Australia Prospective Marriage visa (sublass 300)

This visa is only valid for a period of 9 months. You must enter Australia within the validity period, marry your sponsor and apply for a partner visa before this visa expires.

If you hold a Prospective Marriage visa, you:

• are required to enter Australia before you marry your fiancé
• may work or study in Australia, however you will not receive government funding for study fees
• will have access to Australia’s health care scheme, however this is only valid if you are in Australia and you have applied for a partner visa
• may apply for a Partner visa, after you have married your fiancé
• may enter and leave Australia as many times as you like within 9 months of the visa being granted

Note: You will not gain automatic rights to permanent residency as a partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. You will need to apply for a permanent visa if you wish to reside in Australia permanently.

The Prospective Marriage visa is intended for the fiancé of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. It is a temporary visa which will enable you to enter Australia on the basis of your relationship with your partner.

What is required to apply?

In order to apply for this visa you must be 18 or over. The purpose of this visa is to enable you to travel to Australia to then get married to your partner. You must be outside Australia at the time of application and when the visa is granted.

Meeting the visa application requirements

If you apply for this visa it is your responsibility to provide adequate evidence of a genuine relationship. If your case officer is unsatisfied with the evidence or quality of the evidence provided, you may be subject to a visa refusal. In this case, your application fee will not be refunded.

Sponsor eligibility

Usually your sponsor will be your partner. A sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

To be considered eligible to sponsor your fiancé, you must:

• be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen
• be aged 18 years or older (this applies to most cases, but not all)
• have met your fiancé in person and you must have met as adults
• be free and willing to marry your fiancé

Your parent or guardian must be your fiancés sponsor if all of the following applies:

• you are 16 or 17 years of age
• you are in Australia
• you would like to sponsor your fiancé who is 18 years or over

In this case, the sponsoring parent or guardian must meet the sponsor eligibility requirements.

Applicant eligibility

You are required to be in a genuine relationship with your prospective spouse. The purpose of this visa is to allow you to enter Australia so that you can marry your fiancé and live together as husband and wife.

Married applicant requirements

It is required under Australian Law that your marriage is legal. A marriage in a country other than Australia will generally be accepted as legal if the marriage is valid in that country.

De facto applicant requirements

To be eligible for a de facto visa, you must be at least 18 years old at the time the application is submitted.

The relation between your partner and you must not be family orientated. This means that you must not:

• be a relative of one another i.e. descendant or ancestor
• have the same parents

Age requirements

In Australia, the legal age to get married is 18 years. If you are over 16 years old but still under 18, you will be required to obtain a court order to marry your intended spouse, unless you will both be 18 years or older at the time of the marriage.

If your fiancé in Australia is under 18 years of age, you will still be able to get married, however your fiancé must obtain a court order. If this is the case, you will need to be sponsored by your fiancés parent(s) or guardian(s) (they will need to be eligible to sponsor you).

Under age, polygamous and same-sex marriages are not accepted in Australia, however same-sex couples will be considered as a de facto relationship for the purposes of this visa.

Gender

Same-sex marriages are not allowed in Australia. You must be of the opposite sex to be eligible for a Partner visa.

A few important conditions for the applicant of this visa to bear in mind.

Marrying abroad

You must not marry before entering Australia. If you decide to get married offshore, you will need to fly to Australia first to activate the visa. If you do not activate your visa before you marry, you will be in breach of a visa condition and your visa may be liable for cancellation.

Multiple entries

You can leave and enter Australia as often as you like during the nine month visa validity period. This period will start from the time the visa is granted.

Healthcare

You will have access to the Australian healthcare facilities, but only when you are onshore and have applied for a partner visa.

Intent to get married

The purpose of this visa is to allow the applicant to join their partner in Australia with intend of getting married during the 9 month validity period of this visa.

You and your partner must have a genuine and continuing relationship and show a mutual commitment to a shared life together, to the exclusion of all others. You and your partner must be living together on a permanent basis, or, if not, any separation must be on a temporary basis only.

You and your partner can get married in Australia or abroad, however if you get married while the visa application is being processed, you must inform the Department of Home Affairs so that your visa application can be changed to that of a Partner visa.

Relationship

In order to be eligible for this visa you and your spouse must be able to prove that you are in a genuine relationship i.e. you must have met your partner in person. This must be the case even if:

• it is an arranged marriage
• you met each other as children and the marriage was arrange before your turned 18 years of age
• you met on the internet

For the initial visa you will be required to undergo a health examination, however if an examination has already been carried out you are not likely to have to undergo further examinations.

The health examination is critical because it:

• helps reduce and constrains public spending on health and community services, which also affects social security, pensions and allowances
• reduces the threat of the Australian community being exposed to potential health risks and illnesses
• improves access to health care and community services in short supply

Generally all visa applicants must meet the health requirements, and sometimes their dependants must also meet the requirements, regardless of whether they are migrating to Australia or not.

In certain cases where a condition or disease has been identified which requires a follow up medical check, you may be required to sign a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC). In this case you will need to sign a Health Undertaking to meet the health requirement.

Every visa applicant is required to meet the character requirements set out by the Department of Immigration before entering Australia.

To be considered good of character, you will be asked to provide police clearance certificates for every country that you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16 years of age.

The information provided below is intended to assist with preparing the correct documentation in support of your prospective marriage visa application. The Department of Home Affairs may request additional information after your application has been made.

Note: Original documents should only be supplied on request (penal clearance certificates must be original), and all foreign documents must be translated, preferably by an accredited translator.

Proving your identity

You must be able to prove your identity by providing a certified copy of your birth certificate. If you do not have one, you must provide certified copies of the identity pages of at least one of the following:

• passport
• family book showing both parents’ names
• ID documentation provided by the government
• document issued by the court that verifies your identity

Evidence supporting your relationship

You will be asked to provide evidence that you have met in person and that you plan to marry. Evidence may include photos, witness statements, letter from celebrant, and NOIM form.

Health and character clearance

You will be required to undergo a health examination, as well as provide original penal clearance certificates for countries you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years.

Document translation

The Department of Home Affairs only accepts documents that are translated into English. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that documents are accurately translated.

Statuary declarations

Only certain people can witness a Commonwealth statuary declaration. If you cannot find a suitable person, all departmental offices outside Australia have facilities to witness statuary declarations, although you may be charged.

Sponsor obligations

If you wish to sponsor your fiancé or fiancée, you are required to sign a sponsorship undertaking.

After signing the sponsorship undertaking, the following applies:

• if the visa is granted, you will be responsible for any financial obligations to the Australian government incurred by your partner
• you will be required to support your partner financially in the event that he/she requires English tuition i.e. childcare
• to help your partner settle in Australia, you will be required to provide any relevant information regarding employment opportunities
• you are to notify the Department of Home Affairs immediately if your relationship comes to an end or if you withdraw support to your before the application is finalised

If you marry your fiancé or fiancée before your visa is granted, you should notify the Department of Home Affairs immediately so they can change your application to that of a partner visa.

Should your visa be granted, the following requirements apply:

• you are required to enter Australia before you marry your fiancé or fiancée
• you must enter Australia before the date specified
• you must marry your partner within the validity period of this visa, which is 9 months after the visa has been granted. You may marry in or outside Australia as long as you have entered Australia at least once on this visa before the marriage takes place
• you are required to submit an application for a permanent partner visa in Australia before this visa expires
• notify the department of any changes in personal circumstances such as, change of address, or having a child with your fiancé