the age gap between partners.

• In April 2021, the The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) discovered that an equality impact assessment (EIA) conducted by the Home Office revealed issues with the 'triage' process, including the possibility of 'indirect discrimination' due to potentially biased information that also includes the age gap between partners.

• An internal Home Office evaluation (pdf) obtained through a freedom of information request by legal charity Public Law Project (PLP) and seen by the Guardian showed that the sham marriage algorithm disproportionately singled out people from Albania, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.

• In March 2023, the PLP launched a legal challenge against the sham marriage system, arguing it could discriminate against people from certain countries.

Transparency

According to the PLP, the sham marriage triage tool rates LOW for transparency.

Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️

• Public Law Project v The Information Commissioner (pdf)

• Public Law Project (2021). Written evidence to UK Parliament Justice and Home Affairs Committee 

Freedom of information requests 🔦

• Freedom of Information request - Sham marriages (2020)

• Freedom of information request - Sham marriage triage scheme (2022)

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64663482

• https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/home-office-immigration-sham-marriage-hostile-environment/

• https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/53059-home-office-algorithm-for-detecting-sham-marriages-breaches-public-sector-equality-duty-and-gdpr-rules-pre-action-letter-claims

• https://aibusiness.com/verticals/uk-government-using-ai-for-benefits-marriage-checks-despite-biases

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2022/03/29/ai-handing-out-rough-justice-in-the-uk/

• https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/blog/governing-the-automation-of-public-decision-making

• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/14/couples-sham-marriage-crackdown-hostile-environment