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The 'Pink Trail' to Canada
The modus operandi is quite simple.
Two guys approach the Canadian High Commission in Delhi with applications for immigration visas.
They claim to be partners and against the legal backdrop of India banning homosexuality, they are unable to lead a peaceful life together.
Canada it seems is the only country they can live a life as a homosexual couple.
They get their visa based on the claim but shortly after landing in Canada, it was soon revealed that they aren't really gays, much less a couple.
Indian media reported last month that it has come to the attention of officials that many youths are using the ban on homosexuality to get an immigration visa to certain western countries where same-sex-marriage is legal.
Canada is the most attractive destination for such prospective immigrants.
Sources associated with the Canadian embassy in India told Daily News Analysis (DNA) said the diplomatic mission was seeing an increase in the number of “gay applications.”
After Canada, Australia and New Zealand are next hot spots for such immigration visa seekers, the news website reported.
“It was further learnt that over the last one year, around 15 percent of Canada’s immigration visa applications had cited the issue - that India does not accept them as legally married - as the reason for seeking immigration. The maximum number of applications came from Punjab, followed by West Bengal and Delhi,” DNA reported.
“Unless we are absolutely sure that the credentials of the applicants are accurate, we do not grant visas. Apart from carrying out psychological tests on such applicants, we try to collect information from local authorities. We also counter-check with gay rights groups,” an official associated with the Canadian embassy was quoted as saying.
Humsafar Trust, an Indian organization working to safeguard legal rights of such people, feels this trend can be quite dangerous.
A senior lawyer associated with the trust told DNA that such frauds can be harmful in two ways.
“First, that this may force the embassy to put a blanket ban on immigration on such grounds, which will affect genuine persons. Secondly, international sympathy for the same-sex marriage movement may get diluted.”
Gay immigration to Canada has also become a brisk business for immigration lawyers and consultants.
Abrams & Krochak one of Canada's largest full service Canadian immigration law firms states on its website: “We facilitate gay immigration to Canada by providing services that are responsive to the needs of members of the gay community, including those interested in same-sex marriages. Our clients enjoy a near 100% success rate of gay immigration to Canada.”
It is not only Indian gays that are blazing a trail to Canada.
Since Canada's immigration law was changed in 2002 to recognize same-sex partners for immigration purposes, an ever-growing number of American gay and lesbian couples have uprooted and migrated -- especially couples in which one partner is a U.S. citizen and one is not.
Canadian immigration officials do not track the number of gay couples applying for permanent residency but officials admit that they are fielding significantly more inquiries from gay couples in the last couple of years.
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