What France has allowed so far. The naive would get the shaft again. The government would balance its policy (extreme permissiveness, negligence in the past) on the windpipe of naive persons. The proposal has been put forward by Thierry Mariani, an MP of the governing UMP party and a confidant of President Nicolas Sarkozy. They envisage possible DNA tests for applications for visas of more than three months;
where there was "serious doubt" birth or marriage certificates were genuine, (1) immigration officials could "propose" to applicants that they take, at their own expense, (2) a test to prove a biological link with other family members. (3)
An amendment authorising the move was adopted by a National Assembly commission; MPs will examine the government's immigration bill in its entirety next week. Among its aims is to impose tighter conditions for families seeking to enter France to join their relatives. (4)
Mr Mariani says DNA tests would be a "sure and rapid" way to address the problem of "documentary fraud". (5)A report this summer by a UMP senator, Adrien Gouteyron, said there was often doubt over the authenticity of papers in family applications for visas. (6) The senator claimed that in certain African countries such as Senegal, Ivory Coast and Togo, between 30% and 80% of birth and marriage certificates were forged. (7)