Marriage of convenience

A marriage of convenience is contracted for reasons other than that of relationship of love. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. Some cases in which those married do not intend to live together as a couple, typically marry only for one of them to gain the right to reside in a country.

Not to be confused with Predatory marriage.

In many cultures it is usual for parents to decide their adult children's marriages; this is called arranged marriage. A marriage of convenience that is neither a sham marriage entered into for fraudulent purposes or a forced marriage is not against the law.[1]

Operation by officers from the UK Border Agency at Oxford Registry Office on 8 June 2010 to stop a suspected sham marriage

Marriages of convenience are often contracted to exploit legal loopholes of various sorts. A couple may wed for one of them to gain citizenship or right of abode (This has been depicted in TV shows such as On the Wings of Love; where marriage is purposely undertaken to gain residency), for example, as many countries around the world will grant such rights to anyone married to a resident citizen. In the United States, this practice is known as a green card marriage. In Australia, there have been marriages of convenience to bring attention to the government's Youth Allowance laws. On 31 March 2010 two students were publicly and legally married on the University of Adelaide's lawn so that they could both receive full Youth Allowance.[2]

Because they exploit legal loopholes, sham marriages of convenience often have legal consequences. For example, U.S. Immigration (USCIS) can punish this with a US$250,000 fine and five-year prison sentence.[3][4][5]

Homosexuality

Another common reason for marriages of convenience is to hide one partner's homosexuality in places where being openly gay is punishable or potentially detrimental. A sham marriage of this type, sometimes called a lavender marriage, is intended to hide the appearance of homosexuality. Such marriages may have one heterosexual and one gay partner, or two gay partners: a lesbian and a gay man married to each other. In the case where a gay man marries a woman, the woman is said to be his "beard". In recent years, such marriages are conducted to make a political point about the absence of marriage equality in a particular country.

Metaphorical usage

The phrase "marriage of convenience" has also been generalized to mean any partnership between groups or individuals for their mutual (and sometimes illegitimate) benefit, or between groups or individuals otherwise unsuited to working together. An example would be a "national unity government", as existed in Israel during much of the 1980s or in Great Britain during World War II. More specifically, cohabitation refers to a political situation which can occur in countries with a semi-presidential system (especially France), where the president and the prime minister belong to opposed political camps.

Political marriage

Marriages of convenience, often termed marriages of state, have always been commonplace in royal, aristocratic, and otherwise powerful families, to make alliances between two powerful houses. Examples include the marriages of Agnes of Courtenay, her daughter Sibylla, Jeanne d'Albret, and Catherine of Aragon (twice).

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See also

References
  1. Law Offices of Susan V. Perez. "A Bad Marriage is Not the Same as a Sham Marriage". HG.org. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  2. Hood, Lucy, "Students marry to highlight youth allowance inconsistencies", The Advertiser, Adelaide, Australia, April 1, 2010
  3. US Department of Justice, "1948 Marriage Fraud—8 U.S.C. § 1325(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 1546", US Attorneys Manual, Title 9, Criminal Resource Manual.
    The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments Act of 1986 amended § 1325 by adding § 1325(c), which provides a penalty of five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for any "individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws."
  4. USCIS, "11 Arrested, Indicted in Multi-State Operation Targeting Visa and Mail Fraud".
    "The maximum sentences for the above charges are:
    • Conspiracy: 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
    • Mail fraud: 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
    • Wire fraud: 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
    • False statement in immigration matter: 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine"
  5. Fraudulent marriage is any marriage that has been entered into with the sole purpose of circumventing the law. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Act 255 [8 U.S.C 1325], the consequences of entering into a marriage in order to evade the law include incarceration for up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Further reading
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