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Partner visas, built on evidence of a genuine relationship.
If you are married to, or in a de facto relationship with, an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, a Partner visa lets you live in Australia and leads to permanent residence. The application is decided on the strength of the relationship evidence, and that is where we spend our time.
Which Partner visa applies to you
The visa depends on where you are when you apply and whether you are already married, in a de facto relationship, or engaged.
We are together in Australia
Subclass 820 (temporary) and 801 (permanent) are applied for together. If you hold a substantive visa when you apply, the Bridging visa A granted with the application ordinarily carries full work rights once your current visa ends. If you apply while already on a bridging visa or while unlawful, you will usually receive a Bridging visa C or E, which does not carry work rights automatically.
My partner is in Australia and I am overseas
Subclass 309 (provisional) and 100 (permanent) are lodged from outside Australia. You must be outside Australia when the 309 is granted.
We are engaged and plan to marry in Australia
The subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa lets you enter Australia to marry within the visa period, then apply for the 820/801 onshore.
The four pillars of a relationship
The Department assesses whether you are in a genuine and continuing relationship to the exclusion of all others. It looks at the same four aspects for every couple.
Financial aspects
How you share money and financial responsibilities.
- Joint accounts, shared bills and rent or mortgage
- Beneficiary nominations and insurance
- Evidence of pooling resources, even if incomes differ
Nature of the household
How you live together and run a home.
- Lease or title in both names, mail to the same address
- Division of housework and care of children
- Correspondence addressed to you both
Social aspects
How others see your relationship.
- Statutory declarations from friends and family (Form 888)
- Joint invitations, travel, photographs across time
- Membership of groups and clubs as a couple
Nature of the commitment
The mutual commitment to a shared life.
- Length of the relationship and time living together
- Knowledge of each other's background and family
- Wills, plans for the future, and time apart explained
What a partner visa costs
The partner visa charge is one of the largest in the programme, and it is paid in full at lodgement. Unlike the parent visas there is no second instalment. The table shows the Department of Home Affairs charges effective 1 July 2026, including the reduced charges that apply after a Prospective Marriage visa.
| Application | At lodgement | Additional applicant 18 or over | Additional applicant under 18 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner visa (subclass 820/801) | AUD 11,710 | AUD 5,860 | AUD 2,935 | One charge covers the temporary 820 and the permanent 801. No second instalment. |
| Partner (Provisional and Migrant) visa (subclass 309/100) | AUD 11,710 | AUD 5,860 | AUD 2,935 | One charge covers the provisional 309 and the permanent 100. You must be outside Australia when you apply and when the 309 is granted. |
| Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) | AUD 11,710 | AUD 5,860 | AUD 2,935 | A temporary visa only. You must be outside Australia when you apply and when it is granted. A further charge applies when you then apply for the 820/801. |
| Subclass 820/801 by a Prospective Marriage visa holder | AUD 1,955 | AUD 980 | AUD 485 | Reduced charge for a person who still holds the subclass 300. |
| Subclass 820/801 where the Prospective Marriage visa has ceased | AUD 2,475 | AUD 1,235 | AUD 625 | Reduced charge where the subclass 300 has already ceased. |
| Subclass 820/801 by a transitional visa holder | AUD 700 | AUD 350 | AUD 180 | Applies only to holders of certain transitional visas. |
Taking the two steps together, the subclass 300 route costs AUD 13,665 in Department charges for one applicant, which is more than applying for the 820/801 or the 309/100 directly. That is a reason to choose the route on the facts of the relationship rather than on the charge alone. The charges above do not include health examinations, police certificates, document translation or our professional fees. Charges are indexed and usually change on 1 July each year. Figures are from the Department's current visa pricing table checked 1 September 2026 and are confirmed for your matter before lodgement. Concessional charges for Pacific and Timor-Leste passport holders. Nationals of Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu pay a reduced visa application charge on this visa. We do not publish the concessional amounts here, because they depend on your passport and they change. The Department's own visa pricing estimator will give you the exact figure for your circumstances in under a minute. Not every Pacific country is included: as at 17 September 2026 the Cook Islands, Niue, New Caledonia and French Polynesia are not, and pay the standard charge.
Core requirements
The relationship must be genuine, continuing and exclusive. The rest of the criteria sit around that central question.
