PARTNER & FAMILY
VISAS
Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300)
If you intend to apply for this visa, you must be outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is granted.
A Prospective Marriage visa is a temporary visa that remains valid for 9 months from the date the visa is granted.
If you are granted a Prospective Marriage visa, you must enter Australia and, after that entry, marry your intended spouse (your fiancé(e)) within the period that the visa is valid.
You may then apply for a Partner visa when you are in Australia, but you will have to complete another application form and pay a Visa Application Charge. At each stage of the process, your relationship with your partner will be assessed.
If you are planning to marry your fiancé(e) before entering Australia, or if you have been in a de facto relationship with your fiancé(e) for over 12 months, you should apply for a Partner visa.
Offshore Partner Visa (Subclass 309/100)
The Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) allows you to live in Australia if you are the spouse or de facto partner of:
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an Australian citizen
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a permanent resident
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an eligible New Zealand citizen.
The Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) is the first stage towards a permanent Partner visa (subclass 100). You lodge only one application for your temporary and permanent visas and pay one application charge. Your application is processed in two stages, about two years apart.
You must be outside Australia when you apply and also when the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) is granted. You can be in or outside Australia when Partner visa (subclass 100) is granted.
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for a Prospective Marriage visa, you must:
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be sponsored
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be aged 18 years or over (or if you are aged 16 years or over but less than 18 years, you have an Australian court order allowing you to marry your intended spouse);
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be of the opposite sex to your intended spouse;
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have met (as adults) your intended spouse in person and know him or her. This must be the case even if:
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it is an arranged marriage
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you and your sponsor met as children and the marriage was arranged before you turned 18 years of age; or
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you met on the internet (exchanging photographs is not evidence of having met in person);
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have no impediment to marrying your intended spouse, that is:
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you are both free to marry;
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you are both of marriageable age; and
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the intended marriage is able to be recognised under Australian law;
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genuinely intend to marry your intended spouse;
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genuinely intend to live with your intended spouse as husband and wife; and
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meet health and character requirements.
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Your fiancé(e) in Australia can be aged under 18 years if they have an Australian court order allowing them to marry you.
In these circumstances, their parent or guardian must be your sponsor and they must be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen aged 18 years or over. In addition, if your fi ancé(e) is aged under 18 years and is in Australia, you must be aged 18 years or over since, under Australian law, there is no provision for permission to be granted to allow an underage couple to marry.
Including family in your application
You may include the following people in your visa application:
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your dependent children
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other dependent relatives.
If you add a dependent child to your application, that child must meet the requirements for including family members in your application. The application needs to include documentary evidence of the child's relationship to you.
Your dependent child must also be able to show that they meet Australia’s health and character requirements.
Onshore Partner Visa (Subclass 820/801)
The temporary Partner visa (subclass 820) allows you to live in Australia if you are the spouse or de facto partner of:
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an Australian citizen
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a permanent resident
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an eligible New Zealand citizen.
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In some circumstances the visa can be granted where your partner relationship has ended.
The temporary Partner visa (subclass 820) is the first stage towards a permanent Partner visa (subclass 801). You must be in Australia when you apply and also when this visa is decided.
You lodge one application form for your temporary and permanent visas and pay one application charge. Your application is processed in two stages, about two years apart.
Married spouses (De Jure)
To apply in Australia for a Partner visa on the basis of marriage, you must be legally married to your partner (in most cases, your sponsor).
To apply outside Australia on the basis of marriage, you must either be legally married to your partner at time of application or intend to legally marry your partner in the near future (before a decision is made on the temporary Partner visa).
If you were married in a country other than Australia and that marriage is valid in that country, generally it will be recognised as valid under Australian law. There are some exceptions, such as same-sex, underage or polygamous marriages, which are not accepted in Australia.
To be eligible for a Partner visa on the basis of your marriage, you must:
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be sponsored by an eligible person;
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be legally married to your partner (usually your sponsor);
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show that you and your partner have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others;
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show that you have a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner;
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show that you and your partner are living together or, if not, that any separation is only temporary; and meet health and character requirements.