The ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) yesterday introduced a Bill in Parliament to amend the Immigration Act. Among the proposed changes, the ministry wants to criminalise marriages of convenience and introduce a good conduct condition for permanent residents (PRs).

The Immigration Act, last amended in 2004, regulates immigration facilities as well as the entry, stay and exit of all foreigners.

The proposed amendment to criminalise marriages of convenience by any person in order to obtain an immigration facility, such as an entry visa or permanent residency, will also include criminal syndicates and middlemen who facilitate or stand to gain from such illicit practices. The penalities are a fine of up to S$10,000 or up to 10 years in jail, or both.

The amendment to introduce a good conduct condition for PRs allows the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to cancel the PR;s re-entry permit (REP) if he contravenes any law or is invloved in any activity which threatens a breach of peace or is prejudicial to public order. The PR will lose his PR status if he travels out of Singapore or remains outside Singapore without a valid REP.

This proposed amendment will also enable ICA to impose, vary, or set additional conditions for the validity of the REP. The other two proposed amendments are to criminalise the manufacture, trafficking and possession of paraphernalia for immigration forgeries, as well as to empower the ICA to collect passenger/crew information on inbound people prior to arrival.

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