Australia provides a 9-month temporary visa, called the prospective marriage visa, for people who intend to marry an Australian citizen to travel to the Australia for the purposes of undergoing a marriage ceremony. Once married, they can apply for a partner visa to extend their stay in Australia and, after further conditions are met, can apply to become an Australian citizen.
There are several criteria which must be met to apply for this type of visa including the following:
• The applicant must be engaged to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or a person from New Zealand that is eligible to live in Australia.
• They must be planning to get married within 9 months of arriving in Australia and must live with their Australian partner in a spousal relationship afterwards.
• The applicant must already have met their prospective partner and be personally known to them (evidence of this is required).
• Both parties to the marriage must be at least 18 years of age.
• The applicant must pass standard health and character tests for the visa to be granted.