Australia's partner visa lets the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen live in Australia, first on a temporary visa and then permanently. It is one of the most document-heavy visas in the program, and one of the most expensive. This guide explains how it works in plain English, using only what the Department of Home Affairs publishes today.
Who the partner visa is for
The partner visa is for couples where one person is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen (the sponsor) and the other wants to live in Australia (the applicant). You must be either married (a spouse) or in a de facto relationship, and the relationship must be genuine and continuing.
There is no points test, no occupation list and no English test for the applicant. What the Department assesses instead is your relationship, your sponsor, and the usual health and character checks.
Onshore 820/801 vs offshore 309/100
There are two versions of the same pathway. In both, you apply for the temporary and the permanent visa together, in one application and one payment.
| Onshore | Offshore | |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary visa | Subclass 820 | Subclass 309 |
| Permanent visa | Subclass 801 | Subclass 100 |
| Where you must be when you apply | In Australia (and family applying with you) | Outside Australia (and family applying with you) |
| Where you can be at decision | In or outside Australia | In or outside Australia |
| Processing priority (Ministerial Direction 117) | Highest priority | Lower priority |
While you wait for the permanent stage, the temporary visa lets you live, work and study in Australia, travel in and out as often as you like, and apply for Medicare. If you apply onshore, check first that your current visa does not carry a "no further stay" condition such as 8503 — if it does, you need a waiver approved before you can apply.
Regional visa holders: if you hold (or last held) a subclass 491 or 494 visa, you must have held it for at least three years before you can apply for the onshore partner visa. For some older regional visas the minimum is two years.
Eligibility basics
- Spouse: you must be in a married relationship that is valid in Australia. Married applicants must, in most cases, be 18 or older.
- De facto partner: you must be 18 or older and usually have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months immediately before you apply. Time spent dating or in an online relationship might not count.
- Exceptions to the 12 months: it does not apply if you have registered your relationship with an Australian state or territory registry, if you can show compelling and compassionate circumstances, or in certain cases involving permanent humanitarian visa holders or applicants.
- Health, character and debts: you and family members applying with you must meet the health and character requirements and have no unpaid debt to the Australian Government.
- Australian values statement: applicants 18 and over must sign it.
If you apply onshore without a substantive visa (for example, on a bridging visa after a refusal), extra rules apply: you must show compelling reasons for the grant, and you must include at least two statutory declarations made in the last six weeks by Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens confirming your relationship. Without them, the application may be invalid. See our bridging visa guide if you are unsure what you hold.
Your sponsor and sponsor approval
You must have a sponsor when you lodge and while you hold the temporary visa. The sponsor is usually your partner, and Home Affairs must approve the sponsorship.
- The sponsor applies after you lodge, using your Transaction Reference Number (TRN) or application ID, and should do so as soon as possible.
- You cannot change sponsor. The same person must sponsor you for two years after the temporary visa is granted.
- Sponsors must meet additional requirements, including providing police certificates with the sponsorship form or as soon as possible afterwards.
- The sponsor must prove their status with a passport or birth certificate — a driver's licence or Medicare card is not enough.
Relationship evidence: the four areas
Home Affairs asks for a written relationship history — how, when and where you met, how the relationship developed, when you moved in together, got engaged or married, time apart, significant events and your plans. It then looks for supporting evidence in four areas, often called the "four pillars":
- Finances — joint mortgage or lease, joint loans for major assets, joint bank account statements, household bills in both names.
- Your household — how you share housework, bills in both names, mail addressed to you both, joint responsibility for children, proof of living arrangements.
- Social matters — statements from two witnesses aged 18 or over who know you both (Form 888), plus things like joint invitations, shared friends, joint activities and travel together.
- Commitment — knowledge of each other's background and family, combined personal matters, staying in touch when apart, and terms of your wills.
Example
A couple renting together for 18 months could give the joint lease, six months of joint bank statements, an electricity bill in both names, photos and bookings from two trips together, and two Form 888 statements from friends. Each person also writes their own account of the relationship history. None of these documents alone proves the relationship — the combination does.
Practical rules: translate every non-English document (translators in Australia must be NAATI-accredited), scan in colour, save multi-page documents as one file, and label them clearly. You can attach up to 100 documents per person, and that limit cannot be increased. Certification is not required.
Cost in 2026-27
One payment covers both the temporary and permanent stage:
- Most applicants: AUD11,710 for the main applicant (both onshore 820/801 and offshore 309/100).
- Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) holders: generally AUD1,955 (onshore).
- Former subclass 300 holders who entered on that visa, did not apply before it expired and hold no substantive visa: generally AUD2,475.
- From 1 July 2026, a lower charge applies to eligible citizens of Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste.
