A trainee garda who was forced to quit Templemore after it was discovered he paid €15,000 to marry for residency in the State has been ordered to leave the country immediately.

Arif Iqbal, who is from Bangladesh, also faces deportation if he fails to leave.

Reports said the 31-year-old arrived in Ireland about five years ago and claimed asylum. Subsequently, he was granted permission to reside in the country after his marriage to a lesbian from eastern Europe, and he went on to apply to join the Garda last year.

After passing a number of tests, Iqbal was admitted to the Garda College in Templemore last November and was still in training when the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) exposed his fraudulent marriage of three years.

Another man was determined to have obtained residency by marriage to the partner of Iqbal’s sham spouse. All four were recently interviewed by GNIB officers and have admitted their involvement.

A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions once the criminal investigation is completed.

It is believed the Garda has stopped hundreds of so called ‘sham’ marriages following the introduction of its Operation Vantage in 2015. Last years alone, over 450 such marriages of convenience were prevented.