Overview

The Prospective Marriage Visa, also known as the fiancé visa or Subclass 300 allows applicants to travel to Australia to marry their Australian partner. This can either be an Australian citizen, permanent resident of Australia, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

The application of the Prospective Marriage Visa can only be completed offshore (outside of Australia), with no associated bridging visa. Once the visa is granted; the applicant can stay in Australia for up to nine months. However, if you wish to remain in the country with your spouse, you must apply for a partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) before visa 300 (Australia) expires.

Benefits 

  • Stay in Australia temporarily for up to 9 months from the visa’s date of grant*
    *Can extend up to 12-18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Have your prospective spouse stay, work, and study in Australia temporarily
  • Bring the members of the family unit with them
  • Marry your prospective spouse
  • Leave and re-enter Australia unlimited number of times within the 9-month validity period
  • Work in Australia with unrestricted work rights
  • Study in Australia at your own expense as you will not have access to government funding for tertiary study
  • Your relationship can be with someone of the same or different sex

How to apply for a Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300)?

The process of applying for a fiancé visa in Australia involves both you and your partner’s responsibility.

Step 1: Your Australian partner needs lodge a sponsorship form to apply to be a sponsor

Before your partner applies to sponsor you as a prospective spouse, your partner needs to register a ImmiAccount. Therefore, the sponsor must be your prospective spouse for visa 300 for it to be approved.

The sponsor needs:

  • An Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizenship.
  • At least one of the following types of evidence: Australian birth certificate, current Australian passport showing identification (photo, personal details, passport issue and expiry dates), or Australian citizenship certificate.

The sponsor needs to submit specified documents via the same online system and there are no costs to applying online.

Step 2: Check if you are eligible for a visa 300 (for applicant)

You must be located outside Australia at the time of lodgement, with your application form and documents submitted online. The applicant must hold a valid passport before lodging the application and visa process via ImmiAccount. https://online.immi.gov.au/lusc/login

Step 3: You apply for visa 300

You’ll need to provide relationship evidence documents and the following evidence must be provided for the lodgement:

  • Evidence that you (applicant) will marry your partner (sponsor) within 9 months of visa grant (letter from your marriage celebrant and confirmation of lodgement of your NOIM)
  • At least two Form 888’s (statutory declarations provided by your supporting witnesses attesting that your relationship is genuine and continuing) https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/forms/888.pdf
  • Evidence that you and your partner have met face-to-face as adults since turning 18 and know each other personally.
  • Evidence that you and your partner genuinely intent to live together as spouses
  • Written statements about your relationship for both you and your partner

If there are any dependent applicants, proof of your relationship with the dependent must be included, as the visa is in best interest of the child.

The applicants and sponsor’s lodgement must be submitted to the same online system. Additionally, the fee must be paid in full for the application to be considered.

What is the visa 300 requirements?

When applying for visa 300, it is important to understand the general requirements and specific requirements.

General requirements

Category Description
Age You and your partner must be 18 years or older
Location You must be outside of Australia (offshore) when applying for visa 300
Relationship requirements
  • You must have met your fiancé in person and have evidence of your relationship together.
  • Intend to marry your prospective spouse before the visa period ends (within nine months).
  • Your fiancé in Australia must have planned arrangements for your marriage. This includes organising relevant religious institution that are responsible for marrying you, or a celebrant, or a registry office; plus, your fiancé must have lodged a Notice of Intention to Marry (A NOIM must be lodged at least one month and one day prior to the marriage – it is a legal requirement in Australia).
  • The marriage is scheduled to take place during the nine months of the visa validity once it has been granted.
Health requirements You are required to undergo visa medicals and must show that you are free from any disease or medical conditions that poses a threat to public health in Australia. You and secondary applicants (if any) need to pass a health examination conducted in one of the medical centres approved by Department of Home Affairs. Your family members who do not accompany you to Australia will also need to meet the health requirements.
Character requirements You and secondary applicants (if any) need to have police clearances in each country you have resided in for 12 months in the past 10 years.
Debt The applicant must have no debt to the Australian government. The applicant must have a sponsor to undertake the financial obligation for their stay in Australia. If you or any family members owe the Australian government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back. This may include family members who do not accompany you to Australia.

Specific requirements

For a Prospective Marriage Visa, you must be outside of Australia at the time of the application, during the processing time, and time granted. In addition, subclass 300 requires marriage celebrants to show that you and your partner are committed in marrying within the period of the visa grant. It is important that you marry in Australia, however, there are no limitations on the location of your wedding, as visa 300 allows you to travel in and out of Australia as many times as you wish while your visa is valid.

How can I (applicant) prove that I am in a relationship with my fiancé/partner (sponsor)

The applicant and sponsor need to include relationship-based evidence when submitting the lodgement. Before the lodgement, both parties must have met in person and developed a genuine and continuing relationship. The evidence of your relationship entails the history of your relationship, financial commitments and responsibilities, responsibilities within your household, acceptance as a couple socially, and mutual commitment between you and your partner.

