# Offence to arrange marriage to obtain permanent residence

> act-s240 — as in force on 2026-06-04 — C2026C00232 · Compilation No. 171 — https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026C00232/latest/text

240 Offence to arrange marriage to obtain permanent residence
          (1) A person must not arrange a marriage between other persons with
              the intention of assisting one of those other persons to get a stay
              visa by satisfying a criterion for the visa because of the marriage.
               Penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years or 1,000 penalty units, or
                        both.
          (2) Subsection (1) applies whether or not the intention is achieved.
          (3) It is a defence to an offence against subsection (1) if the defendant
              proves that, although one purpose of the marriage was to assist a
              person to get a stay visa, the defendant believed on reasonable
              grounds that the marriage would result in a genuine and continuing
              marital relationship.
               Note:      A defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matter in
                          subsection (3) (see section 13.4 of the Criminal Code).