Prospective Marriage Visa for Sponsors
Stay
The visa applicant can stay between 9 and 15 months from date of grant of visa.
Cost
AUD Nil
Processing times
For an indication of processing times for this visa, use the visa processing time guide tool. This will show the processing times for recently decided applications. It is a guide only and not specific to your application.
With this sponsorship you can
- have your prospective spouse stay, work and study in Australia temporarily
- marry your prospective spouse.
See all conditions
Check your eligibility
You must
You must sponsor your prospective spouse and their family members included in their application.
Before the visa ends:
- you and your prospective spouse must marry
- your prospective spouse should apply for a Partner visa
As a sponsor, you accept responsibility for:
- any debts that your prospective spouse or their children owe the Australian government
- compliance by the applicant and their children with all relevant legislation and awards in relation to their employment in Australia
- ensuring your prospective spouse and their children comply with the conditions of their visa and obey Australian laws.
Who you can sponsor
Your sponsorship covers the main visa applicant and any of their children who are granted the visa.
Your obligations
Before the visa ends:
- you and your prospective spouse must marry
- your prospective spouse should apply for a Partner visa.
As a sponsor, you accept responsibility for:
- any debts that your prospective spouse or their children owe the Australian government
- any obligations your prospective spouse and their family members have to their employer in Australia
- ensuring your prospective spouse and their children comply with the conditions of their visa and obey Australian laws.
Cost
AUD Nil
How long sponsorship lasts
Your sponsorship starts when we grant your prospective spouse a Prospective Marriage visa and ends when that visa ceases.
Apply to sponsor
You can be inside or outside Australia when you apply for sponsorship.
Frequently asked questions
A list of common questions and answers about this visa is available at Partner Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
To be eligible to sponsor your prospective spouse for this visa, you must:
- be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- meet our character requirements
- be 18 years of age or older
- not have sponsorship limitations apply to you.
Be suitable to sponsor
You must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
If you are a New Zealand citizen and you do not meet the eligibility criteria to sponsor your partner for this visa, your partner might be eligible for a New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461).
We must approve the sponsorship.
Meet our character requirements
Most sponsors will need to meet our character requirements to be eligible to sponsor someone for this visa.
This means that you cannot have a substantial criminal record and/or been convicted of a relevant offence.
We do not include convictions for relevant offences that have been quashed or otherwise nullified or pardoned.
We will not refuse a visa application if you have a conviction for a relevant offence but no substantial criminal record but we will disclose any convictions for relevant offences to the visa applicant to help them make an informed decision about continuing with their application.
We might not approve you as a sponsor if:
- you have a substantial criminal record in relation to relevant offences,
- you refuse to provide us with a police clearance or
- you do not consent to disclosure of your convictions to the applicant.
Measures for the protection of children
There are limitations on sponsorship if the sponsor has been convicted of certain offences involving children.
For more information see Measures for the protection of children.
Limitations on sponsorship
We may refuse your sponsorship application and the visa application if the below sponsorship limitations apply to you.
Previously sponsored or held a Prospective Marriage or Partner visa
We may refuse your sponsorship and your partner’s visa application if:
- this is your third time sponsoring someone for a Partner visa or Prospective Marriage visa
- you have sponsored another partner within the last 5 years or
- you were sponsored as a partner within the last 5 years.
You might still be able to sponsor someone for this visa if:
- your previous partner died or left the relationship and you have young children
- you have been with the applicant for more than 2 years
- you (or the applicant) have dependent children.
Contributory Parent visa holders
We may refuse your sponsorship and your partner’s visa application if:
- your partner was your spouse or de facto partner before we granted you that visa, and
- it has been less than 5 years since we granted you that visa.
Woman at Risk (subclass 204) visa holders
We may refuse your sponsorship and your partner’s visa application if:
- you were granted a subclass 204 visa in the 5 years before your partner applied and on the date that you were granted that visa:
- you were divorced or permanently separated from the applicant, or
- the applicant was your spouse or de facto but you did not tell us about them at the time.
