Before grant · preparationGuide record · 3 October 2026

300 visa processing times: how long the Prospective Marriage visa takes, why, and what it means for your wedding date

300 visa processing times are 14 months for 50% of applications and 26 months for 90%, on the Home Affairs tool as at 3 October 2026, and Ministerial Direction 117 places the 300 in the lower-priority group. A quarter of recently decided applications took up to 9 months and three quarters up to 20 months, according to the same Home Affairs data. Home Affairs global visa processing times are based on recently decided applications, updated monthly and a guide only. The Home Affairs Prospective Marriage visa page, updated 10 August 2026, asks applicants not to arrange travel to Australia until it says in writing that the visa is granted. The grant letter then sets the first-entry date and a visa end date 9 to 15 months after grant, and the wedding must take place before that end date under clauses 300.511 and 300.611 and condition 8519 of the Migration Regulations 1994. For a wedding in Australia, the Notice of Intended Marriage must reach the celebrant at least 1 month before the wedding under section 42(1)(a) of the Marriage Act 1961.

An Australian migration lawyer can check how these processing figures apply to your lodgement date and your planned wedding date. The page on subclass 300 legal help explains how that help works.

Data as at 3 October 2026

These figures come from Home Affairs global visa processing times and its family visa processing priorities page; the visa period is set by clause 300.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and the notice window by section 42(1)(a) of the Marriage Act 1961. The visa period runs from grant, not arrival.

How long does a Prospective Marriage visa take to process?

A Prospective Marriage visa takes 14 months to process for 50% of applications and 26 months for 90%, according to Home Affairs global visa processing times, with data as at 3 October 2026.

Subclass 300, Home Affairs global visa processing times; data pulled 3 October 2026 (tool page updated 29 September 2026). Updated monthly.

The Home Affairs tool rounds days to months: 415 days is approximately 13.6 months, displayed as 14 months; 785 days is approximately 25.8 months, displayed as 26 months. The date calculations below use the day figures, rather than the rounded months.

The timeline shows the subclass 300 percentiles published in Home Affairs global visa processing times as at 3 October 2026. Figures such as 11/24 months or “4 to 10 months” do not match that dated data. The tool also says the Department continues to prioritise aged, compassionate and compelling applications.

Timeline estimator

Enter a lodgement date in the tool to see scenarios based on Home Affairs figures checked on 3 October 2026. You can add a planned wedding date to see the ordinary notice receipt window. The calculations run in your browser; your dates are not stored or sent. These scenarios are neither booking deadlines nor predictions of a decision or grant.

Dates you can enter

• Date you lodged (or will lodge) the application
• Planned wedding date (optional)

Estimated decision dates

The tool adds the Home Affairs global visa processing-time day figures as at 3 October 2026 to the lodgement date you enter. The table below shows the same arithmetic; neither accounts for later changes to the published figures.

Possible visa end dates

For either hypothetical decision date, consider:

• Earliest visa end date: estimated grant date + 9 calendar months—the default if no date is specified.
• Latest possible visa end date: estimated grant date + 15 calendar months.
• Your real end date is on your grant letter.

These are scenario calculations under clause 300.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994, treating each estimated decision date as a hypothetical grant date. A decision is not necessarily a grant.

If a planned wedding date is entered

The Notice of Intended Marriage receipt window runs from wedding date minus 18 calendar months to wedding date minus 1 calendar month, under section 42(1)(a) of the Marriage Act 1961.

The tool highlights a planned wedding before the 90% decision scenario because the 300 may still be undecided; marrying before decision ends eligibility for that visa. It also highlights a date after the default 9-month end date in the 50% hypothetical grant scenario. A later end date could apply only if specified on an actual grant letter, up to the 15-month maximum under clause 300.511. These are planning prompts, not findings about your own application.

Worked example: application lodged on 3 October 2026

Calculated by adding 285, 415, 597 and 785 days respectively to 3 October 2026, using Home Affairs global visa processing times.

These end-date scenarios add 9 and 15 calendar months to the hypothetical grants under clause 300.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

Use date and privacy: The figures were read on 3 October 2026. You can enter dates into the browser tool, but they stay on your device and are not sent or stored by this site. The resulting scenarios are not decision dates for your application.

These are the figures for the 300 visa alone; who can apply for it is explained on the guide’s main page.

What the 50% and 90% figures mean

The 50% figure is the time within which half of recently decided subclass 300 applications were decided. The 90% figure covers nine in ten. From the Home Affairs global visa processing times data as at 3 October 2026, approximately one in ten recently decided applications took longer than 26 months.

The figures count applications already decided—not applications still waiting. Home Affairs updates them monthly and calls them a guide, not a promise for any individual application. The figures here were read on 3 October 2026; check Home Affairs for newer data before relying on them.

A decision could come before the first percentile or after the last one shown. Do not treat 26 months as a maximum wait or 14 months as your expected grant date.

