Prospective Marriage subclass 300: same-sex, de facto, and marriage pathways

The Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa occupies a distinct niche in the partner migration framework: it is not a partner visa itself, but a temporary (nine-month) entry visa that requires the holder to marry their Australian sponsor in Australia and then lodge an onshore 820/801 partner application. For couples who are not yet married, have not yet accumulated 12 months of cohabitation for de facto status, and cannot register their relationship under a state or territory scheme, the 300 is the only offshore gateway to a partner visa.

The 300 has also become a practical pathway for same-sex couples from jurisdictions where same-sex marriage or registered relationships are unavailable. By entering Australia on a 300, marrying in Australia (where same-sex marriage has been legal since 9 December 2017), and then lodging an 820/801, these couples bypass the inability to marry or register their relationship in their home country.

Who this pathway is for

The 300 is available to a person who:

• Is outside Australia at lodgement and at grant
• Intends to marry an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Has met their intended spouse in person (as adults) since turning 18. Online-only relationships where the parties have never physically met cannot satisfy this requirement
• Genuinely intends to live together as spouses after the marriage
• Is of marriageable age (18 or older) under the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth)

The intended spouse (sponsor) must not be subject to a sponsorship bar and must pass the character assessment.

Critically, the 300 does not require the parties to have lived together for any minimum period before lodgement. This is the chief differentiator from the 309/100 offshore partner visa, which requires either marriage or 12 months of de facto cohabitation. Couples who have met and can demonstrate a genuine intention to marry and live together — but who have not yet cohabited — can use the 300 as their entry point.

The nine-month marriage window

Once the 300 is granted and the holder enters Australia, they have nine months from the date of the 300 grant (not the date of entry) to marry their sponsor. The marriage must be legally valid under Australian law, which requires a notice of intended marriage to be lodged with an authorised celebrant at least one month before the ceremony.

If the marriage does not take place within nine months, and the Department has not granted an extension, the 300 ceases and the holder becomes unlawful. Extensions are rare and are granted only in exceptional circumstances — for example, where a serious illness or natural disaster prevented the marriage. An application for an extension must be lodged before the nine-month period expires.

After the marriage, the 300 holder lodges an onshore 820/801 partner visa application. The 300 holder does not need to meet the usual Schedule 3 requirements that apply to applicants who lodge an onshore partner visa while on a bridging visa or while unlawful — the 300 is a substantive visa, and the pathway from 300 to 820/801 is a standard and well-trodden sequence.

Eligibility: what the Department assesses

The 300 assessment is narrower than a full partner visa assessment. The Department must be satisfied that:

The parties have met in person. This is a statutory requirement — clause 300.214 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations. The meeting must have occurred after both parties turned 18. Evidence typically includes photographs together, travel itineraries, passport stamps, and statements describing the meeting. The Department may verify this by examining entry and exit records.

There is a genuine intention to marry. The parties must provide evidence that marriage arrangements are underway. A letter from an authorised marriage celebrant confirming a booking is the standard form of evidence. A notice of intended marriage (NOIM) lodged with a celebrant is advisable but not strictly required at the application stage, though its absence may prompt a request for further information.

There is a genuine intention to live together as spouses. The Department assesses this against the same indicia used for partner visas — the “four factors” — but at a lower threshold, since the parties have not yet married. Evidence of joint future plans, communication history, financial interdependence (to the extent it exists), and knowledge of each other’s circumstances is expected.

The sponsor meets character and sponsorship requirements. The sponsorship eligibility and character bars (no relevant convictions, no more than two prior sponsorships, and at least five years since the most recent sponsorship) apply.

Same-sex and de facto couples: the 300 as a strategic gateway

For same-sex couples where one partner is from a jurisdiction that does not permit same-sex marriage or registered relationships, the 300 is an important strategic pathway. The sequence — 300 grant, entry to Australia, marriage in Australia, 820/801 lodgement — allows a couple to establish a legally recognised marriage that would be impossible in the applicant’s home country, and then use that marriage as the basis for a partner visa application.

For opposite-sex de facto couples who have not yet cohabited for 12 months and cannot register their relationship (e.g., because one partner’s country of residence does not have a relationship register), the 300 serves the same function: enter, marry, and convert to a partner visa.

The cost of this strategy is the additional visa application charge — AUD 9,095 for the 300, plus a further AUD 1,185 for the subsequent 820/801 application (the 820/801 fee for 300 holders is a reduced “second instalment” rather than the full AUD 9,095). The total cost is AUD 10,280, compared with AUD 9,095 for a direct 820/801 or 309/100 application. For couples who have no other pathway, this premium is the price of entry.

Application process

Step 1: Evidence compilation. Core documents include: Notice of Intended Marriage or letter from a celebrant; evidence the parties have met in person; relationship statement from each party; identity documents and police clearances; evidence of communication history; photographs; and evidence of wedding planning (venue booking, celebrant confirmation, invitations).

Step 2: Lodge and pay. The Visa Application Charge is AUD 9,095 (2025–2026). The applicant must be offshore at lodgement and at grant.

Step 3: Health and character. Standard requirements: health examination with a panel physician, police clearances from all countries where the applicant has lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.

Step 4: 300 grant. If granted, the applicant receives a single-entry visa valid for nine months. The initial entry date is typically tied to the health or police clearance validity.

Step 5: Entry, marriage, 820/801 lodgement. After entering Australia, the couple must marry within nine months of the 300 grant and lodge the 820/801 application. A Bridging Visa A with work rights is granted upon the 820/801 lodgement, bridging the gap between the 300 expiry and the 820 grant.

Common refusal grounds

Failure to meet in person. This is a hard statutory requirement. Applicants who have only met online cannot succeed.

Insufficient evidence of intention to marry. A vague statement of intent without a celebrant booking, venue deposit, or other concrete wedding planning evidence will attract a request for further information and may result in refusal.

Sponsor ineligibility. The sponsorship bar and character requirements apply. If the sponsor has two prior sponsorships or a relevant conviction, the application will fail.

Genuineness concerns. Where the Department is not satisfied that the parties genuinely intend to live together as spouses after marriage — for example, where the relationship appears contrived for migration purposes — the 300 will be refused. This is more common than for standard partner visas because the 300 does not require pre-existing cohabitation.

Cost summary

Item	Details
300 Visa Application Charge	AUD 9,095
Subsequent 820/801 VAC	AUD 1,185 (reduced rate for 300 holders)
Total partner pathway cost	AUD 10,280
Health examination	AUD 350–500
Police clearances	Varies by country
300 processing (median)	8–15 months
Total time to PR	Approx. 3.5–5 years

Recent changes

2024–2025. The 300 processing queue has been reduced from pandemic-era backlogs. Median processing is now 8–15 months, down from peaks exceeding two years in 2021–2022. The Department has not announced any substantive changes to the 300 visa subclass criteria.

Fee increase (2025–2026). The 300 Visa Application Charge rose from AUD 8,850 (2023–2024) to AUD 9,095 (2025–2026), a 2.8% increase aligned with CPI indexation.

Sources

• Department of Home Affairs — Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)
• Migration Regulations 1994 — Schedule 2, clause 300.2
• Marriage Act 1961 (Cth)
• Department of Home Affairs — Partner visa (onshore 820/801) after 300