Sponsor eligibility
Usually your sponsor will be your partner. A sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
To be considered eligible to sponsor your fiancé, you must:
- be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen
- be aged 18 years or older (this applies to most cases, but not all)
- have met your fiancé in person and you must have met as adults
- be free and willing to marry your fiancé
Your parent or guardian must be your fiancés sponsor if all of the following applies:
- you are 16 or 17 years of age
- you are in Australia
- you would like to sponsor your fiancé who is 18 years or over
In this case, the sponsoring parent or guardian must meet the sponsor eligibility requirements.
Applicant eligibility
You are required to be in a genuine relationship with your prospective spouse. The purpose of this visa is to allow you to enter Australia so that you can marry your fiancé and live together as husband and wife.
Married applicant requirements
It is required under Australian Law that your marriage is legal. A marriage in a country other than Australia will generally be accepted as legal if the marriage is valid in that country.
De facto applicant requirements
To be eligible for a de facto visa, you must be at least 18 years old at the time the application is submitted.
The relation between your partner and you must not be family orientated. This means that you must not:
- be a relative of one another i.e. descendant or ancestor
- have the same parents
Age requirements
In Australia, the legal age to get married is 18 years. If you are over 16 years old but still under 18, you will be required to obtain a court order to marry your intended spouse, unless you will both be 18 years or older at the time of the marriage.
If your fiancé in Australia is under 18 years of age, you will still be able to get married, however your fiancé must obtain a court order. If this is the case, you will need to be sponsored by your fiancés parent(s) or guardian(s) (they will need to be eligible to sponsor you).
Under age, polygamous and same-sex marriages are not accepted in Australia, however same-sex couples will be considered as a de facto relationship for the purposes of this visa.