Step 1
Before you apply
Before you apply to sponsor your prospective spouse, make sure:
- Your prospective spouse is eligible for the visa
- you can meet your sponsor obligations.
Step 2
Gather and prepare your documents
You should provide all required information with your application, or as soon as possible after applying to sponsor a visa applicant.
Ensure that all information you provide is accurate. As a sponsorship applicant, you must prove your identity and provide true information with your application.
For more information see Providing accurate information.
Identity documents
You must provide evidence that you are an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
You must provide:
- a copy of your passport
- a copy of your birth certificate
- a passport sized photo of your face.
If you are an Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, you must provide evidence that you usually live in Australia. This evidence can include documents that show you:
- maintain a home in Australia
- work in Australia
- own property, business or other interests in Australia
- have family and other ties in the same place you live.
Character documents
To show you meet the additional sponsor requirements, you need to provide an Australian police certificate.
We only accept complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police. We do not accept standard disclosure certificates or national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police.
To get an Australian police certificate see National Police Checks.
You also need to provide:
- an overseas police certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16.
For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date.
You must also provide written consent for us to disclose any convictions for relevant offences to the visa applicant.
To get an overseas police certificate, see Offices and locations.
Prepare your documents
Translate
Have all non-English documents translated into English.
Provide original and translated documents in your application.
Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).
Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited. On each translation, they must include their:
- full name
- address and telephone number
- qualifications and experience in the language they are translating.
These details must be in English.
You do not need to have any documents certified.
Scan or photograph
Scan or photograph all documents (English and non-English) in colour.
The scans and photos must be legible.
If a document is more than one page, save it all as one file.
Step 3
Apply
You must apply online.
Apply after the applicant has applied for their visa and given you their:
- Transaction Reference Number (TRN) or
- application ID.
You can apply using your partner’s ImmiAccount or your own ImmiAccount. You can create your own ImmiAccount if you don’t have one.
How to apply
- Log in to ImmiAccount.
- Select ‘New application’.
- Select ‘Family’.
- Select ‘Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia’.
- Complete your application using the transaction reference number (TRN) given to you by the visa applicant.
- Submit your application.
- Attach supporting documents to your completed application.
Step 4
After you apply
We will let you know in ImmiAccount when we have received your application.
Attach more documents
If you did not attach all documents when you applied, attach them to your application in ImmiAccount as soon as you can.
We will ask you to provide more information if needed.
For more information on attaching documents in ImmiAccount see Applying online or paper.
Tell us if things change
Tell us if things change after you apply, but before we have made a decision on the visa application.
Things you need to let us know about include:
- changes to your contact details
- changes to your relationship.
If your relationship ends
Contact us as soon as possible using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
Your partner may not be granted a visa because of your information about the ending of your relationship, however, the Department will not correspond with you about your ex-partner’s visa application. You can also withdraw your sponsorship application any time before we decide the visa application.
For more information, see Your relationship has changed.
If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, we can help you. For more information, see Domestic and family violence and your visa.
Withdraw your application
You can withdraw your sponsorship application any time before we make a decision on the visa application.
Removing an online application from ImmiAccount does not withdraw it. You must tell us in writing that you no longer want to sponsor your former partner or spouse.
For more information, see You want to withdraw a visa application.
Step 5
Sponsor application outcome
We will let the visa applicant know our decision in writing.
our obligations
You must sponsor your prospective spouse and their family members included in their application.
As a sponsor, you undertake to accept responsibility for:
- any debts that your prospective spouse or their children owe the Australian government
- any obligations your prospective spouse and their family members have to their employer in Australia
- ensuring your prospective spouse and their children comply with the conditions of their visa and obey Australian laws
How long sponsorship lasts
Your sponsorship starts when we grant your prospective spouse a Prospective Marriage visa and ends when that visa ceases.
Tell us if things change
Things you need to let us know about include:
- changes to your contact details
- if your relationship ends.
For more information, see Changes in your situation.
If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, we can help you. For more information, see Domestic and family violence and your visa.
Withdraw your sponsorship
You cannot withdraw your sponsorship after we grant the visa.