EMC Australia / Fiancé visa Australia · Subclass 300
Prospective Marriage visa 300: the fiancé visa
The Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) lets the fiancé(e) of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen come to Australia to marry. You must be 18 or over, have met in person as adults, and apply from outside Australia. The visa lasts 9 to 15 months. After marrying, you apply for the 820/801 partner visa before the 300 ends. The charge is from AUD 11,710.
Engaged, and planning to start married life in Australia? The Prospective Marriage visa, often called the fiancé visa, lets you come to Australia, marry your partner and then apply for a partner visa here at a much lower fee. The key is timing: the date you apply, the date you enter Australia, the wedding date and the date the visa ends all need to line up. We help engaged couples across Australia and overseas plan each step.
Last reviewed:
Official source: Department of Home Affairs – Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)
Call +61 3 9069 3284 or WhatsApp · Weekdays 9:00am–5:00pm AEST
Who We Assist
Who We Assist
- You're engaged to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- You're overseas and plan to marry within the visa period
- You've met in person and plan to marry, but you aren't married yet
- You want to move to Australia, marry, and then apply for permanent residence
- You're unsure whether to marry first and apply for the 309, or use the 300
How it works
What this visa asks of you
These are the parts of this visa, in the order they usually matter.
Subclass 300
Apply from outside Australia
Apply as an engaged couple
You've met face to face as adults and intend to marry.
You provide evidence that you genuinely intend to marry and live together, such as a letter from the person who'll officiate the wedding confirming you'll marry within 9 months of the visa grant. Your partner applies to be your sponsor. Same-sex couples can apply. Read our same-sex partner visa FAQs.
Wedding
In Australia
Arrive, marry, work and study
Enter Australia before the date in your grant letter.
The visa lasts 9 to 15 months from the grant date. You can work and study, and travel in and out as often as you like while it's valid. You must marry before the visa ends. You must enter Australia on the visa before the wedding. After that first entry, you can marry in Australia or overseas, as long as the marriage is valid under Australian law.
Next step · in Australia
Apply for the partner visa
After the wedding, before the 300 ends.
Current 300 holders pay a much lower charge for the 820/801, from AUD 1,955 instead of AUD 11,710. If you're granted any other visa first, it replaces your 300 and the charge may be higher.
Read about Apply for the partner visa
How EMC works
How we help
01
Is the 300 right for you?
Engaged couples sometimes do better marrying first and applying for the 309, or waiting until they meet the de facto rule. We look at your plans and pick the right path.
02
Wedding evidence and timing
The celebrant's letter, evidence of your intention to marry, proof you've met in person, and your relationship history, timed so your entry date, wedding and partner visa application line up.
03
The next step after the wedding
We prepare your 820/801 application after the wedding so it's lodged while your 300 is still valid, at the lower charge.
What to Prepare
What to Prepare for Your Consultation
- Both passports
- Proof of your sponsor's Australian citizenship, permanent residence or eligible New Zealand citizenship
- Evidence that you've met in person as adults: travel records, photos together, boarding passes
- Your wedding plans: the celebrant's details, any letter or Notice of Intended Marriage, the venue and date range
- Messages and calls showing how your relationship has developed
- Any previous marriage or divorce papers
- Details of any earlier visa refusal or police matter
Before you apply
Important Considerations Before Applying
- You must have met face to face as adults (since turning 18) and know each other personally. A relationship that has only been online doesn't qualify. Read our article on meeting in person.
- If you marry before the 300 is decided, you're no longer eligible for it. You'll need to ask for your application to be considered as a 309/100 and withdraw the 300, or it will be refused.
- You must enter Australia on the 300 before the date in your grant letter, and marry before the visa ends.
- You must enter Australia on your fiancé visa before you marry. Marrying before that first entry breaks a visa condition and can put the visa at risk. After your first entry, you can marry in Australia or overseas, as long as the marriage is valid under Australian law.
- Any other visa granted before you apply for the 820/801 replaces your 300, and the partner visa charge may then be higher.