- Married, including a marriage solemnised overseas that is recognised as valid under Australian law, or in a de facto relationship of at least 12 months ending immediately before you apply, unless the relationship is registered under a state or territory register or another exception applies
- Your partner is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and is approved as your sponsor
- Evidence across the financial, household, social and commitment aspects of the relationship
- For onshore applicants, a valid visa at lodgement, or Schedule 3 criteria met or waived if you are unlawful or hold a bridging visa
- Sponsor character checks, including an Australian Federal Police check and police certificates from every country the sponsor has lived in for 12 months or more since turning 16, and no sponsorship limitation. A sponsor can generally sponsor only two partners in a lifetime, and five years must have passed since the date the earlier partner visa application was lodged, not the date it was granted. A sponsor who themselves obtained permanent residence through a partner or prospective marriage visa must also wait five years from the date of their own application. Both limits can be waived where there are compelling circumstances
- Health and character requirements for you and any dependants
- Where the relationship ends after lodgement, family violence and other provisions may still allow the permanent visa
The law we apply
Migration Act 1958 (Cth), sections 5CB and 5F define de facto partner and spouse; regulation 1.09A and regulation 1.15A set the factors for assessing the relationship.
Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), subclasses 820, 801, 309, 100 and 300, including clause 820.211 and the Schedule 3 requirements for onshore applicants without a substantive visa.
Regulation 2.03A sets the 12 month de facto requirement and its exceptions, including a relationship registered under a state or territory register. Registers operate in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, and there is no register in Western Australia or the Northern Territory.
Division 1.5 of Part 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) contains the family violence provisions, and regulation 1.20J contains the sponsorship limitations.
Ministerial Direction No. 117 (commenced 25 July 2026) sets family visa processing priorities and replaced Direction No. 102. Figures on this page are as at 1 September 2026 and are confirmed with you at the time of advice.
How we prepare a Partner visa
Every matter runs under a written agreement that sets out the work and the fee before anything begins.
Relationship review
We map your relationship against the four pillars, identify the gaps and tell you what evidence to gather over the coming weeks.
Statements and declarations
We prepare your relationship statements in your own words, and the Form 888 declarations from people who know you as a couple.
Sponsorship and lodgement
We lodge the sponsorship and the visa application together, with the evidence indexed so the case officer can find it.
To permanent residence
We diarise the permanent stage, update the evidence for the intervening period and respond to any request for information.
What undermines a Partner visa
These are the issues that most often decide this visa. We raise them with you at the first consultation, not after lodgement.
Thin evidence for the early period
Couples often have plenty of recent evidence and almost nothing from the start of the relationship. The timeline must be continuous.
Time apart that is not explained
Work, study or family overseas is common. Unexplained separation reads as a relationship that is not continuing.
Schedule 3 for onshore applicants
If you are unlawful when you apply, the Schedule 3 criteria apply through clause 820.211. Criterion 3001 requires the application to be made within 28 days of the day you last held a substantive visa. The Minister may decide not to apply these criteria where there are compelling reasons, but that is a discretion and it is often refused. Timing of lodgement matters more here than anywhere else in the partner programme.
Sponsor history
Previous sponsorships, character issues and the sponsorship limitation are assessed before the relationship is. We check them first.
You do not have to stay in a relationship to keep your visa
The family violence provisions exist so that a person who has suffered family violence is not forced to choose between their safety and their visa. If they apply to you, the permanent visa can still be granted even though the relationship has ended. Nothing you tell us is passed to your sponsor.
Who they can apply to
Applicants for and holders of the subclass 820, holders of a subclass 309 who have entered Australia since applying, and holders of a subclass 300 who are in Australia. Dependants who applied in their own right may also be covered. Access was widened in 2024, so advice you received before then may be out of date. We confirm whether the provisions reach your situation.
What has to be established
That the relationship was genuine and continuing until it ended, that the family violence occurred during the relationship, and that the person who committed it was your sponsoring partner.
How a claim is evidenced
Either judicially, through a court order, injunction or conviction, or non judicially, through a statutory declaration by you supported by evidence from people in the categories the Regulations prescribe, such as a doctor, a psychologist, a social worker, a police officer or a refuge manager. A non judicial claim may be referred to an independent expert.
What your sponsor cannot do
Your sponsor cannot withdraw a family violence claim, and cannot stop the application being decided. You do not have to remain in the family home to preserve the claim, and leaving does not by itself end the application.
Partner visa questions
Can my sponsor withdraw the sponsorship?
How long does a Partner visa take?
Can I work while my 820 is processed?
We have been together less than 12 months. Can we apply?
What if the relationship ends after we apply?
Do we need to be married?
Have your relationship evidence assessed before you lodge
Bring what you have. We will tell you where the file is strong, where it is thin and what to gather, so the application is lodged once and decided on the strength of your relationship.
The information on this page is general in nature, current as at 1 September 2026, and does not take account of your individual circumstances. It is not immigration assistance or legal advice. Visa criteria, charges, thresholds and processing priorities change; the requirements that apply to your matter are confirmed at the time of advice under a written agreement. No agent can guarantee a visa outcome. Migration Star, Registered Migration Agents, MARN 1797395.