The number of suspicious weddings in Scotland rocketed to 570 last year – a 28 per cent hike from 2013.

The surge has prompted the Home Office to announce new measures, including requiring couples to give 28 days’ notice instead of the current 15.

If there are suspicions of a fake marriage, they may need to give 70 days’ notice for further investigation.

But critics have warned the Government must do more to halt the surge.

 “I suspect that the numbers reflect something that is going on now on a very significant scale.”

The National Records of Scotland show that Scottish registrars reported 570 sham marriages to the Home Office in 2014, compared to 445 in 2013 and only 31 in 2009.

UK immigration and security minister James Brokenshire said: “Marriage can no longer be seen as the fast-track option for those seeking to cheat their way into the UK.

“This Government has done more than any other to clamp down on sham marriage and the Immigration Act has given us the strongest platform to identify abuse.”

Home office immigration staff often only swoop to stop fake weddings when the couple are at the venue.

In 2012, Slovakians Helen Kulova, 47, Ivan Balog, 27, and Renata Kulova, 20, were jailed for three years each at Dundee Sheriff Court after they promised 19-year-old Anna Tothova a “better life” if she entered into a sham marriage.

And fake marriage fixer Janet Crathie, of Cardonald, Glasgow, was jailed in 2011 after being exposed by the Daily Record.

Source: Daily Record