I wanna marry an australian?

Question

my girlfriend and i have been going out for 3 years. i plan on proposing to her this new years. she is an Australian citizen and i am an American citizen. i will be receiving a student visa and entering a post graduate program in Feb 2009 at Southern Cross University, Australia. while on my student visa, will i be able to marry her? are there any fees that i should be aware of? i do plan on working and living in australia but i don't want to lose my american citizenship. what are my options??

is a partner or marriage visa required in my situation? i will already be in the country with a student visa??

Answer 1

You don't need a special visa prior to entering Australia other than the student visa you said you will be receiving.

You can propose to her and when you two are married, you can apply for a change of your status and get a visa to remain and work/study in Australia.

Read this for more information:

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners...

And note the 5 sections of information at the top.

Edit: oh, and indeed you cannot lose your American citizenship unless you renounce it actively, which involves signing a paper stating you renounce your US citizenship witnessed by US officials outside of the US, and is only allowed if doing so does not make you stateless (meaning you have acquired another citizenship prior to renouncing your US citizenship).

Answer 2

A "natural-born" citizen born to US citizens cannot lose their citizenship.  In fact, they have a hard time getting rid of it if they want to!  It requires giving an oath before a US consular official while in a foreign country to renounce US citizenship -- but you remain subject to US tax laws on your worldwide income for up to 10 years.

You may have a problem with the Australian government if you marry an Australian while you are on a student visa.  It may change your status and make you no longer eligible for a student visa.  You and your gf will have to check on this -- and remember laws change!  What's valid today may not be by the time you arrive next year, or by the time you marry in the future.  If you marry, she needs to get you a spousal visa, not the student visa.  The question is only whether you can change your status while in Australia, and whether you can continue studies -- and this is the most likely aspect to change if contemplated changes in Australian law are enacted.