Where one member of a couple is a resident overseas and applying to immigrate to Australia on a fiancé (Prospective Spouse) visa, once you have lodged your NOIM (essentially your 'licence to marry') we are able to provide you with the legal required confirmation documentation for your Visa paperwork.
All Commonwealth Registered Marriage Celebrants at Melbourne Private Marriage Registry are authorised by the Commonwealth of Australia. It is their aim to do everything they can to make this part of the process as simple for you as possible. However, please note that all of out team are unable to provide any official legal advice on immigration information. This should be obtained from a Registered Migration Agent or a Migration Lawyer. What we can do is to advise you how to go about lodging your intent to marry in Australia and what we can provide you with that will get the immigration ball rolling.
The first step.
Your first step is to lodge your Notice of Intention to Marry form with us. This is essentially your 'marriage licence' which allows you to get married one month after it is signed, witnessed and lodged with us. As with all lodgements, there will be a non-refundable lodgement fee for the Notice of Intended Marriage form. That fee is $150 as at October 1st, 2019.
To make sure that we can fill out all of your paperwork correctly you will need to bring some identification documentation with you. If you were born in Australia, please ensure that you bring either your passport or an original copy of your birth certificate (along with additional driver’s licence or proof of age card). If you were born outside Australia, please bring along a copy of your overseas birth certificate or passport. If you have been married previously, we will also need to sight an official copy of your divorce certificate or death certificate of your late spouse. Please also bring a copy of your fiance's documents (these can initially be photocopies or scans - which we will only view during your appointment and not keep on file - although the celebrant will need to sight the originals of these documents prior to the legal marriage taking place, and prior to you signing the Statutory Declaration - 'Form 14').If any of these documents are in a language other than English they will need to be translated by a government approved translator. You may wish to visit www.naati.com.au to find a translator near you.
Once the initial paperwork is lodged with our Commonwealth Registered Marriage Celebrant, the couple can book in a suitable wedding date of their choice - at any legal and suitable time. This booking may be made from a month's time - right up to 18 months time from the date of the lodgment of the Notice of Intended Marriage forms, for a wedding at the Melbourne Private Marriage Registry.
If this process sounds confusing or if this all sounds hard to work out, please feel free to give us a call on (03) 9820 1119 or if the administration offices are unattended - please call 0424 77 88 00 and let us help you through the process. If you are a person who doesnt like to read information we can simply explain it all to you in a step-by-step process and help you complete the forms in order to commence the lodgement process.