Why the 300 is in the lower-priority group under Direction 117

Since 25 July 2026, Ministerial Direction No. 117 has set the order in which Home Affairs considers family visa applications. The Home Affairs family visa processing priorities page, updated 25 September 2026, explains that the highest priority goes to applications made in Australia for visas grantable in Australia. Lower priority applies where the primary applicant applies from outside Australia or must be outside Australia at grant. The 300 falls into that lower group because it must be applied for outside Australia.

Within each group, partner and prospective-spouse applications come after ministerial-intervention cases and before the other family visa categories, according to the same Home Affairs priorities page. Being a prospective spouse does not give a 300 application the highest-priority treatment of an onshore 820/801 application.

Direction 117 replaced Direction 102, dated 9 February 2023. The Home Affairs news item of 29 July 2026 records that three new Directions took effect on 25 July 2026 to prioritise applicants already in Australia.

The Home Affairs Partner visa FAQs, updated 25 September 2026, say lower-priority applications “are likely to experience longer processing times”. The onshore 820/801 application a 300 holder lodges after the wedding is in the highest-priority group. Priority explains the queue order; it does not establish the reason for a particular application’s delay.

The date of this change, beside the 1 July 2026 charge rise, is recorded under Prospective Marriage visa changes in 2026.

How does the 300 wait compare with the 309/100 wait?

The 300 wait is shorter at the first stage: 14 months for half of 300 applications against 21 months for the 309, and 26 against 32 months for 90%, according to Home Affairs global visa processing times as at 3 October 2026.

All processing figures are from Home Affairs global visa processing times as at 3 October 2026. The visa purposes are described on the Home Affairs 300, 820 and 309 pages; the ordinary permanent-stage eligibility points are set by clauses 801.221 and 100.221 of the Migration Regulations 1994. Long-term relationship exceptions apply to those eligibility points.

After the 300 come the wedding and the 820 wait, which a holder can spend in Australia under the bridging arrangements described on the Home Affairs 820 page. The ordinary 2-year clock for the 801 starts when the 820/801 application is lodged, not when the 300 is lodged or granted, under clause 801.221(2)(d) of the Migration Regulations 1994. The stage figures should not simply be added together: their clocks start at different points.

Cost, priority and risk for each route, side by side, are covered in comparing the 300 with the 309/100.

Planning the wedding date around the processing time

1. Lodge, then wait for the letter. The Home Affairs Prospective Marriage visa page, updated 10 August 2026, says not to arrange travel until it confirms the grant in writing. The percentiles are not a fixed decision window.

2. Read the grant letter. Check both the first-entry date and the visa end date. Under clauses 300.511 and 300.611 of the Migration Regulations 1994, the visa ends on a specified date 9 to 15 months after grant, or 9 months after grant if no date is specified.

3. Enter Australia before the first-entry date. Condition 8515 of the Migration Regulations 1994 prohibits marrying or entering a de facto relationship before first entering Australia on the 300.

4. Give the notice in time. Under section 42(1)(a) of the Marriage Act 1961, the Notice of Intended Marriage must reach the celebrant between 18 months and 1 month before an Australian wedding. The Attorney-General’s Department’s Get married page says couples overseas can complete it. If notice is late, a prescribed authority—not the celebrant alone—may authorise shorter notice in prescribed circumstances under section 42(5) and regulation 72 of the Marriage Regulations 2017. Do not assume that permission will be given.

5. Marry before the end date. Condition 8519 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires the marriage to the person for whom the visa was granted within the visa period. For example, grant on 3 October 2026 with no date specified means an end date of 3 July 2027; a specified 15-month period would end on 3 January 2028. These dates are calculated from clause 300.511.

6. Lodge the 820/801 in Australia before the 300 ends. The Home Affairs 300 and 820 pages describe this next step after marriage. Home Affairs prices checked on 3 October 2026 and Schedule 1 item 1124B of the Migration Regulations 1994 set the standard main-applicant charge for a married current 300 holder at AUD 1,955, from 1 July 2026; eligible Pacific-regional passport holders have a lower charge.

Marry before the end date on your grant letter, and make sure the Notice of Intended Marriage reaches your celebrant at least 1 month before the wedding: the 300 cannot be extended.

The deadline follows condition 8519 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and section 42(1)(a) of the Marriage Act 1961. Part 300 has no extension mechanism; Home Affairs’ visa-expiry guidance says staying longer requires a new visa.

The notice-too-early trap: a notice received at visa lodgement covers a wedding no more than 18 months later under section 42(1)(a) of the Marriage Act 1961. Yet approximately one in ten recently decided 300 applications took more than 26 months, according to Home Affairs data as at 3 October 2026. A notice given that early could therefore become too old before the visa is granted. The Home Affairs 300 document list does not name the notice as a required document; it asks for evidence of the intention to marry, such as a letter from the person who will officiate.

