Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)

The Prospective Marriage visa (sometimes called a spouse visa, marriage visa or fiancé visa) gives an individual permission to enter Australia for the specific purpose of marrying their fiancé.

If this visa is awarded, the individual who entered Australia on the Prospective Marriage visa should apply for a Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) visa as soon as possible after their marriage and before their subclass 300 visa expires.

Eligibility

Individuals who intend to apply for a Prospective Marriage visa must:

• have an honest intention to marry their fiancé, whom they should have met and know
• meet general health and good character requirements set by the Australian government
• be 18 years old at the youngest

The Prospective Marriage visa’s specific purpose is to enable an Australian citizen or permanent resident’s (or eligible citizen of New Zealand’s) fiancé to enter Australia for a marriage to take place within 9 months of the visa being granted. Once the marriage has taken place, the applicant becomes eligible for a Partner visa.

PROSPECTIVE MARRIAGE VISA REQUIREMENTS

The applicant and their fiancé(e) must:

• be no less than 18 years old
• not be closely related
• have no legal impediment to becoming married to one another
• have met and know each other
• intend to marry of their own free will in Australia or elsewhere within nine months of the visa being granted
• intend to live in a single household as a married couple

The applicant’s sponsor (their fiancé in Australia):

• must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, or an eligible citizen of New Zealand
• must not, other than in exceptional circumstances, have sponsored within the previous five years any other individual for migration to Australia as their fiancé, spouse, or partner
• must not, other than in exceptional circumstances, have been sponsored themselves as a fiancé, spouse or partner within the previous five years
• must provide any requested police or criminal records checks
• provide their consent for the details of any ‘relevant’ convictions to be disclosed to their sponsored fiancé

Please note: sponsorships for Prospective Marriage Visas may be rejected if the sponsoring individual has a substantial criminal history or a conviction relating to violence, people smuggling, human trafficking, intimidation, breaches of protection orders or other relevant offences.

APPLICATION PROCESS

In order to get a Prospective Marriage visa, first you should ensure that both you and your sponsor meet the requirements above, as well as the Australian government’s standard health and good character checks for visa applications. If granted, this visa will be valid for between nine and 15 months.

Note that applicants are required to be physically outside of Australia when they apply, but they are permitted to be either in or outside of Australia at the time that the visa is granted. Once you have received your visa, the marriage must take place while your Prospective Marriage visa is valid.

Next Steps: Partner Visa

Once you are married, if you wish to remain in Australia you can apply for a Partner visa, so long as you do so before your Prospective Marriage visa expires. You must also show evidence that:

• you and your spouse remain in an exclusive relationship
• your marriage and your relationship is genuine, and you both intend for it to continue
• you are living together or, if you live separately, you are only doing so temporarily

So long as the above criteria are met, a two-year temporary Partner Visa will be issued. Once these two years have elapsed, as long as your relationship is still ongoing you will become eligible to apply for a permanent Partner Visa.

The time taken for a Prospective Marriage visa application to be considered and a decision reached can vary depending on the specific circumstances of the individuals applying, as well as on Australian authorities’ workloads and any current backlog of applications. Please contact a member of our team for further information on the current likely timescale for consideration of a new Prospective Marriage visa application.