What is fake marriage? Is it prohibited by law?

Fake marriage is one of the prohibited acts in Vietnamese law. Accordingly, Clause 11, Article 3 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family defined as follows:

Sham marriage means making use of a marriage for the purpose of immigration, residence or naturalization in Vietnam or a foreign country; for enjoying preferential regimes of the State or for another purpose other than that of building a family.

Based on this definition, it can be seen that fake marriage is one of the illegal acts and includes the following characteristics:

- Has registered marriage at a competent State agency;

- One or both parties have violated the conditions of marriage by taking advantage of marriage for other purposes other than wanting to build a family. Among them, other purposes can include:

- Exit, enter, reside, acquire Vietnamese nationality, foreign nationality;

- Enjoy preferential treatment from the State;

- Achieving goals other than building a family.

At the same time, fake marriage is also one of the prohibited acts mentioned in Point a, Clause 2, Article 5 of the Law on Marriage and Family.

From the above grounds, it can be affirmed that a fake marriage still meets the requirements for marriage registration procedures, so a marriage registration certificate is still granted according to regulations. However, the purpose of marriage is not guaranteed, not for the purpose of building a family, so fake marriage is one of the prohibited acts in Vietnam.

What is the penalty for fake marriage to acquire foreign nationality?

As analyzed above, fake marriage to gain foreign citizenship is a violation of the law. Clause 3, Article 5 of the Law on Marriage and Family clearly states:

All violations of the law on marriage and family must be handled strictly and according to the law.

Therefore, this behavior will be subject to administrative sanctionsPoint d Clause 2 Article 59 Decree No. 82/2020/ND-CP. Specifically:

2. Fine from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for one of the following acts:

[...]

d) Taking advantage of marriage to exit, enter, reside, and acquire Vietnamese or foreign nationality; enjoy preferential treatment from the State or to achieve other purposes that are not for the purpose of building a family;

Thus, anyone who fakes a marriage to acquire foreign citizenship may be subject to prosecution and a fine from VND 10 to 20 million. Not only that, the violator is also forced to return the illegal profits gained from committing this violation.

In addition, based on Decree No. 112/2020/ND-CP of the Government, if civil servants and public employees violate regulations on marriage and family, including fake marriage, they may be disciplined.