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Married at First Sight: cases of our clients

July 8, 2024
Articles, Cases, Partners

Hello, friends!

Today, I want to talk about cases that give my team the same amount of joy as bringing highly qualified workers to Australia. Let’s discuss the Prospective Marriage visa SC 300, also known as the fiancée visa. However, this visa is also for a male fiancé or a same-sex couple.

Even though partner cases can be quite emotional for both applicants and sponsors, and my team sometimes has to maneuvere due to a lack of relationship evidence cleverly, we are always sincerely happy for couples who receive the long-awaited visa and passionately await their reunion.

Key Features of the Prospective Marriage Visa:

At least one face-to-face meeting of the couple is mandatory.
Intention to get married.
Application lodgement should be while the applicant is offshore.

Honestly, the Prospective Marriage visa (SC 300) is not in high demand in my practice, and 90% of our clients are directly looking for a Partner visa (SC 820 or 309). Nevertheless, everyone wants to receive their visa grant as soon as possible to come to Australia for a long time, and possibly forever.

A few words about the processing of visa applications:

Some of our clients receive a Prospective Marriage visa within 1-2 months, on average within 5-8 months, and very rarely within 12 months.
The official processing time is 12 months on average, with possible extensions up to 28 months or more.

What affects the processing time of the Prospective Marriage visa:

History as a couple: despite the mandatory requirement of only ONE real meeting, an engagement and application submission right after the first date can raise concerns with the officer, potentially leading to a long processing time and even an interview.
Evidence of relationship: real couple photos (without Photoshop and AI impact) are the primary evidence. If both the applicant and sponsor do not like taking pictures, we ask for tickets, statements from friends, but this will extend process of the document collection and case processing time.
Up-to-date evidence: we upload fresh evidence to the case every 2-3 months to demonstrate the current “active” status of the relationship and reduce the risk of additional requests from the officer (RFI).

What can delay the processing of a visa SC300 application:

If the sponsor has been married before or has sponsored another potential partner.
If the sponsor or applicant has criminal records, this will require additional documents and explanations.
If there is a significant age gap in the couple, it can lead to concerns and additional checks.
If the applicant moves around the world during the review process, their visa case will move along with them to different Department offices, significantly extending the processing time.
If the applicant is a frequent traveller, they need to provide a police clearance certificate from each country where they have lived for more than 12 months. Some countries, like China, require very long waiting time for police check preparation.

Do cases prepared by migration agents get processed faster?

Yes, definitely.

Firstly, there is extra trust in agents from the Department’s officer.
Secondly, the documents are completed properly and all evidence is relevant, so it speeds up the processing.
Thirdly, a good agent knows how and where they can request a waiver of requirements during non-standard visa processing.

You will find the timeline of our fastest cases for the Prospective Marriage visa over the past 12 months as examples. We always do everything possible to prepare the case so that after an application is submitted, the processing goes quickly and smoothly, without additional questions and interviews. We provide recommendations for the next steps and consult our clients during the case preparation and all processing time.

If you have any questions, please contact me. I will be happy to help you!