Key legal question
Whether the foreign spouse of a Swiss citizen was entitled to a residence permit despite the authorities' finding of a sham marriage.
Extracted holding
No entitlement existed because the courts could infer from the overall circumstances that the marriage was entered into to circumvent immigration rules and that no genuine marital life was intended.
Extracted reasoning
The Federal Court held that intent to create a real life partnership must exist; a mere motive to obtain residence is insufficient if a genuine union is intended. Here, the short acquaintance, asylum context, immediate marriage after a newspaper contact, lack of cohabitation, rapid divorce filing, and the parties' statements supported the finding of a sham marriage.