For Australian Thai couples intending to get married in Australia. The Prospective Marriage Visa (aka Fiancee Visa or Fiance Visa) allows an Australian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Eligible New Zealand Citizen to bring their fiancée from Thailand to Australia and to marry her within 12 months of the grant.
Note that the Prospective Marriage Visa option is also open to same-sex couples who wish to marry in Australia. Same sex couples are no longer restricted to the de facto partner visa option!
It means you must be legally free to marry (ie. never married, or already divorced or annulled), and you must be ready and fully committed to marrying in Australia within the visa period.
After the wedding you apply for a Subclass 820 Onshore Temporary Partner Visa. After two years of a successful and genuine relationship, a Subclass 801 Permanent Partner Visa may be granted.
The Prospective Marriage Visa is the ideal visa choice for those who wish to marry in Australia, but wish to do so at a steady pace. It gives you time to prepare the application and to prepare a wedding in Australia just the way you want it rather than rushing to meet a deadline. Fiancee visas are particularly good for those who don’t have a lot of free time and may not be that brilliant at paperwork, ie fiancee visas are great for those who don’t want to (or simply can’t) rush through the process.
DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this page is of a general nature. Informative, yes, but not a formula for preparing visa applications and should not be relied on as such. The devil is in the detail, rest assured. Australian migration law is complicated and Departmental decisions are inflexible and often final. Readers and future visa applicants and sponsors are advised to rely on professionals to ensure a happy outcome.
Partner Visa Prospective Marriage Visa De Facto Visa Why do you need
a Migration Agent?
As stated above, yes you must apply for a further Partner Visa (a) after marrying, and (b) before the 9 months runs out. Definitely not a full visa application. Yes, it costs (a much smaller amount than the initial visa). But it is not the same as a stand-alone onshore partner visa application, despite having the same title and visa number (Subclass 820). It’s less work because less is required, however we still advise getting it professionally managed as some perfectly smart people have managed to get their applications refused. And as long as you do everything in time, she will remain in Australia on a Bridging Visa A while the application is being processed. No need to leave Australia and you!
You apply for this visa at the same time as applying for a temporary partner visa, ie an 820/801 application. You need to provide them with further documents and relationship evidence at this later stage to show your relationship is still in place. You can get further information here: permanent partner visas.
No, you cannot. A Prospective Marriage Visa is an offshore visa only, which means the applicant must be offshore (ie OUTSIDE of Australia) when it’s lodged, and also when it’s granted.
A Prospective Marriage Visa is granted with a condition that says you must marry within 12 months of the visa grant. You cannot delay this, or you will breach that visa condition and invite cancellation of the visa.
No sorry. You can only apply for it based on a prospective MARRIAGE.
Most Prospective Marriage Visa applicants do, and this is how the visa was designed. However you may marry anywhere as long as you entry Australia before marrying. That means you may travel together from Australia to another country and marry if you wish.
You will breach visa conditions, and your visa will be cancelled.
No, not at all. You don’t need to live together at all before the visa grant.
You must meet in person before applying for a Prospective Marriage Visa, or you will not meet the criteria and the visa application will be refused.
Yes, Prospective Marriage Visa holders have unrestricted work rights.
No, definitely not. Bridging visas never apply to offshore visa applications.
No, definitely not. You both must be legally free to marry in order to have a Prospective Marriage Visa granted.
You will breach visa conditions, and you risk cancellation of your visa.
If the visa is then granted, you will breach visa conditions. We may request that they withdraw a Prospective Marriage Visa application, and replace it with an offshore Partner Visa if we do so in plenty of time.
Yes, they may be included as secondary applicants in that visa. Note that this depends on you having a legal right to remove them from the country, ie. if another parent still has joint custody then you will need their permission for this to happen.
Now, over to you the client (or potential client)! We value our clients opinions, and we believe in keeping all well-informed. What would YOU like to ask about prospective marriage visas? What do YOU think needs a bit more explanation? Ask below, and Jeff Harvie RMA will answer your question for you and for others wondering the same thing.
Partner Visa Onshore? Or Partner Visa Offshore? Or Prospective Marriage Visa?
Get the pros and cons of each visa type so you can COMPARE, and make an informed decision based on expert advice!
Advantages of a prospective marriage visa (CLICK HERE)
Let us know where you wish to marry and when, and we can guide you with the best choice of visa to suit your needs! And also, use our free FREE VISA ASSESSMENT FORM to see if you do actually qualify for a visa
Want to read more about Australian Prospective Marriage Visas from Thailand? Check out some of our prospective marriage visa BLOG posts below.
