Familiar faces on wedding banquets involving a Canadian groom and an Indian bride were the giveaway that aroused the suspicion of Canadian immigration officials that marriage for convenience syndicates were behind the move to fast track the acquisition of resident visas by Indian nationals.

After their curiosity was challenged, visa officers compared files of wedding photos submitted as proof of a legitimate wedding, which led to the conclusion syndicates were behind the rent-a-guest modus operandi.

Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer, told the Toronto Star, "At a price, you could get packaged services with a wedding ceremony where people stand in as guests and relatives, posing for photos as in a real marriage."

When further questioning was made by the parties involved, no one could provide proper answers, prompting the Citizenship and Immigration Canada to quietly dispatch investigation teams to countries considered high-fraud areas such as India, China and Vietnam to take a deeper look at the fixed marriages.

A Canadian who sponsors a foreign spouse is obliged to provide financially for his bride or groom for three years. If the couple separates and foreign spouse became a burden to the Canadian government, the sponsor would be required to reimburse the government and may be denied sponsoring another foreign spouse in the future.

The investigation teams has the support of victims of foreign runaway brides. The Canadians Against Immigration Fraud suggested mandating foreign spouses to live with their Canadian partner for at least two years to be eligible for a permanent resident visa.