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I cannot find any information on this scenario:

My son was born in Australia (and lives in Australia) and received his US citizenship via a Consular Report of Birth Abroad due to me being a US citizen/Australian Citizen.

We thought it might be better if they married in the US due to both being US citizens, but then after the wedding they plan to move back to Australia. Which visa would she travel to Australia on?

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  • 1
    Why would their both being US citizens make a difference in where they should marry? Where did they meet? Where do they reside now?
    – phoog
    May 6, 2019 at 12:46
  • Also one of them should consider renouncing their US citizenship. Having both spouses with American citizenship in Australia will lead to massive tax headaches
    – CodyBugstein
    May 6, 2019 at 13:20
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    @CodyBugstein Would you expand your comment? What "massive tax headaches" might ensue?
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    May 6, 2019 at 14:01
  • @David for example, when they sell their home in Australia, they will need to pay capital gains to the USA. If one spouse is not American, they can put the house in his/her name and then not be hit by the tyrannical US tax
    – CodyBugstein
    May 6, 2019 at 14:03
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    @CodyBugstein Perhaps. Doing so would seem to require separate (rather than joint) US income tax returns, which could still be troublesome if the US citizen spouse had previously claimed ownership of the property in tax returns. On a non-tax level, it could also generate significant troubles in separating the couple's fiscal estates in the future if the marriage founders.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    May 6, 2019 at 14:09

1 Answer 1

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It does not matter where the wedding is actually performed. Both the US and Australia (like virtually all countries) recognise marriages that have been legally performed according to the laws of the country where the wedding took place.

If they get married in the US, then after getting married, your son's wife would apply for one of the Australian Partner Visas.

If they get married in Australia, she would come to Australia with a Prospective Marriage Visa.

I see that the cost of both of these visas is an eye-watering AU$7,160, and it might be some time before the application is approved (expected processing times are shown on the web site).

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    And I thought the UKs fees were high! It might be worth mentioning that although Australia and the US will both recognize the validity of marriages performed almost anywhere, there are many jurisdictions that require at least one of the parties to the marriage to be a resident of the jurisdiction, so the actual range of possible venues for the wedding may be somewhat more limited.
    – phoog
    May 6, 2019 at 12:42
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    I know what wedding gift they should request!
    – Astor Florida
    May 6, 2019 at 12:53
  • The cost is now up to $8,085. She wouldn't need to apply for these visas if she already resides in Australia through some other visa or residence permit.
    – phoog
    Mar 22 at 9:12

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