- Offshore 300 applications get lower processing priority under Ministerial Direction 117.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Australia's fiancé visa is the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300). It lets the fiancé(e) of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen come to Australia to marry. It's a temporary visa lasting 9 to 15 months. After the wedding, you apply for the 820/801 partner visa to stay permanently.
There are four main steps. Step 1: apply for the Prospective Marriage visa while you're outside Australia. Step 2: once it's granted, enter Australia on the visa before the date in your grant letter. Step 3: marry before the visa ends (it lasts 9 to 15 months from the grant date), and only after that first entry. Step 4: apply in Australia for the 820/801 partner visa before your 300 ends.
No, but you must enter Australia on your fiancé visa before the wedding. Once you've made that first entry, you can marry in Australia or overseas, as long as the marriage is valid under Australian law. Marrying before your first entry breaks a visa condition and can put the visa at risk. Your first entry must be before the date in your grant letter, and you must marry before the visa ends. Talk to us before booking an overseas wedding so the timing works.
Yes. You must have met your prospective spouse face to face as adults, since you both turned 18, and know each other personally when you apply. A relationship that has only been online won't meet this requirement.
You must marry before your Prospective Marriage visa ends, and it lasts 9 to 15 months from the grant date, as set out in your grant letter. Home Affairs asks for evidence, such as a letter from your celebrant, that you'll marry within 9 months of the visa being granted.
The government charge for the 300 is from AUD 11,710 for most main applicants. After you marry, the 820/801 partner visa costs much less for current 300 holders, from AUD 1,955. Medicals, police certificates and translations cost extra. From 1 July 2026, eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens pay a lower charge.
Home Affairs' published figure for September 2026 is 22 months for partner temporary and provisional visas, which covers subclasses 300, 309 and 820 combined. Offshore 300 applications get lower priority under Ministerial Direction 117, so plan your wedding date with care.
After you marry, you apply in Australia for the Partner visa (subclass 820/801) before your 300 ends. As a current 300 holder, you pay the lower charge. If you're granted any other visa first, it replaces your 300 and the partner visa charge may be higher.
If you marry before the 300 is decided, you're no longer eligible for it. You can ask Home Affairs to consider you for the Partner visa (subclass 309/100) instead, with your marriage certificate and a request to withdraw the 300. If you don't, the 300 will be refused.
Yes. The Prospective Marriage visa lets you work and study in Australia while it's valid. Home Affairs recommends private health insurance, because you'll be personally responsible for your healthcare costs unless you're covered.
Yes. You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the 300 is valid. Your first entry must be before the date in your grant letter.
Yes. You can include members of your family unit when you apply, and add a dependent child before the 300 is decided. Family members must meet the health and character requirements and be outside Australia when you apply.
If your relationship ends or your partner dies, you may still be eligible for the 820/801 partner visa in some situations, and you must be in Australia. If you've experienced family violence from your fiancé(e), the family violence provisions can apply to current and former 300 holders who have applied for the 820/801. Help is available whatever your visa status. If you're experiencing family or domestic violence, you don't have to stay in an unsafe relationship to keep your visa options. For confidential support, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, any time. In an emergency, call 000. You can also read the Home Affairs page on the family violence provisions, or talk to us in confidence.
Yes. Same-sex couples can apply for the Prospective Marriage visa, provided the marriage will be valid under Australian law and all the other requirements are met.
Your sponsor must be your fiancé(e), aged 18 or over, and an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, approved by Home Affairs. Sponsorship may be refused if it's their third partner or fiancé sponsorship, or if they sponsored a partner or were sponsored as one in the last five years, unless an exception applies.
Start with your situation.
You do not need to memorise the subclass. Book a consultation, or send a short note. MARN 1800335 · Level 14, 333 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.
Other work
- Partner visas: all options
- Onshore partner visa 820/801 (after the wedding)
- Offshore partner visa 309/100
- Same-sex partner visa questions
- Partner visa costs
- The four areas of evidence
- Visitor visas
This page is general information, not advice about your circumstances. Australian migration law changes. You should consult a Registered Migration Agent before you apply. EMC Australia is OMARA-registered (MARN 1800335).