Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)
Features
This visa allows people to come to Australia to marry their fiancé.
If you are granted this visa, you should marry your fiancé and apply for a Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) visa before your Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) expires.
Eligibility
You must:
- intend to marry
- have met and know your prospective spouse
- meet health and character requirements
- be at least 18 years of age.
The purpose of the Prospective Marriage visa is to allow the fiancé(e) of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen to travel to Australia in order to be married. The marriage must take place within nine to 15 months of the visa grant date, following which the applicant is eligible to apply for a Partner visa. The minimum requirements for this visa are as follows:
PROSPECTIVE MARRIAGE VISA REQUIREMENTS
Relationship
You and your fiancé(e) must:
- be at least 18 years old, and not be closely related
- be free to marry one another
- genuinely intend to get married within nine months of the visa grant date (the marriage may take place either in Australia or overseas)
- have physically met, and be personally known to each other
- genuinely intend to live together as a married couple
Sponsor
Your sponsor must:
- be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- not have previously sponsored more than one other fiancé, partner or spouse for migration to Australia, and not have sponsored a fiancé, spouse or partner for migration to Australia within the last 5 years (unless there are compelling circumstances)
- not have been sponsored for a Spouse, Partner or Prospective Marriage visa by someone else within the last 5 years (unless there are compelling circumstances)
- provide police checks to the department when requested, and
- consent to the department disclosing any conviction for a “relevant offence” to the applicant(s) you are sponsoring.
Your sponsorship may not be approved if you have a conviction for a relevant offence and a substantial criminal history. A relevant offence includes, but is not limited to offences involving violence, intimidation, breaching a protection order, people smuggling, human trafficking and weapons.
APPLICATION PROCESS
This application is lodged with the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) on behalf of you and your sponsor. The main criterion is that the relationship and your sponsor meet the requirements referred to above. In addition, you must meet the standard health and character checks.
This visa is valid for nine to 15 months and allows you to travel to Australia before being married to your fiancé(e). You must be outside Australia when you apply, but can be in or outside of Australia when your visa is being granted. The marriage must occur during the validity period of your visa i.e. within nine to 15 months of the visa grant date. It may take place either in Australia or overseas.
Next Steps: Partner Visa
Once you have entered Australia and your marriage has taken place, you will be eligible to apply for a Partner visa. This application must be lodged before your Prospective Marriage visa expires. The main requirements for a Partner visa are that:
- you and your spouse are in a mutually exclusive relationship
- your relationship is genuine and continuing
- you live together as a couple, or live apart only on a temporary basis
Provided you are able to meet the relevant criteria, you will be granted a temporary Partner visa, which is valid for a ‘stand-down period’ of approximately two years from the date of the application’s lodgement. At the end of this two-year period, you will be eligible for a permanent Partner visa, provided your relationship continues to meet the requirements referred to above.
PLEASE NOTE: We estimate that it may take several weeks to prepare and lodge your application, with the time taken largely dependent on how promptly you (and your sponsor, if applicable) provide us with the necessary supporting information and documents.
The time that it takes the DOHA to process your application is dependent upon its processing time service standards, and may also vary due to a number of other factors, including the complexity of your case, perceived risk factors and processing priorities. Please contact us for current information regarding likely processing timeframes for this type of application.
Length of stay
Between 9 and 15 months from date of grant of visa
Cost
$9,365 – the main applicant (visa application fee),
$4,685 – any child over 18 and
$2,345 – each child under 18 years of age
Processing time
| 50 per cent of applications processed | 90 per cent of applications processed |
|---|---|
| 14 Months | 26 Months |
What you can do
This visa lets you:
- travel to and stay in Australia for up to nine months
- work in Australia
- study in Australia at your own expense
- travel outside Australia as many times as you want. There is important information for New Zealand citizens.
Additional family members
There is a fee for any children applying for the visa with you.
Other costs
If you need to have them, you will have to pay other costs such as those for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801)
You will also have to pay a fee for your Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801).
If you marry your fiancé and lodge your Partner visa application before your Prospective Marriage visa expires, you will pay a reduced fee.
If you do not lodge your Partner visa application before your Prospective Marriage visa expires, you will pay a higher fee.
Location
You must be outside Australia when you apply for the visa and in or outside when the visa is decided.
How long the visas lasts
The visa lasts 9 to 15 months from the date it is granted. It cannot be extended.
Family
You can include your dependent children or stepchildren in your application.
If you are granted the visa, your children will have the same rights and visa conditions as you.
Your obligations
You should marry your fiancé and apply for a Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801) before the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) expires.
You and your children must comply with Australian laws and your visa conditions.
You can find your visa conditions in VEVO.
Sponsors
Sponsors must be the fiancé of the visa applicant.
Related: Family Violence and Partner Visas
The new changes to Sponsored family visa’s, have not been implemented for Partner visas. The changes meant that Sponsorships must be lodged first and approved before Partner visas can be lodged. This change would have adversely impacted onshore Partner visa applicants wanting to lodge a visa application prior to their substantive visa expiring. The sponsorship application would have been assessed separately and would had to be approved before a valid Partner visa application could be lodged.
If you are planning to apply for a Partner visa we recommend booking an appointment to discuss and understand how these changes may impact you.
Important update: English Test for Permanent Stage of Partner Visas & Partner visa changes ahead
I’m in Australia and you want to stay in Australia due to the COVID-19 situation
You can stay in Australia on a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300).
If you wish to stay longer, you must apply for a new visa before your current visa expires.
You may be able to get a bridging visa. This will allow you to stay until:
- you have a new visa or,
- have made arrangements to leave.
If your visa has expired or is expiring book a consultation to discuss your options.
Leaving Australia
If you leave Australia and your visa expires when you are overseas, you will need to apply for and be granted a new visa before you can return to Australia.
All visa holders must comply with current travel restrictions.
I’m overseas and would like to travel to Australia during the COVID-19
The Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) is a temporary visa. Temporary visa holders are not currently allowed to travel to Australia. This means, you must comply with the current travel restriction.
See current travel restrictions.
If your visa expires before you can travel to Australia you will need to apply for a new visa.
A subclass 300 visa expiry date cannot be extended.
If you are unsure about your general visa requirements:
Read more about your Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300).
Travel restriction exemption
If you think you have a compassionate or compelling reason to travel to Australia, you can apply for an exemption.
Do not travel to Australia until you have confirmation of your exemption.
If you are not granted an exemption, you cannot travel to Australia.
All travellers applying for an exemption must apply online.
Book a consultation today for a briefing with our Registered Migration Agents in Melbourne to find more about your visa options.
