Who Is Eligible for the Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) in 2026?
You qualify for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) only if you meet every criterion on the Australian Department of Home Affairs "Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)" page as of July 2026: you are 18 or older, you are outside Australia when you apply, an approved prospective spouse sponsors you, that person is, in most cases, an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, you have met each other in person as adults since turning 18 and know each other personally, you intend to marry within the visa period, and you and any family members applying with you meet the health and government-debt requirements, together with the character requirement for family members aged 16 and over and the Australian values requirement for those aged 18 or older. These criteria are cumulative — there is no scoring system where a strength in one area compensates for a gap in another.
What does this visa actually commit you to?
The grant is temporary and short by design. The Department's page states you must stay in Australia for 9 to 15 months from your visa grant date, that you can work and study during that time, and that you must intend to marry your prospective spouse before the visa period ends. It is a visa for people who need to be in Australia to get married, after which the couple typically moves to the onshore partner visa process.
The published rules are written in general terms, and this article describes them as published; it is not an assessment of your own circumstances and does not predict an outcome. Confirm each point against the Department's current page and against any notice you receive, since criteria and their wording can change.
How old do you and your prospective spouse have to be?
Both of you must be 18 or older at the time you apply. This is a two-sided test: the applicant's age and the sponsor's age are each checked independently, and an older applicant cannot carry a partner who is still 17. The Migration Regulations 1994 set the same requirement in the primary criteria (clauses 300.212A and 300.213), linking the applicant's age and the sponsor's age to the same application date.
Do you have to be outside Australia — and when?
You must be outside Australia when you apply, and any family member who applies with you must also be outside Australia at that moment. Location at the decision stage is different: the Department's process notes say you can be in or outside Australia when the temporary visa application is decided. So an applicant who travels to Australia on another visa while the case is being processed has not, by that fact alone, broken the lodgement rule.
Who can sponsor you, and what does the sponsor have to do?
Your sponsor is your prospective spouse, and the sponsorship is not a formality that can be sorted out later:
- You and everyone applying with you must have a sponsor both when you lodge and while you hold the visa.
- In most cases your prospective spouse must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
- The Department must approve the sponsor; an unapproved sponsor leaves the core criterion unmet.
- Your sponsor should apply to sponsor you as soon as possible after you lodge, rather than waiting to be asked.
- The relationship can be with someone of the same or different sex.
Sponsorship limits exist outside the visa's own criteria. Departmental guidance summarises restrictions in the Migration Regulations 1994 — including limits on how many times a person can sponsor a partner and restrictions affecting sponsors with certain criminal records — so a sponsor who assumes eligibility without checking those rules is taking a real risk.
Do you have to have met your partner in person?
Yes. You and your prospective spouse must have met in person as adults since turning 18, and must be known to each other personally at the time you apply. Video calls, messaging and letters do not substitute for physical presence; guidance on clause 300.214 treats "met" as requiring the parties to have been in each other's physical presence, citing the Full Federal Court's approach in Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v Yucesan. Suppose an applicant whose entire relationship has been conducted online — however genuine — that relationship does not satisfy this criterion on the published wording.
The "known to each other personally" limb is separate. Departmental guidance describes it as a case-by-case standard, but warns that very superficial knowledge can undermine the assessment of whether the parties genuinely intend to live together as spouses.
What must be true about the marriage itself?
Three things, drawn from the regulations as summarised in the criteria:
- You must intend to marry a person who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen (clause 300.211), and the marriage must be intended to take place within the visa period (clause 300.215).
- The decision maker must be satisfied that you genuinely intend to live together as spouses (clause 300.216), assessed against concepts such as mutual commitment and an exclusive, continuing relationship.
- There must be no impediment to the marriage under Australian law (clause 300.221A) — an existing undissolved marriage, for example, is treated as a legal obstacle rather than a paperwork delay.
You must also continue to satisfy these requirements at the time of decision (clause 300.221). That is why a change in circumstances during processing matters: marrying while the application is still pending removes the "prospective" element, and a change of that kind must be notified to the Department in writing.
Can a cancelled visa or a refused application affect eligibility?
Yes. The Department considers your immigration history, and states you might not be eligible if you have had a visa cancelled or an application refused. It also notes that in some circumstances a person in that position may still apply for a permanent visa, and publishes separate information on re-entry bans — so a past refusal is a reason to check the current official position carefully rather than to assume either outcome.
What about health, character, debts and the values statement?
These apply beyond the applicant, and the reach is wider than most people expect:
- Health: you and any family members applying with you must meet the health requirement; the Department may also ask for health information about family members who are not coming to Australia.
- Character: you and any family members aged 16 and over who apply with you must meet the character requirements, with the same possibility of requests about non-migrating family.
- Debt to the Australian Government: if you or any family member owes the Australian government money, it must have been repaid or arranged to be repaid — and this can include family members who do not accompany you.
- Australian values: you and any family members applying with you who are 18 or older must have read, or had explained, the Life in Australia booklet and must sign an Australian Values Statement confirming you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws.
Do accompanying family members change what you need to meet?
They widen the test rather than replace it. Family members must be sponsored as part of the same application — regulations require them to apply at the same time as the main applicant and to be covered by the sponsorship — and they bring their own health, character and values obligations, calibrated by age. Departmental guidance applies a strict principle here: if a family member in the application fails a requirement, the application as a whole can fail, even though the shortfall belongs to someone other than the main applicant.
What happens if there is an applicant under 18?
The Department may refuse to grant the visa if granting it would not be in the best interests of an applicant who is under 18. Age also drives the other tests in different directions for the same child: health is assessed for all accompanying family, character from 16, and the values statement from 18.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply while I am inside Australia on a visitor visa?
No — you must be outside Australia when you apply, and so must any family members applying with you. You may, however, be in or outside Australia when the decision is made, so being onshore later in the process does not by itself defeat the application.
Does my partner have to be an Australian citizen?
Not necessarily. In most cases your prospective spouse must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, and the Department must approve them as your sponsor.
We have only ever met online — does that count?
No. The criterion requires that you met in person after each of you turned 18, and guidance treats electronic contact as insufficient. Online communication can still be useful evidence of how the relationship developed, but it cannot satisfy the meeting requirement on its own.
Do I need a fixed wedding date before I lodge?
You must genuinely intend to marry and intend that the marriage take place within the visa period, which is 9 to 15 months from grant. Departmental guidance refers to evidence such as a letter from an authorised marriage celebrant, and treats other strong evidence as possible where such a letter cannot reasonably be obtained.
Does everyone in the application have to pass at the same time?
Effectively yes. Health, character and values requirements attach to family members in their own right, and departmental guidance applies a rule under which a family member's failure can defeat the whole application.
Will a previous visa refusal automatically disqualify me?
Not automatically, but it will be weighed. The Department considers immigration history and states you might not be eligible if you have had a visa cancelled or an application refused, while also noting that some people in that situation may still be able to apply for a permanent visa.