A relationship gets you nothing here if it was struck mainly to obtain status, or if it simply is not real. An officer can rely on either problem on its own, so a wedding that is legally valid can still fail this test. The same trap applies to adoptions arranged to move a child rather than to parent one. A few adoption situations set out in the family class rules (117) are carved out of it.
(1)For the purposes of these Regulations, a foreign national shall not be considered a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner of a person if the marriage, common-law partnership or conjugal partnership (a)was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act; or (b)is not genuine.
(2)A foreign national shall not be considered an adopted child of a person if the adoption (a)was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act; or (b)did not create a genuine parent-child relationship.
(3)Subsection (2) does not apply to adoptions referred to in paragraph 117(1)(g) and subsections 117(2) and (4).