Same-sex couples will be able to use marriage certificates to apply for visas in a move that advocates say will trigger a wave of LGTBIQ applications for Australian residency.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been adamant legislation to legalise same-sex marriage will pass Parliament before Christmas and once it does, married same-sex couples will be eligible for spousal visas, opening up opportunities for couples who had previously been separated by tough de-facto visa requirements.
Same-sex couples have always had to prove they are in long-term relationships for partner visas by providing evidence of living together, without the official backing of a marriage certificate.
"We started collecting information from the beginning, information that would prove our interdependency," Anthony Pannuzzo and Daniel Milano told the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into same-sex entitlements a decade ago.
"We collected letters and cards addressed to us both, we collected legal documents, bank statements, leases, wills drawn up in each others names. What we would have given for a marriage licence. Or any form of federally recognised paperwork stating we were a couple who shared each other's lives."
Same-sex couples are still excluded from applying for the prospective marriage visa, according to the Department of Immigration, which stipulates the partner "must be of the opposite sex," but immigration agents are preparing for marriage licenses already issued overseas to be recognised by the federal government.
They say the change could save relationships.
"There is no doubt the restrictions in place before would have ended partnerships, particularly if the person is from a high-risk category such as South America or the Middle East who find it harder to get de-facto visa approval," said Joy Hay, who has run her own migration agency, True Blue, for 11 years.
"Many people have been hanging on this decision to progress."
Michael Dooley, the principal migration agent at Visa Crew said he was glad the visa issue was not canvassed during the course of the same-sex marriage survey.
"Migrants get a raw deal and if people were thinking there are going to be more gay migrants - that might have made a difference to the vote," he said.
"It's a game changer for the LGBTQI community because the main part of discrimination in migration was in this prospective marriage visa."
The president of the Gay and Lesbian Immigration Task Force, Roman Deauna, said the peak body had already seen a spike in inquiries and warned prospective couples to temper their expectations.
"You would not believe how many married partner visa applications by straight people are assessed by officials as being contrived," he said.
"We certainly welcome the change but the point we are making is that there are a lot of people who might be misled into thinking we can now get married, let's put an application in," he said.
"Immigration officials still have to be subjectively convinced that your relationship is real, and the wait times are now are up to a year and a half."
The Department of Immigration did not respond to a request for comment on whether it was prepared for the expected increase in applications.
With Tara Hayes