  1. Relationship History – A written statement needs to highlight your relationship history. The evidence will cover the history and development of your relationship, engagement, joint activities, remarkable events in your relationship and your future as spouses.
  2. Finance – To determine the financial commitments, bank statements from joint bank accounts, mortgage or tenancy agreements or utility bills in both names can prove the shared monetary responsibility.
  3. Nature of Household – Provide evidence of joint utilities accounts, joint responsibilities for children, correspondence addressed to you both at the same address, and evidence attesting to your living arrangements.
  4. Social Matters – Statements and statutory declarations from close family members and friends of how your relationship is accepted. The evidence includes photographs of visits to each other’s countries, joint invitation, outings, travels together, and joint participation in cultural, social, and other activities.
  5. Commitment – A mutual commitment must be established through correspondence, emails, methods of communications, and itemised phone accounts to show that contact was maintained during periods of separation.

How much does it cost to apply for subclass 300 visa?

All the application lodgement fees below are displayed with GST included and in Australian Dollar ($AUD). Other expected costs such as medical examinations, character check, and translating original documents will defer depending on individual circumstances.

Category Amount
TO300 Prospective Marriage – Main Applicant $8,085.00
Additional Applicant Charge: Over 18 $4,045.00
Additional Applicant Charge: Under 18 $2,025.00
Non-internet application charge N/A

How to bring family members to Australia under visa 300?

You can include your family members that includes your dependent children or stepchildren in your visa 300 application. If you are granted the visa, your children will have the same rights and visa conditions as you. You may be able to include your dependent children in your application. ‘Dependent children’ must be under 18 years of age, but there are certain circumstances where children over 18 years of age can be included. If you wish to include your over 18 children in your partner visa application, you can consider contacting professional advice from a registered migration agent to find out whether your child is included. However, you cannot add family members to your visa application after the Department grants your Prospective Marriage visa subclass 300.

Not sure if you are eligible to apply for Visa Subclass 300?

Contact SOL Migration today for a free eligibility check!

FAQs

What is the processing time for visa 300?

For a subclass 300 visa, the processing time varies based on the applicant’s profiles and their family members (named in the visa application). Usually, the assessment of a temporary visa is less thorough than a permanent visa. The processing time for visa 300 are updated regularly and all applications are accessed on a case-by-case basis. Complex cases may take longer to process. Noted that the published processing times should be viewed as a guideline and cannot be influenced.

The following processing times indicates how long on average it is currently taking for an application to be finalised, where 25% of applications assume to 8 months; 50% of applications are 12 months; 75% of applications are 26 months; and 90% of applications takes 37 months.

What happens if I am married to my partner before the grant of the visa?

If you marry before you are granted visa 300 and entering Australia, it will affect the application and cause the visa to be cancelled. You must write to the Department of Home Affairs requesting that the application be withdrawn and changed to an application for a Partner (subclasses 309 and 100) visa. You must provide evidence of your marriage, such as a certified copy of the extract from the relevant marriage registry office.

What happens after I am granted visa 300?

If approved, your visa will allow you to travel to and reside in, Australia temporarily for a period of 9 months. If you intend to marry your partner in Australia, you must do so after your first entry to Australia and within the 9-month visa grant period. If you are intending to marry overseas, you must enter Australia before you marry your partner. You can then depart to get married, and again re-enter Australia within the 9-month visa period to lodge your onshore partner visa application. The subclass 300 visa allows you to work and study in Australia as well as travel without limitation for the duration of the visa period.

What happens if I want to stay in Australia longer after my visa ends?

If you want to remain in Australia with your spouse, you will need to apply for a partner visa before your visa 300 expires.

What if my circumstances change after I lodge my visa?

If there are any changes in your circumstances following lodgement of your application, you are obliged to inform the Department about them before the visa application is finalised. Situational changes include birth, divorce, separation, marriage, de facto relationship, and death in your family. You may use Form 1022 Notification Changes in Circumstances for this purpose before the outcome of the visa and return it to the office where you lodged your application. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/forms/1022.pdf

What if I have a baby in Australia?

If you have a baby in Australia during the visa period, simply complete, sign, and return Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances to the office where you lodged your application. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/forms/1022.pdf

Include the following information:

  • Colour scan of your baby’s birth certificate
  • Colour scan of your baby’s passport pages (showing photo, personal details, and passport issue, and expiry dates). If your baby does not have a passport yet, send the passport pages as soon as you can

It is important to notify the Department of Home Affairs, as failure to inform the changes in your circumstances may lead to visa cancellation.

What if I have a baby in Australia?

If you want to visit your partner in Australia, you will need to consider applying for a temporary visitor’s visa to visit Australia during this period. You need to meet the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement for the visa grant to ensure that you intend to visit Australia on a temporary basis only. These types of visas are often granted for a short period, approximately 3 months but you must be mindful it does not overlap with the time subclass 300 visa is granted.

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