Foreigners exploiting local women through sham marriages in Terengganu, warns state Immigration director

PETALING JAYA: Terengganu Immigration Department has identified cases where foreign men intentionally target and marry local women, including elderly ones, solely to exploit them for personal gain.

Its director Azhar Abd Hamid told New Straits Times that foreigners often have the ulterior motive of exploiting local women to gain access to government facilities and business licences.

“After marrying them, they would then neglect their responsibilities and live separately from their wives once they obtained the desired benefits under their wives’ names,” he was quoted as saying.

Since January, 61 new marriages between local women and foreigners have been registered in Terengganu, while 192 couples renewed their social visit passes.

In 2023, a total of 925 marriages with foreigners were recorded, comprising 73 new marriages and 852 extension applications for existing couples.

With some local women reported to only receive a measly monthly allowance of RM300 from their foreign husbands, Azhar said many of the affected women remain reluctant to dissolve their marriages out of fear of losing financial support from their foreign husbands.