Same-sex marriage is now legal in Australia.
The Australian parliament passed the historic bill on its final sitting day of 2017 by changing the legal definition of marriage in the Marriage Act 1961 from being a “union of a man and a woman” to a “union of two people."
The changes came into effect on Saturday, December 9th, with the first weddings able to take place from 9th January 2018.
Following the change in legislation, changes have also been made for visa applicants in same-sex relationships.
From December 9th 2017, one can apply for a visa as a partner’s ‘spouse’ if they are in a same-sex marriage.
Under the changes, if you are in a same-sex marriage you can apply for a visa as your partner’s ‘spouse’, rather than as their ‘de facto partner’.
The changes will apply to Partner visas (subclasses 100, 309, 801 and 820) and to all other visas where one can include your spouse in your application.
One can also apply for a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) if you are in a same-sex relationship and you genuinely intend to marry your prospective spouse in Australia.
For more details: border.gov.au
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