There is an extra charge for each family member, and separate costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. Use the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator for your exact figure — the Department will not process an application until the correct charge is paid.
Processing and the two-year wait
Home Affairs does not promise a fixed timeframe. It says partner processing times vary and may be longer than expected, and points to its processing time guide, which shows how long recently decided applications took.
- Stage 1 (temporary): assessed in order of lodgement, with onshore 820/801 given the highest priority under Ministerial Direction 117 and offshore 309/100 given lower priority.
- Stage 2 (permanent): you become eligible for the permanent assessment two years after you first applied. The permanent processing clock starts from that eligibility date. You then log in to ImmiAccount, choose "Stage 2 – Permanent Partner Visa Assessment (100, 801)" and upload fresh evidence. Do not submit it before the two years.
- Priority requests are possible for compelling and compassionate circumstances, but the Department says most cannot be approved.
Because the wait is long, keep your evidence updated in ImmiAccount. Police certificates and health results are each valid for 12 months, so Home Affairs may ask you to redo them if they expire before a decision.
The long-term relationship route
Home Affairs says it may grant the permanent visa in less than two years if you were already in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied. The Migration Regulations define that as a relationship that has lasted at least three years, or at least two years if you have a dependent child together (not a step-child). If this applies, you still lodge the same combined application — make the length of the relationship easy to see in your evidence.
If the relationship ends
You must continue to be the partner of the same sponsor until the permanent visa is decided. If the relationship ends, tell the Department using the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount (or the Partner Processing Enquiry Form if you cannot access your account). A sponsor can withdraw sponsorship at any time before the permanent visa is decided.
The application can sometimes continue even though the relationship has ended, including when:
- the sponsoring partner has died;
- you, or a family member on the application, experienced domestic and family violence committed by the sponsor (the family violence provisions); or
- you and your former partner have a child and share access and parental responsibility.
Important: if the permanent 801 or 100 is refused, you no longer hold the temporary partner visa. Check your status in VEVO straight away and get advice about your options.
Common mistakes
- Counting dating time as de facto time. The 12 months is about living as a couple, not how long you have known each other.
- Sponsor delay. The application stalls until the sponsor lodges their form and police certificates.
- Using Form 888 as a statutory declaration. When statutory declarations are required, Form 888 does not count.
- Letting evidence go stale. A file that was strong at lodgement can look thin two years later. Keep adding to it.
- Applying onshore with a no-further-stay condition and no approved waiver — the application will not be valid.
Parents of Australian residents have their own options, covered in our parent visa comparison, and once you are a permanent resident, see how the citizenship residence rule works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a partner visa cost in Australia in 2026?
The main applicant pays from AUD11,710, which covers both the temporary and permanent stages. Current or former Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) holders usually pay less. Each family member on the application adds a charge, and health checks, police certificates and biometrics cost extra.
Can I work on a subclass 820 partner visa?
Yes. The 820 lets you live, work and study in Australia while your permanent 801 is processed, and you may be able to enrol in Medicare.
How long do we need to be together for a de facto partner visa?
Usually at least 12 months in a de facto relationship immediately before you apply. The 12 months does not apply if you have registered your relationship with an Australian state or territory registry, if compelling and compassionate circumstances exist, or in some humanitarian cases.
When can I apply for the permanent 801 or 100 visa?
You do not lodge a new application. Two years after you applied for the combined temporary and permanent visas, you become eligible for the permanent assessment and submit your updated documents in ImmiAccount under Stage 2. Do not send them earlier.
What happens to my partner visa if we break up?
Tell Home Affairs using the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount. The application can sometimes continue, for example if your sponsor has died, if you experienced family violence from your sponsor, or if you share a child and parental responsibility. Otherwise it will usually be refused.
Is the onshore or offshore partner visa faster?
Under Ministerial Direction 117, onshore 820/801 applications get the highest priority and offshore 309/100 applications get lower priority, so offshore cases are likely to take longer. Home Affairs publishes a processing time guide but does not guarantee any timeframe.
Sources
Checked on 30 September 2026:
- Home Affairs – Partner visa (temporary) subclass 820
- Home Affairs – Partner visa (permanent) subclass 801
- Home Affairs – Partner (provisional) visa subclass 309
- Home Affairs – Partner visa FAQs
- Home Affairs – About partner visas (relationship cessation)
- Migration Regulations 1994, regulation 1.03 (definition of long-term partner relationship)
Disclaimer
This article is for general information purposes only. Australian visa rules, fees and processing arrangements change, often on 1 July each year. The information in this guide was checked against official sources on 30 September 2026 but may not reflect later changes. Nothing in this article is legal advice or migration advice. Always check the official Department of Home Affairs website at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. For advice about your situation, speak to a Registered Migration Agent (MARA) or a qualified migration lawyer.