2(1)A registration official may—
(a)disclose any information held by the registration official, or
(b)supply any document held by the registration official,
to the Secretary of State, or to another registration official, for use for either of the following purposes.
(2)Those purposes are—
(a)immigration purposes;
(b)purposes connected with the exercise of functions relating to—
(i)the referral of proposed marriages to the Secretary of State under section 28H of the Marriage Act 1949, or
(ii)the referral of proposed civil partnerships to the Secretary of State under section 12A of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
(3)In this paragraph “immigration purposes” means—
(a)the administration of immigration control under the Immigration Acts;
(b)the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences relating to immigration;
(c)the imposition of penalties or charges under Part 3 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
(d)the provision of support for asylum-seekers and their dependants under Part 6 of that Act;
(e)such other purposes as may be specified by the Secretary of State by order.
3A registration official may disclose to another registration official—
(a)the fact that a suspicion about a marriage or civil partnership has been reported to the Secretary of State under section 24 or 24A of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and
(b)the content of any such report,
(whether or not the suspicion was reported by the registration official making the disclosure).
4(1)The Secretary of State may—
(a)disclose any information held by the Secretary of State, or
(b)supply any document held by the Secretary of State,
to a registration official for use for verification purposes.
(2)In this paragraph “verification purposes” means—
(a)assisting in the verification of information provided to a relevant official by a person giving—
(i)notice of marriage under section 27 of the Marriage Act 1949, or
(ii)notice under section 8 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004;
(b)assisting in the verification of the immigration status of a person who contacts a relevant official in connection with the exercise of a function by a registration official;
(c)assisting in the verification of whether a person who contacts a relevant official in connection with the exercise of a function by a registration official—
(i)is suspected of involvement in crime relating to immigration, or
(ii)has been convicted of an offence relating to immigration.
(3)In this paragraph “relevant official” means—
(a)a registration official, or
(b)any other person employed to assist the exercise of functions by registration officials.