Prospective Marriage Visa

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Prospective Marriage Visa

Subclass 300 - Prospective Marriage Visa

The Prospective Marriage visa allows you to travel to Australia to marry your prospective spouse and apply for a Partner visa.

This visa is suitable for individuals that are in a relationship with a person from overseas, but do not have enough evidence to lodge a Partner visa application.

Some of the benefits of the visa include:

Less Evidential Burden than Partner Visa: as the visa does not require the applicant and sponsor to be married / have lived together / or have form of relationship registration at the time of application.
Pathway to PR: You can apply for a Subclass 820/801 permanent partner visa, once you are married in Australia.
Travel in and out of Australia: You can travel in and out of Australia as many times as you like during the validity of your visa.

News/Updates

How do I prove my relationship
to the department?

There are 4 main aspects of the relationship that the Department of Home Affairs will consider when assessing any partner visa application:

Financial aspect of relationship

Under this section, you can provide facts and evidence of your financial commitment to each other.

Nature of household

In this section, you can provide evidence of any joint responsibility for the care and support of children, your living arrangements and sharing of the responsibility for housework.

Social aspect of relationship

In this section, you can outline important social aspects of your relationship, including opinion of your family, friends and acquaintances about the nature of your relationship.

Nature of commitment

In this section, you can outline significant events in your lives during which you have relied on each other for support and future plans together.

Temporary Visa Eligibility

Subclass 300 - Prospective Marriage Visa

Sponsorship Eligibility

To be approved for sponsorship, your sponsor must be:

Must be aged 18 years or older
Must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
Must genuinely intend to marry your partner.

In addition to the above, you are barred from sponsoring you if:

your sponsor has already sponsored two partners over their lifetime;
your partner has previously sponsored another partner in the last five years.
if your partner was granted a partner visa themselves in the last five years, they can sponsor you only after

Unless compelling and compassionate circumstances applies.

Applicant Eligibility

To be eligible for the visa, you must be:

Aged 18 years or older
Intend to marry your intended partner who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen within 9 months of visa grant.
Must have physically met your partner in person, after turning 18.
Meet the health and character criteria.

Permanent Visa Eligibility

Subclass 820/801 - Onshore Partner Visa

Sponsor's Eligibility

You must:

be the same person who sponsored the applicant for their temporary partner visa
continue to be married or in a de facto relationship with them

Applicant Eligibility

To be eligible for a Permanent Partner visa, you must:

Hold a Prospective Marriage visa
Be in an ongoing relationship still, unless you meet certain special conditions
Have complied with Australian laws

Prospective Marriage visa to Permanent Residency

To acquire permanent residency from a subclass 300 visa, you must adhere to the steps outlined below.

Apply for Prospective Partner Visa

If you are in a relationship with a person from overseas, but do not have enough evidence to lodge a Partner visa application, we recommend that you apply for a Prospective Partner Visa.

Wait for Visa Grant

Once your visa is granted, you are able to travel to Australia.

Marry your Intended Partner within the visa validity period

Once you are in Australia, you are required to marry your prospective partner within the visa validity period.

Apply for a Subclass 820 Partner Visa

Once you are married, to begin your permanent residency journey, you are required to apply for Subclass 820, before your visa expire.

Wait for Visa Grant

Once you have applied for Subclass 820, wait for the Department to respond with any documents that they require to process your application.

Once the Department is satisfied that you have met all the criteria for a Subclass 820 grant, they will grant the Subclass 820 Visa Application.

Alternatively, if you have been in a long-term relationship before you lodge your 820 (temporary) application, the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 801) may be granted immediately along with the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 820).

Apply for Second Stage Partner Visa

You are eligible to apply for the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 801) if you have a temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 820) granted. After two years from the date of lodgement from Subclass 820, you can lodge your Subclass 801 application.

Something else ?

FAQ

We are happy to answer
any queries you may have

I got married before my prospective marriage visa was granted. What can I do now?

If you marry your partner before your Prospective Marriage visa, you may be able to be considered for a Partner visa without lodging a new application. Please upload your marriage certificate to Immi Account and the Department will contact you with more information.

My Sponsor is barred from sponsoring people. Can they overcome this?

Your sponsor may still be permitted to sponsor you in compelling circumstances

I have a dependent child. Can I include them in my Subclass 300 visa?

Children under the age of 18 will be considered dependent, and therefore be included in your partner visa application. Children over 18 may be included if they are dependent on your or is incapacitated and is substantially reliant on you.

How do I show an intention to marry?

If you wish to marry in Australia, you must lodge a Notice of Intention to Marry (NOIM) with a marriage celebrant. The NOIM must be lodged no less than 1 month and no more than 18 months before the proposed date of the ceremony and is valid for up to 18 months. As part of your subclass 300 visa application, you should also provide confirmation that you have lodged a NOIM with your marriage celebrant.

Summary of cost estimates
for your application

We have summarised a cost estimate for a Subclass 300 – Prospective Marriage Visa application as below.

Partner visa during COVID times

Visa Extensions

On 10 December 2020, Prospective Marriage visa holders or former visa holders who were outside Australia on that day, and who held a Prospective Marriage visa at any time between 6 October 2020 and 10 December 2020 had their visa validity period extended to 31 March 2022.

Individual visa holders have been notified by the Department.

Visa Application Refunds

Refunds are being provided where COVID-19 related travel restrictions have impacted the ability of the visa holder to travel to Australia.

If your Prospective Marriage visa validity period was extended on 10 December 2020, the payer of the VAC may request a refund if:

you have not travelled to Australia after 10 December 2020 as a holder of this visa; and
at the time of request for the refund, either:
- Your visa has ceased to be in effect or was cancelled at your request; or
- If your visa is currently in effect, you have asked the Minister to cancel your visa.

Generally, a refund request can only be made by the person shown as the ‘payer’ on the original VAC receipt. Refund requests must be made by 31 December 2022.

If your Prospective Marriage visa ceased between 20 March 2020 and 5 October 2020 the payer of the VAC may be eligible for a VAC refund if your visa ceased while you were outside Australia.

Partner Visa Grant

If you have applied outside Australia for a Partner (subclass 300) visa and you are in Australia during the COVID-19 concession period, you can be granted a visa in Australia if you meet all other visa criteria.

Additionally, the Department is not asking Family visa applicants (including subclass 300 applicants) to travel offshore for the grant of their visa at this time.

The COVID-19 concession period started on 1 February 2020 and is ongoing. However, this is subject to change without notice.