What Happens If I Marry While My Subclass 300 Application Is Decided in 2026?

Updated 2026-09-28 · General information, not migration advice · Run by the Arrivau team

If you marry before the Department of Home Affairs decides your Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) application, you are no longer eligible for that visa. According to the Department of Home Affairs' official Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) page, you must report the marriage through ImmiAccount, ask to be considered for the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100), and request withdrawal of the subclass 300 application. If you do not withdraw, the application will be refused, because you no longer meet the eligibility requirements.

Does marrying before a decision really end my subclass 300 application?

Yes. The subclass 300 exists for people who intend to marry; once the wedding has happened, there is no longer a prospective marriage to assess. The Migration Regulations 1994 require the applicant to continue to satisfy the core criteria at the time of decision (clause 300.221), and the Department's Procedures Advice Manual (PAM3) treats marriage during processing as ending that eligibility, with the case then moving to the partner visa pathway. Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958 is the notification duty behind this: changes that are relevant to the application must be advised in writing while the case is undecided, and failing to do so is itself a problem.

So the question is not whether the wedding is a problem — it isn't, legally — but whether the paperwork catches up with it. Married applicants are directed to the offshore partner visas, subclass 309 and subclass 100, which is the two-stage temporary-then-permanent structure that replaces the single 9–15 month subclass 300.

What do I have to tell Home Affairs, and how?

The official page sets out a fixed sequence. Sign in to ImmiAccount, go to the "Update details" tab, and click the "Change in situation" option. That records the change against your application rather than leaving it buried in an uploaded file.

Three things then need to be attached to the application:

evidence that your marriage is valid — a registered marriage certificate issued by the relevant legal authority;
a request to be considered for the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100);
a statement saying you want to withdraw your Prospective Marriage visa application.

After updating ImmiAccount, the Department asks you to notify it through the Partner Processing Enquiry Form. That form is also the route the official page gives if you cannot upload the documents to your application at all. Keep a copy of what you submitted.

Do I have to withdraw the subclass 300 application?

In practice, yes — the withdrawal statement is one of the three items the Department asks for. The consequence of not withdrawing is stated plainly: the application will be refused because you no longer meet the eligibility requirements. A refusal is not a neutral outcome. The official page states that the application fee is not refunded if an application is refused, and you would be left with a refusal record rather than a case that moved across to the partner visa stream.

Think of it as a conversion rather than a loss. The request to be considered for subclass 309 and subclass 100 is made in the same breath as the withdrawal, so the two happen together rather than one after the other.

What evidence of the marriage do I need to provide?

The requirement is evidence that the marriage is valid, and the official page specifies a registered marriage certificate issued by the relevant legal authority. A ceremony that was never registered with the authority that issues marriage certificates in that country will not produce the document the Department is asking for, which is a common source of delay for couples whose wedding was religious or customary only.

Document handling follows the same rules as the rest of the application. Everything in a language other than English needs translation; translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), while translators outside Australia must include their full name, address, telephone number, and their qualifications and experience in the language, in English. Documents are scanned or photographed in colour and must be legible, multi-page documents go into one file, and copies do not need to be certified. You can attach up to 100 documents for each person on the application, and that limit cannot be raised.

What happens to the checks and documents I've already submitted?

Most of the work carries over in substance, but its focus changes. Evidence that was gathered to show an intention to marry becomes evidence of a spouse relationship, and the timing rules that applied to your checks keep running. Police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date; where more than 15 months has passed since an Australian Federal Police National Police Certificate was issued, new checks will be needed. Health assessment results are valid for 12 months from when examinations were completed, and any health undertaking you are asked to sign is valid for 6 months. Health examinations are still required, and the Department cannot grant a visa without a valid health assessment.

On the mechanics of the conversion, PAM3 guidance describes the move to the partner visa as being made under regulation 2.08E of the Migration Regulations 1994 rather than as a brand-new application. How the visa application charge is treated in that conversion is not set out on the subclass 300 page, so confirm the current position against the Department's official partner visa pages before assuming anything about fees.

Can I travel to Australia while the change is being processed?

The official page is direct on this: do not arrange travel to Australia until the Department has told you in writing that a visa has been granted. Subclass 300 must be applied for while you are outside Australia, though you can be in or outside Australia when the decision is made. If you do travel on some other visa while the application is in progress, you are responsible for continuing to hold a valid visa for the whole of your stay.

The subclass 300 page directs married applicants to request consideration for subclass 309 and subclass 100, the offshore partner visas. The current criteria are set out on the Department's official pages for each partner visa.

What if other things changed at the same time?

Marriage is only one of the changes the Department wants to hear about. It also asks to be told about the birth of a child, any other changes relevant to the application, and a request to withdraw. A dependent child can be added before a decision is made using Form 1436 (Adding an additional applicant after lodgement), and the child must be outside Australia; a newborn is notified through the Department's "You had a baby" page. In each case, after updating ImmiAccount you notify the Department using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.

This article is general information about how these rules are published and is not advice tailored to your circumstances; treat the Department's current official pages as authoritative, and get advice specific to your own history and documents before you act.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is marrying before the decision different from marrying after the visa is granted?

Yes. The subclass 300 is granted so that you can travel, marry within the visa period, and then move to a partner visa; procedures guidance describes conditions attached to the granted visa, including not marrying before first entry and marrying within the visa period. Marrying before the decision removes the basis of the application instead, which is why the official page requires the switch to subclass 309 and 100.

Will my application be refused if I simply do nothing?

Yes. The official page states that if you do not withdraw the application, it will be refused because you no longer meet the eligibility requirements. The application fee is not refunded when an application is refused.

Do I have to tell the Department if the wedding was overseas?

Yes — the change is the marriage, not where it happened. What the Department asks for is evidence that the marriage is valid, namely a registered marriage certificate issued by the relevant legal authority, so an overseas wedding needs a certificate from the authority that registers marriages in that country.

Is there a deadline for notifying the marriage?

The subclass 300 page does not state a specific number of days; it says to tell the Department if things change after you apply but before a decision is made. Notification duties sit under section 104 of the Migration Act 1958, and the practical risk of delay is that a case not withdrawn will be refused.

Can I keep the subclass 300 and just add the marriage to it?

No. Marrying before the decision means you no longer meet the eligibility requirements for the visa, and the official page's response is the request to be considered for subclass 309 and 100 together with a withdrawal statement.

Does my sponsor need to do anything extra?

The subclass 300 page requires you to have a sponsor when you lodge and while you are on the visa, and to give your sponsor the transaction reference number so sponsorship can be applied for. The sponsorship requirements that apply once the case is considered as a partner visa are set out on the Department's official pages for those visas.

What if I cannot upload the documents in ImmiAccount?

The official page says to contact the Department using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form if you are unable to upload the relevant documents, and also to use that form after updating ImmiAccount so the change is actually seen.