[JonathanKCortes]

Hey everyone,

First time using this forum. My Mexican partner and I have been together for 2-3 years and living together for 1 year by the start of Febuary next year and plan on coming to Australia in October. We have applied and received a Visitor Visa (600) with visa conditions:

8101- no work
8201- maximum study 3 months

I want to marry her one day but I want her to experience Australia more, to actually live and not just visit before we make that decision.

From what I know, and please correct me here if I'm wrong, Is that we can apply for a prospective marriage visa and she can work and live like an australian for 9 months, which costs around $7160 for the base application (meaning theres a good chance we need to pay more than this?) and then we can apply for a marriage visa later because we havent been in a techincal de facto relationship until February. Which is the same price again from what i know.

My question, Is straight up marriage the only option we have here not to break the bank? Or while she is in Australia can we apply (and is it easy and legal) for another visa?

I would love any advice, or your story if you have had a similar situation here.

Thank you in advance.

Jono

 

[wrussell]

A prospective marriage visa cannot be applied for onshore (in Australia).

 

[FreddoBee]

because we havent been in a techincal de facto relationship until February. Which is the same price again from what i know.
Jono

You may qualify for a de facto relationship. You say you have been together for 2-3 years but living together for less than 12 months. "De facto" does not necessarily mean living together and if you have had a committed relationship for more than 12 months and can provide evidence then you may qualify for a De Facto Partner Visa.

 

[taco]

Hey everyone,
From what I know, and please correct me here if I'm wrong, Is that we can apply for a prospective marriage visa and she can work and live like an australian for 9 months, which costs around $7160 for the base application (meaning theres a good chance we need to pay more than this?) and then we can apply for a marriage visa later because we havent been in a techincal de facto relationship until February. Which is the same price again from what i know.

No, that's not quite right. If you apply for a Prospective Marriage Visa (PMV) you need to get married within a set period (I believe those 9 months). So you do not apply for a separate marriage visa later.

The visa to apply for later is the 820 Partner Visa. In principle this visa is both for married and de facto couples, there is no condition of marriage - except for those couples that have used the PMV to get there initial visa! Normally the 820 is ~7100 AUD, but because you would already have paid the PMV fee you get a big discount - I believe you would have to pay a bit over 1000 AUD - others may know the exact amount.

So the way the visas work:
309/100 Offshore Partner visa - need to be in a de-facto relationship > 12 months or married. In either case, need to satisfy evidence of genuine relationship. Apply offshore.
820/801 Onshore Partner visa - need to be in a de-facto relationship > 12 months or married. In either case, need to satisfy evidence of genuine relationship. Apply onshore. Comes with work rights once existing visa expires.
PMV 300 to 820/801. Prospective Marriage Visa. Apply offshore, move to Australia, get married (within 9 months), apply for 820/801 at a special discount.

Hope that helps. Note that a de-facto relationship does not mean you have to live together, though you might have to explain why not.

 

[JonathanKCortes]

Thank you all so much for your replies, I wasnt expecting such a quick response.

So if i understand correctly we when we come to Australia on the visitor visa, we can get married within Australia and apply for the 820/801 visa, but we cant get engaged in Australia and apply for the PMV while there?

In saying this is there an option that she may be able to work or stay in Australia while we are waiting for the 820/801 visa or the PMV as i see that processing times may take up to two years..?

 

[ampk]

Thank you all so much for your replies, I wasnt expecting such a quick response.

So if i understand correctly we when we come to Australia on the visitor visa, we can get married within Australia and apply for the 820/801 visa, but we cant get engaged in Australia and apply for the PMV while there?

In saying this is there an option that she may be able to work or stay in Australia while we are waiting for the 820/801 visa or the PMV as i see that processing times may take up to two years..?

First thing you need to understand is that getting married WILL NOT get you a visa, many get confused - but basically forget marriage at this point as part of you goal of a Partner Visa.

If you can get a Visitor Visa without the "No Further Stay" condition you could possibly apply for an onshore Partner Visa (820) this will give full work/study rights and be eligible for Medicare.

Depending on your evidence on this Visitor Visa you may need to register your relationship if possible or the other option is marriage - these both depend only on the length of your relationship if less than 1 year (finding the current de facto start date is key).

If you get the Visitor Visa with the NFS you then have 2 options the Partner Visa 309 or the PMV - this again depend on your documented evidence.

If you apply for a PMV you are required to get married - but you need to get the PMV first.

 

[taco]

Thank you all so much for your replies, I wasnt expecting such a quick response.

So if i understand correctly we when we come to Australia on the visitor visa, we can get married within Australia and apply for the 820/801 visa, but we cant get engaged in Australia and apply for the PMV while there?

In saying this is there an option that she may be able to work or stay in Australia while we are waiting for the 820/801 visa or the PMV as i see that processing times may take up to two years..?

No, still not quite right.

If you come to Australia on a visitor visa you can at the moment apply for the 820/801 visa while there assuming you do not have a No Further Stay condition. Whether you are married or not, or whether you get married once there, makes no difference whatsoever and the PMV is irrelevant. All that matters is whether you meet the criteria to qualify for the 820/801 partner visa. You would get work rights once the period the tourist visa allows you to stay expires (typically 3 months after arrival).

Alternatively, if you think you might not meet the criteria for the 820/801 when in Australia on your tourist visa, you can apply for the Prospective Marriage Visa. This visa allows for couples who have met and want to get married (within ~9 months) but do not yet meet the partner visa criteria to live together in Australia and build up a sufficient relationship history to then subsequently apply for the 820/801. However, you cannot apply for this visa once in Australia - you have to be offshore and it takes some time to get it approved.