The notice, celebrant and certificate, step by step against the visa dates, are explained in the 300 visa wedding timeline.

Can you ask for priority processing?

Yes, but only for compassionate special circumstances with compelling reasons, and only once all documents are lodged; Home Affairs says most requests cannot be approved, in its Partner visa FAQs updated 25 September 2026.

Ministerial Direction 117 allows consideration of requests on those grounds. The published test does not establish that a booked wedding date, or wanting to marry sooner, meets it. A priority request is not a processing promise.

Keeping your application current while you wait

1. Update the evidence. Because processing is long, the Home Affairs 300 page, updated 10 August 2026, asks applicants to update documents and relationship evidence regularly in ImmiAccount. If a file cannot be uploaded, it directs applicants to the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.

2. Watch the 12-month checks. The Home Affairs 300 page says police certificates are valid for 12 months from issue and health assessment results for 12 months; a health undertaking is valid for 6 months. Home Affairs may ask for checks again if they expire before the decision. Record their dates rather than assuming early checks will remain usable throughout the wait.

3. Report changes before the decision. The Home Affairs 300 page allows an eligible dependent child outside Australia to be added before decision using Form 1436—not after grant. It also says marrying before decision ends 300 eligibility and explains how to request consideration for the 309/100; regulation 2.08E of the Migration Regulations 1994 provides the legal mechanism. If the applicant visits Australia on another visa while waiting, Home Affairs says they must hold a valid visa for the whole stay.

When to contact Home Affairs about a delayed 300

Not while the application is within the standard processing time: the Home Affairs 300 page, updated 10 August 2026, says not to contact it then, as it cannot give further progress updates.

Check the application’s status and whether all documents are attached in ImmiAccount, as directed by the Home Affairs 300 page and Partner visa FAQs.

The 26-month 90% figure marks the upper end of the standard percentile range displayed in Home Affairs global visa processing times as at 3 October 2026—not a maximum decision time. For an application beyond that range, the Home Affairs Partner processing enquiry form, updated 3 August 2026, is the contact form for partner and prospective marriage applications being processed. Its page does not specify a processing-time threshold or promise a reply time.

Waiting for a subclass 300: what an Australian migration lawyer checks while the application is pending

An Australian legal practitioner may give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice under section 280(3) of the Migration Act 1958. Home Affairs’ Using a legal practitioner page, updated 30 September 2026, also says a lawyer cannot fast-track processing or guarantee a visa. Lawyer review is a check of the application and deadlines—not a way to shorten the queue.

An Australian migration lawyer can check:

1. Evidence against each criterion. Review what was lodged, identify missing documents and check consistency between the applicant’s and sponsor’s evidence. The Home Affairs 300 page says it may request more information after lodgement; a document review does not establish that such a request will be avoided.

2. Police and health dates. Review issue and assessment dates, any requests already received and whether updated checks are needed. The Home Affairs 300 page gives 12-month validity for police certificates and health results, but the decision date remains unknown.

3. Any documented priority grounds. Assess the circumstances against the compassionate-and-compelling test in the Home Affairs Partner visa FAQs, and check that all documents are lodged before a request is made. Meeting the request requirements does not guarantee approval.

Once a grant arrives, plan the wedding against the letter’s actual first-entry and end dates, not the estimator’s hypothetical dates. A lawyer can check those dates alongside the notice deadline and the intended 820/801 lodgement.

How long is a fiancé visa good for?

For Australia’s subclass 300, clause 300.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets the period from grant to a date specified by the Minister, at least 9 and no more than 15 months later. If no date is specified, it is 9 months from grant; the Home Affairs 300 page says the exact end date is on the grant letter.

Is subclass 300 a permanent visa?

No. The Home Affairs 300 page, updated 10 August 2026, describes it as temporary. On the usual post-wedding pathway, permanent residence requires a grant of the subclass 801 Partner visa after the combined 820/801 application—it is not automatic on marriage.

Do you wait again after the wedding?

Yes. Home Affairs global visa processing times as at 3 October 2026 show 22 months for 50% and 30 months for 90% of subclass 820 applications. If you lodge while holding the 300, the Home Affairs 820 page says a Bridging visa A starts when the current visa expires if the application remains undecided; once relying on a bridging visa, leaving and returning requires a Bridging visa B, priced at AUD 575 in Home Affairs prices checked on 3 October 2026.

How much is a 300 visa?

AUD 11,710 is the standard main-applicant charge from 1 July 2026, according to Home Affairs prices checked on 3 October 2026 and Schedule 1 item 1215 of the Migration Regulations 1994. Eligible Pacific-regional passport holders have a lower main-applicant charge of AUD 9,600; additional applicants and checks can add costs.

Ask an Australian migration lawyer

An Australian migration lawyer can check how these processing figures apply to your lodgement date and your planned wedding date. The page on subclass 300 legal help explains how that help works, and the enquiry page is where to put your question to Australian Migration Lawyers.