Subclass 300 | Prospective Marriage Visa
Is your fiancé currently offshore and do you plan to get married in the near future? The Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa allows you to bring your prospective spouse to Melbourne, Australia to get married. The applicant must apply for the visa from outside of Australia and once granted, this visa allows them to stay in the country for 9 to 15 months. The sponsor and the visa holder must get married before the Prospective Marriage Visa expires. Once married, the visa holder can then apply for a Partner Visa (such as Subclass 820 and 801 depending on eligibility). With the 300 Visa, your partner can temporarily live, work and study anywhere in Australia including Melbourne, as well as travel in and out of the country, subject to international travel restrictions.
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Can my partner apply for a 300 Partner Visa?
To apply for this visa, the applicant needs to be outside Australia when the application is lodged and be a prospective spouse of an Australian citizen, Permanent Resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. A valid Prospective Marriage Visa application must include evidence that the sponsor and the prospective spouse’s intentions to get married and live together are genuine. As with other family visas, your eligibility depends on your personal circumstances and whether you have substantial evidence to show your relationship meets the visa criteria. An experienced migration agent can guide you through these requirements for your particular case.
Another consideration is that the applicant needs to meet Australian legal requirements relating to marriage laws. For example, under Australian law, you must be 18 years or older to be married. Therefore, the prospective spouse must also be 18 or older when applying for this visa. The Department of Home Affairs may not grant this visa if they believe it is not in the best interests of the applicant under 18.
Like for many other visas, the Department requires the main applicant and any dependent family members who apply for the visa together to meet specific health and character requirements. The applicants may need to have health examinations to prove they meet the health requirement. Family members of the applicants who are not coming to Australia may also have to meet the health requirement. To prove that the applicants meet the requirements for good character, the Department may also request documents such as police certificates.
Apart from meeting the health and character requirements, the visa applicants will also need to pay any debts to the Australian Government if funds are owed. Applicants who had a visa cancelled or refused while they were in Australia may be ineligible for this visa – if this applies to your circumstances, you may wish to seek professional migration advice.
As your eligibility for a Prospective Marriage Visa largely depends on your personal circumstances, we would usually recommend a consultation as the first step to help you to understand your options and the requirements for your individual case.
Can my partner include family in the application?
When applying for this visa, the applicant can include members of their family unit such as dependent children who are not engaged, married or in a de-facto relationship (age limits apply). It is also possible for your partner’s dependent children (if any) to be added to the application after it is lodged. The ability to add overseas family members to the visa is a lovely option to include not only your partner but also loved ones to join you here in Australia.
What can you do on a 300 Prospective Marriage Visa in Melbourne? | Features and Benefits
Once the visa is granted, your partner can:
- Live, work, and study anywhere in Australia, including Melbourne for between 9 and 15 months from the date of the grant of visa
- Travel in and out of the country (subject to international travel restrictions, which may change)
As mentioned above, a key benefit is that this visa allows the visa holder to stay in Australia to marry their partner. The visa holders can apply for a Partner Visa (such as Subclass 820 and 801 depending on eligibility) and after getting married, they could pay less for the Partner Visa if the application is made while the 300 Visa is still valid. An experienced migration agent such as Interstaff can assess your circumstances to advise of your most suitable visa options and pathways.
Applying for a 300 Visa During the Pandemic
During the pandemic, it is still possible to apply for a 300 Prospective Marriage Visa for partners that are overseas. Once a 300 Prospective Marriage Visa is granted, these visa holders can now come to Australia without requesting a Travel Exemption – although you may wish to seek professional advice for the most current information on travel restrictions. The below graph shows the impact of the pandemic on 300 Prospective Marriage Visa grants from the Financial Years 2018-19 (pre-pandemic times) to 2021-22.
What’s Next? | Pathway to Permanent Residency (Subclass 820 and 801 Partner Visa)
Once granted, the 300 Prospective Marriage temporary visa allows your partner to stay in Australia for 9 to 15 months and get married during this time. Once married, the visa holder can then apply for a Partner Visa pathway to permanent residence (such as a Subclass 820/801 Partner Visa depending on eligibility). With the 300 Visa, your partner can temporarily live, work and study in Australia as well as travel in and out of the country (subject to applicable international travel restrictions during the pandemic – seek professional advice if you are unsure). But importantly, they also have the flexibility to apply for Permanent Residence through a Partner Visa pathway in the future.
To find out more about the Partner Visa Subclass 820 and 801 Partner Visa options, you can read more here. Our migration agents assist with all of your Partner Visa needs – from helping you to reunite here in Australia, obtain Permanent Residence and even apply for Australian Citizenship if eligible.
About Interstaff | How our Migration Agents Help With Prospective Marriage Visa or 300 Visa to Melbourne
Since 1988, Interstaff’s Registered Migration Agents have helped couples by providing comprehensive advice on how they should prepare their visa application and sponsorship application according to the Partner Visa criteria. During the pandemic, the Government is prioritising Partner Visa applications to help reunite couples and families and provide pathways that allow people already in Australia to stay.
Our migration agents assist by:
- Arranging a consultation to discuss your personal circumstances and assess your eligibility for a Prospective Marriage Visa and various Partner Visa pathways, so you can make a more informed decision about your options.
- Being engaged to manage your Prospective Marriage Visa application from start to finish – including helping you prepare your evidence requirements and guiding you through any complexities that may arise. We can even assist with your application for a permanent Partner Visa pathway following your 300 Visa, and also Citizenship if eligible. We are committed to supporting you through your entire journey.
If you are interested in a Partner Visa to live in Melbourne with your partner, get in touch with us or call our Melbourne Office on 03 8319 0902 to discuss how we can help. It would be our pleasure to assist you and your partner to reconnect. Take this opportunity to get married and start your lives together here in Melbourne, Australia!
“I just wanted to say thank you and to let you know you have been very helpful and professional during this process. I would definitely recommend Interstaff to any of my friends in the future if they require immigration assistance.”
Chris, Partner Visa
On behalf of my family and I, we would like to thank the staff at Interstaff for working around the clock to achieve our goal of Permanent Residency. They are a great team of professionals and handled our case with very high standards. We greatly appreciate it – thank you!
MICHAEL & VIOLET, PERMANENT RESIDENCE VISA
We applied for the Offshore Partner 309/100 Visa with the advice and representation from the team here and am happy to say, after a very long period apart from my partner due to Covid, our application recently got granted the 309 Visa with my partner looking to arrive shortly and our plan is to apply for the 100 visa mid/late next year. I highly recommend the team at Interstaff for any Partner Visa applications and I feel the fee is well worth the peace of mind you have given the high level of experience the team here offers and knowing you will be represented correctly/reliably based on the evidence you provide.
ALEX , PARTNER VISA