Prospective marriage visa versus partner visa
“Virgie and myself like to thank Jeff and Mila for the excellent service provided for us to be together in Australia. I was recommended Jeff and Mila by a friend that also used them to get spouse visa. Jeff was great he sent through every detail we needed to know as this was new to both of us. It took a month or two to get all the required information to Jeff and he also told us we could get a tourist visa while we waited for the fiancee visa to processed. We had our tourist visa granted and we got to spend 3 months together in Australia. The hardest part was Vigie returned I had to leave without knowing how long till I could return and still had not heard anything about the fiancee visa. We submitted another tourist visa just cause we could not stand being apart. Today we received the great news that our fiencee visa had been granted after only 6 months. I rang Virgie the instant I open the email from Jeff. By the time Virgie answered the phone I was crying with joy and told her the good news. I kept crying fot at least 30 minutes after I got off the phone to Virgie and I would strongly recommend Jeff and Mila to anyone that is trying to get visa. We love you guys for making our dream come true.”
“After 2 failed attempts applying for tourist/spousal vis privately, Melissa was granted a 3 months tourist visa (Including lodgement fees) and advice from a migration agent that cost P500 informing us that we only had 20% chance of obtaining the appropriate visa we decided to contact “Down Under Visa”. Jeff and Mila were truly proffesional in every aspect of the application and at no time did we feel that we would not be granted the visa’s. We would also like to add that the fees of Down Under Visa are much less than the other agents. Melissa was granted a 3 months tourist visa on November 16,2011 and prospective marriage about February 9,2012. We would like to express our thanks to Jeff/Mila for their effort and would have no hesitation in recommending “Down Under Visa” to anyone seeking those service. Keep up the great work Jeff.”
Regards,
“I would like to let all those people who intend to obtain any kind of visa, especially visas for those for the Philippines to engage the services of Down under visas { Jeff and Mila Harvie }.
Their company is family owned and operated, so you always get personal service, above and beyond what is expected from a miggration agent.
In our case they rectified any potential problems, before they occurred. The immigration dept. suggested 6 months or more, but our case, which was a complex one, was completed in only 4 months. So professional was their work that the immigration dept. issued Marites fiance visa without an interview.
We cannot thank Jeff and Mila enough, for their thorough professional work, and reasonable charges.”
And in answer to the second question:
This is generally plain ol’ “cold feet”! Think about it, and you’ll realise I’m probably right. It’s a common condition in men. Fear of taking the plunge, so you dip your toe in the water. Getting a tourist visa is the migration version of dipping a toe in the water!
If she loves you, she will love Australia! She will love your home if she loves you! What kind of girl says “OK. You are the man of my dreams, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…….but I prefer Bangkok to Melbourne!”?? Is this really likely?
Chances are if you do this, about a week before you have to put her on the plane back to Bangkok, you’ll be kicking yourself for not applying for a fiancee visa. It could have been well and truly being processed by this stage, and you’ll be bidding farewell to the woman you love instead. And if you want her to be with you permanently, you’ll have to start at the beginning.
It’s popular because it’s probably the more convenient, and causes the least stress. It gives the applicants 9 months to get a whole lot of important things done, and that’s not bad at all. When the visa is granted, you have nine months in which to marry.
Marrying in Thailand has its charms. It’s different to a wedding back in Australia due to the crowds and general chaos. You get to feed half the town. You get to have a dozen bridesmaids. And you could have a Tuk Tuk as a wedding car! For many, great fun. For others, this will never be their cup of tea and they can end up regretting it.
Main downside of marrying in Thailand is the time it takes. You really need 3 – 4 weeks to get it all done. There are legal things to do, ie. getting the Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage from the Australian Embassy and applying for the marriage license, and all the organising of wedding dresses and umpteen outfits for the wedding party. And nothing happens in hurry in Thailand. So 3 – 4 very busy weeks.
A Prospective Marriage Visa means you have 9 months to organise your wedding and to have your wedding in the comfort and relative efficiency of Australia. Plenty of time to organise everything you need without having to rush. You can marry in the Church, or you can get a marriage celebrant and have the wedding wherever you want it to be. In a reception place. In a park. On a beach. In your backyard. 9 months compares very favourably to 3 – 4 weeks, most definitely.
Partner Visa Prospective Marriage Visa De Facto Visa Why do you need
a Migration Agent?
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BONUS EBOOK! “Philippines to Australia – Australian Visas, Frayed Emotions and a Journey You Will Never Forget” by Jeff Harvie RMA
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NOTE: Jeff Harvie and main administrative staff are mostly in the Philippines office. Please do not (a) send documents or (b) attend the AUSTRALIAN office looking for assistance without a previous appointment.
CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE AN OFFICE APPOINTMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES
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