In their eagerness to gain a foothold in Canada, some residents of the Indian state of Punjab and elsewhere have gone to unusual lengths — including transactional marriages.
Their families paid the migration expenses of individuals who passed the standardized English exam needed to obtain a study visa here — in exchange for the person marrying them. As spouses of those English-proficient students, the new husbands or wives were — until last month at least — allowed to obtain work permits in Canada.
