The prosecutor accuses them of committing crimes of document falsification and fraud, not only the priest but also the woman who married him and her daughter since she participated as a witness to the marriage. The prosecutor considers that they all acted with the intention of illicit enrichment .
After this case we wonder if it is a crime to fake a marriage. The answer is it depends. The Supreme Court indicates that it is not a crime as long as there is no profit motive, usurpation of civil status or prior falsification of documents.
Illegal marriages
The Penal Code regulates illegal marriages in its arts. 217 to 219 :
A person who enters into a second marriage while already married is punishable by list of contact numbers in philippines a prison sentence of six months to one year. In other words, bigamy is not permitted .
Invalid marriage , art. 218 of the Penal Code, punishes with imprisonment from six months to two years anyone who celebrates an invalid marriage to harm another person. For example, if one of the contracting parties has a non-dispensable impediment, which is hidden from them, to marry.
Anyone who authorizes a marriage knowing that there is a cause for nullity. This includes a penalty of six months to two years and special disqualification from public employment or office for two to six years.
And what about marriages of convenience or also called marriages of complacency? Are they a crime? In which article of the Penal Code are they found? The Supreme Court has created doctrine and says that marriages of convenience or pretending a marriage is not a criminal offense and can only be punished with administrative sanctions. If you find yourself in any of these situations described, it is best to put yourself in the hands of lawyers specialized in the matter, such as matrimonial lawyers in Barcelona .
Pretend a marriage
When we talk about faking a marriage or a marriage of convenience, perhaps the first assumption that comes to mind is marriages with foreign people so that they can acquire nationality.
We bring up the Supreme Court ruling dated April 6, nº 261/2017, which annuls the sentence imposed by the Provincial Court of Barcelona that condemned a couple who married to legalize the husband's situation in Spain. The AP condemned them for crimes of forgery and against the rights of foreign workers.
For the High Court, marriages of convenience can civil offences; they are never criminal offences unless there is a profit motive, usurpation of civil status or falsification of documents.
Therefore, a marriage of convenience is an administrative offence and carries fines. But be careful, because a crime will be committed when the marriage is celebrated to obtain legal residence in Spain and when there is a profit motive. That is, the foreigner who is in Spain illegally, enters into marriage and in exchange for said marriage pays a certain amount.