Do I need a lawyer or a migration agent?

Many visa applications are lodged directly. A registered migration agent or immigration lawyer helps with complex or refused matters.

What is a Section 48 bar?

It limits the visas you can apply for while unlawfully in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. A professional can map your options.

Can I appeal a refused visa?

Often yes — the Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews many decisions, but strict time limits apply.

What Happens If You Breach a Subclass 300 Visa Condition in 2026?

What breaching a Subclass 300 visa condition can mean for your visa, your Partner visa costs and your options under official Home Affairs guidance.

Breaching a condition on a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) puts the visa itself at risk. As at July 2026, the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) page states that you and any family members included on the visa must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws, and it warns that a visa may still be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border if you travel to Australia after the first entry arrival date has passed. The financial knock-on matters just as much: the lower visa application charge for the onshore Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) depends on marrying your prospective spouse and lodging that application before the subclass 300 visa ends, so losing the 300 usually means losing the cheaper route with it. This article explains how the rules work in general terms rather than assessing your own situation — the conditions recorded against your own visa, and the current official pages, are what govern your case.

What actually counts as a breach on this visa?

Two layers run at the same time. The first is the set of conditions attached to your grant, which you can see on your digital visa record in VEVO. The second is the set of obligations the official page spells out: enter Australia before the first entry arrival date on your grant letter, marry your prospective spouse before the visa expires, make sure the marriage is valid under Australian law, and obey Australian laws while you hold the visa.

Conditions 8515 and 8519 carry most of the weight on this visa. Under the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's policy guidance, 8515 means you must not marry or live together in a de facto relationship before you first enter Australia, and 8519 means the marriage must take place within the visa period. An optional condition such as 8502 may also be attached to some grants. Condition numbers and their wording are amended from time to time, so treat VEVO and the official visa conditions page as the controlling record, especially since airlines, employers, banks and government agencies all read that same digital record.

Which mistakes are the ones people make?

Requirement	What it asks of you	What puts you in breach
Condition 8515	Do not marry or live together in a de facto relationship before you first enter Australia	Holding the wedding — in any country — before your first arrival
Condition 8519	Marry within the visa period	Still unmarried on the day the visa expires
First entry arrival date	Enter Australia by the "first entry, arrive by" date on your grant letter	Arriving after that date while the visa is still valid
One visa at a time	Keep the subclass 300 as your operative visa	Being granted another visa, which replaces the 300

The first two catch people out because they look like contradictions. The official page says you can marry in any country as long as the marriage is valid under Australian law, which is true — but condition 8515 is about the timing of the marriage relative to your first entry, not the location. Suppose an applicant marries their partner overseas four months after the grant, before ever setting foot in Australia on the visa: the marriage may be perfectly valid, yet the timing still breaches 8515, because the visa exists to bring you here to marry.

Missing the wedding deadline is more straightforward. The visa runs 9 to 15 months from the date of grant, and the date in your grant letter governs. Once it passes unmarried, you have both breached 8519 and fallen outside the window that qualifies you for the lower Partner visa charge.

Letting the first entry arrival date lapse is a softer but real risk. The official page says you can still travel to Australia with an expired first entry arrival date if your visa remains valid, but the visa may still be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border. Check your status in VEVO before booking flights.

Accepting another visa causes quiet damage too. If you are granted any other visa, it replaces the subclass 300, and you may then face the higher Partner visa charge. New Zealand passport holders are specifically advised to tell a border officer that they hold a Prospective Marriage visa and do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444), because a 444 granted at the border overrides the 300.

Consent is a separate line that cannot be crossed. Forced marriage — marrying without freely and fully consenting, including through trickery, threats or pressure — is a crime in Australia, and support is available through the Attorney-General's Department.

Can the visa be cancelled, and what follows?

A breach does not cancel a visa by itself; cancellation is a decision the Department makes. The official pages warn that a visa may be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border where you travel after the first entry arrival date has passed, and the consequences of cancellation are mostly practical rather than theoretical.

You lose the visa, which means you lose the basis for the lower Partner visa application charge. You also lose the temporary status that let you live, work and study here for the 9 to 15 months of the grant. And because the onshore Partner visa must be lodged while you are in Australia, being offshore without a valid visa closes that pathway until you hold some other visa that lets you enter and apply.

If a cancellation decision is made, the decision notice itself sets out whether merits review is available and what time limit applies. Read that notice rather than assuming you have a fixed window, and check the current official pages for how review works, since review bodies and time limits are matters of statute that can change.

What if the wedding cannot go ahead at all?

A relationship breakdown is not the same as a breach, and the official pages treat it differently. If your relationship ends, or your partner dies, you may still be eligible for the Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801); you must be in Australia to apply, and you may need to complete a Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount. If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, the family violence provisions may still allow the temporary and permanent visas to be granted.

Two obligations apply regardless of which way things go. Tell the Department about relevant changes in your situation, including the birth of a child, and keep your contact, address and passport details up to date. Failure to notify a change can create problems of its own at the next decision point.

How do you check your own position before acting?

Start with the grant letter, which carries the visa number, the expiry date and the first entry arrival date. Use that number in VEVO to pull up the digital record and read the exact conditions attached to your grant — there is no visa label in the passport any more, so VEVO is the authoritative copy. The official visa conditions page for this visa lists the conditions that might be attached, and the Partner Program Frequently Asked Questions page covers common scenarios for couples moving from the 300 to the 820 and 801. Given that conditions and charges are reviewed over time, confirm anything time-sensitive against the official Department of Home Affairs pages before you commit to a wedding date or a flight.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is condition 8515 on a Subclass 300 visa?

Condition 8515 means you must not marry or live together in a de facto relationship before you first enter Australia on the visa. The wedding can take place in any country, but it must happen after your first arrival, not before it. Confirm the exact wording against your own VEVO record, since conditions can be amended.

What is condition 8519?

Condition 8519 requires the marriage to take place within the visa period. The visa lasts 9 to 15 months from the date of grant, and the expiry date is set out in your grant letter. Marrying after that date breaches the condition and also removes eligibility for the lower Partner visa application charge.

Can I still fly to Australia if my first entry arrival date has passed?

Yes — you can travel while the visa is still valid, but the official page warns that the visa may still be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border. That is a real risk with a condition already in question, so check your status in VEVO before you travel.

Will cancelling my 300 visa affect what I pay for the Partner visa?

It can. The lower visa application charge applies when you marry your prospective spouse and apply for the Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) before the subclass 300 ends. If the 300 is cancelled, or replaced by another visa, you may have to pay the higher charge. Remember too that the onshore Partner visa must be lodged while you are in Australia.

Can I marry overseas instead of in Australia?

Yes. The official page states you can marry in any country, provided the marriage is valid under Australian law. The catch is timing: marrying overseas before you have first entered Australia on the visa still puts you in conflict with condition 8515.

What if my relationship ends before the wedding?

The official pages say you may still be eligible for the Partner visa if your relationship ends or your partner dies, and that family violence provisions may apply where relevant. You must be in Australia to apply, and you may need to notify the change of relationship through ImmiAccount.

How do I find out which conditions are on my visa?

Use VEVO with the visa number from your grant letter; your digital record lists the conditions and is what airlines, employers and government agencies check. The official visa conditions page for this visa also shows the conditions that may be attached to a subclass 300 grant.