If you are marrying a partner from overseas, in Australia, you will need to sign a Notice of Intended Marriage form and we will provide you with a confirmation letter for your visa paperwork for the Department of Immigration which details your lodgement of the Notice of Intended Marriage. There will be a non-refundable lodgement fee for the Notice of Intended Marriage form, and we will hold all our legal paperwork, according to laws in Australia, in preparation for the marriage – once the visa is granted.
Where one of you is a resident overseas and is applying to immigrate to Australia on a fiancé (Prospective Spouse) visa, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship requires that you provide proof of your intention to marry and that you actually marry within 9 months of arriving in Australia.
It is important to note that you will require a signed and dated letter (on letterhead) from the authorised marriage celebrant in Australia who will conduct the wedding ceremony which clearly states the date and place of the planned marriage ceremony and confirms that a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) has been lodged with the celebrant. We can provide that for you.
All Marriage Celebrants at the Wedding Bureau – Victoria, who are authorised by the Commonwealth of Australia, will do everything they can to make this part of the process as simple as possible for you.
The partner who lives in Australia (the sponsor) can make an appointment to meet with a registered marriage celebrant at the Wedding Bureau – Victoria to fill in the Notice of Intended Marriage form, and they must bring all required documentation. Just call us to confirm what those papers may be in your individual situation. Make sure that you bring an original copy of your birth certificate if you were born in Australia, or if you were born overseas then bring either your original birth certificate or your passport, plus an original copy of your divorce certificate or death certificate of your late spouse if you have been married in the past, a copy of your fiance’s documents (these can initially be photocopies or scans – which we will only view during your appointment and we will not keep these in our files – although the celebrant will need to see all the originals of these documents before the legal marriage, and prior to you signing the Statutory Declaration – ‘Form 14’).
Please note that we are not able to provide advice on immigration information. This should be obtained from a registered Migration Agent or a Migration Lawyer, or from a government immigration website.
Once the initial paperwork is lodged with the celebrant, the couple can then book in a suitable marriage ceremony date of their choice – at any suitable time. This ceremony booking is allowed to be made from a month’s time – right up to 18 months time from the date of the lodgement of the Notice of Intended Marriage forms, for a Victorian marriage registry private wedding ceremony at the Wedding Bureau – Victoria.
Call (03) 9820 1119 to make a booking, or if the administration offices are unattended – please call 0424 77 88 00.
