Our partners and spouses guide is packed with useful information you will need to know when emigrating to Australia.
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Some couples meet across borders and decide, long before the paperwork, that their future is in Australia. The Prospective Marriage visa (Subclass 300) exists precisely for you: it lets the fiancé of an Australian enter the country, marry, and step directly onto the partner visa pathway to permanent residency.
The Prospective Marriage visa (Subclass 300) is a temporary visa for people engaged to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. It grants you:
The official criteria are published by the Department of Home Affairs: Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300). Think of the 300 as the first chapter of a two-book story: the wedding is the plot point, permanent residency is the ending.
The Subclass 300 has requirements the standard partner visa does not:
The relationship evidence mirrors the partner visa’s four pillars (financial, household where applicable, social and commitment) adapted for couples who may still be living apart.
The 300 rewards couples who plan the whole journey, not just the first visa:
The strongest strategy treats the 300 evidence file as the foundation of the 820 file: every document gathered once, structured to serve both applications. That is how we build them.
Cost: the Subclass 300 carries its own visa application charge (current figures are published on the Home Affairs 300 page) and the onshore partner application that follows is charged at a reduced rate for 300 holders, rather than the full AUD 11,710 partner charge.
Timing: allow generous time for the 300 itself, as processing varies with caseload, then the standard partner processing after marriage. Budget the wedding date generously: the visa validity clock starts at grant, not at arrival.
The alternative worth checking: couples who marry before applying, or who can evidence 12 months de facto, may skip the 300 entirely and go straight to the 309 or 820 partner routes, sometimes faster and cheaper. Our assessment tells you which chapter to start with.
Genuine wedding plans: a booked celebrant, a venue, a date, not a vague intention. The Department funds no romance on promises alone.
The in-person meeting, documented: boarding passes, photographs, stamps: proof you have met as adults is a threshold many online-era couples forget to evidence.
A story told consistently: your statements, your sponsor’s, and your witnesses’ must align on the facts of how you met, fell in love and decided to marry.
The second application, pre-planned: the couples who struggle are those who treat the wedding as the finish line. It is the halfway mark, and we plan both halves from the start.
Discuss your eligibility and explore your options with a dedicated migration specialist.
Certified passports and birth certificates for both partners, evidence ending any previous marriages (divorce or death certificates), and name-change documents. Your sponsor’s citizenship or permanent residency evidence belongs here too.
Proof you have met in person as adults (travel records, photographs across your history), the story and evidence of your relationship, and, unique to the 300, genuine wedding plans: celebrant confirmation (the Notice of Intended Marriage where available), venue bookings, and statements describing the marriage you intend.
Sponsorship forms, sponsor police certificates, and disclosure of any previous sponsorships. Sponsorship limitations apply to the 300 exactly as they do to partner visas. We screen for them before lodgement.
Immigration medical examinations with an approved panel physician, timed to instruction so validity carries through to grant.
Police certificates from each country where you have lived 12+ months in the last ten years since turning 16, started early where issuing is slow.
It is Australia’s fiancé visa: it lets the partner of an Australian enter the country to marry, with full work rights, and then apply onshore for the permanent partner visa.
You must marry within the visa’s validity period, typically 9 to 15 months from grant. The ceremony itself can take place anywhere in the world.
Yes. You must have met face to face as adults. An entirely online relationship must include at least one in-person meeting before applying.
Yes. The Subclass 300 carries full work and study rights from the day you arrive, and multiple travel in and out of Australia.
You apply onshore for the 820/801 partner visa at a reduced charge, remaining in Australia on a bridging visa while it processes. The evidence you built for the 300 becomes the foundation of the partner application.
Sometimes. Couples who marry before applying, or who can show 12 months de facto, can go straight to the 309 or 820 partner routes, occasionally saving time and money. Our assessment identifies your best first chapter.
Yes. Your dependent children can be included in the application and travel with you to Australia.
Plans can move within the visa validity, but you must still genuinely intend to marry and do so before it expires. If circumstances change materially, speak to your adviser immediately. Options exist, but timing is everything.
Comparing life in Australia to the United Kingdom.
An Australian engagement visa lets you work and study straight away, where the British route keeps you waiting. Both conditions are set out on the official visa pages in each country.
| Measure | Australia | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Right to work or study while engaged | Permitted to work and study on the visa | Barred from work and study for the engagement period |
| Pathway after marrying | Apply onshore toward the Partner visa and permanent residence | Apply again to extend the stay before any work or study right begins |
Sources: Department of Home Affairs; GOV.UK Australian source
Albany gathers more sunshine across the year and counts half the wet days of Aberystwyth. The national weather service in each country publishes these averages from decades of station records.
| Measure | Albany | Aberystwyth |
|---|---|---|
| Sunshine per day | 6.6 hours | 4.0 hours |
| Days of rain a year | 83.1 | 162.7 |
| Annual rainfall | 797 mm | 1,107 mm |
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology; Met Office Australian source
Daytime temperatures in Albany sit well above those in Aberystwyth all year round. Both columns come from the long term station averages published by each country’s national weather service.
| Measure | Albany | Aberystwyth |
|---|---|---|
| Mid winter daytime high | 15.8 °C | 8.4 °C |
| Mid summer daytime high | 24.9 °C | 19.5 °C |
| Year round daytime high | 20.3 °C | 13.8 °C |
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology; Met Office Australian source
Whether you have questions or need guidance on your Australian immigration path, our specialists are ready to listen and advise. Contact us today.