Partner Visa Australia: Eligibility, Fees & Processing Time

A partner visa lets you live in Australia with your spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. Whether you apply from inside or outside Australia, this visa pathway starts with a temporary visa and progresses to permanent residency after roughly two years. It covers both married couples and de facto relationships that meet specific criteria.

This guide walks you through everything you need for a successful partner visa application. You’ll learn about the four main visa subclasses (820, 801, 309, and 100), eligibility requirements for both married and de facto relationships, the documents you must provide, current application fees, realistic processing timeframes, and common mistakes that delay or derail applications. By the end, you’ll know exactly what steps to take and whether you qualify for a partner visa to reunite with your loved one in Australia.

Why a partner visa matters

Your partner visa provides the legal foundation to build a life together in Australia without the constant worry of temporary visa expiry or separation. It grants you full work rights from day one, access to Medicare, and the freedom to study at Australian institutions. Beyond the practical benefits, this visa eliminates the stress of maintaining long-distance relationships or juggling visitor visas with strict time limits. You gain stability while your relationship grows on Australian soil, and after holding the temporary visa for approximately two years, you become eligible for permanent residency that opens pathways to citizenship.

Immediate freedoms you gain

The temporary partner visa gives you unrestricted work rights the moment it’s granted, meaning you can accept any job without sponsorship requirements. You also receive Medicare coverage for essential health services, removing the burden of expensive private insurance. These immediate benefits let you contribute to household income and integrate into Australian society while your permanent visa processes in the background.

The partner visa pathway is the most direct route to permanent residency for couples who meet Australia’s relationship requirements.

Long-term security for your family

Permanent residency through the partner visa allows you to sponsor eligible family members for their own visas and eventually apply for Australian citizenship after meeting residence requirements. This long-term security means you can plan careers, purchase property, and raise children in Australia without visa restrictions hanging over your family’s future.

How to apply for a partner visa

You apply for a partner visa through the Department of Home Affairs online portal, which requires creating an account, completing detailed application forms, gathering extensive documentation, and paying the visa fee. The entire process happens digitally unless you choose the slower postal route, which we don’t recommend because tracking becomes difficult and attaching additional documents later proves problematic. Your application involves two separate forms: one for you as the visa applicant and another for your Australian partner as the sponsor.

Create your ImmiAccount first

You need to set up an ImmiAccount on the Department of Home Affairs website before starting your partner visa application. This free account gives you a secure portal where you lodge applications, upload documents, track progress, and communicate with immigration officers throughout the processing period. Your partner needs their own separate ImmiAccount to submit the sponsorship form.

The account creation takes about five minutes and requires your email address, a password, and basic personal details. Keep your login credentials safe because you’ll access this account regularly for the next two to three years while your temporary and permanent visas process.

Choose the correct visa pathway

Your location when you apply determines which visa subclass you need: onshore partner visas (820/801) if you’re already in Australia, or offshore partner visas (309/100) if you’re outside Australia. This decision matters because you cannot switch pathways midway through the process without withdrawing your application and starting over. If you’re in Australia on a temporary visa that’s about to expire, applying for the onshore partner visa automatically grants you a bridging visa that lets you stay lawfully while waiting for a decision.

Offshore applicants must remain outside Australia when they lodge their application and when the temporary visa (309) is granted, though they can be anywhere when the permanent visa (100) comes through. Choose your pathway carefully based on where you’ll be living during the application period.

Complete your application forms

You fill out Form 47SP (Application for migration to Australia by a partner) as the visa applicant, providing extensive details about your personal history, previous relationships, current relationship with your Australian partner, health, character, and employment background. Your partner then uses your Transaction Reference Number (TRN) to complete their own Form 40SP (Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia). Both forms require honest, consistent answers that match the supporting documents you’ll attach later.

The consistency between your answers and your partner’s answers becomes critical evidence of your genuine relationship.

The forms take several hours to complete properly because they request detailed information about your relationship history, living arrangements, financial interdependence, and future plans together. Save your progress frequently and review every answer before submitting to catch errors that could delay processing.

Submit and pay the application fee

You submit your application by clicking the final submit button in your ImmiAccount after completing all form fields and attaching your initial documents. The system then prompts you to pay the visa application fee using a credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Payment must happen immediately because your application isn’t considered lodged until the department receives your fee.

After successful payment, you receive a TRN or application ID that confirms your lodgement date, which matters for calculating visa expiry dates and bridging visa entitlements. Your partner can then use this reference number to lodge their sponsorship form. The department typically sends an acknowledgement email within 24 to 48 hours confirming they’ve received your complete application.

Partner visa options in Australia

Australia offers four main partner visa subclasses that cater to different circumstances based on whether you’re married or planning to marry, and whether you’re already in Australia or applying from overseas. The temporary visas (subclass 820 and 309) come first, followed by permanent visas (subclass 801 and 100) roughly two years later. Each pathway serves couples at different stages of their relationship and geographical location, but all lead to the same outcome: permanent residency that lets you build your life together in Australia.

Onshore partner visas (820/801)

You apply for the subclass 820 (temporary) and subclass 801 (permanent) visas together when you’re physically in Australia at the time of application. The department assesses both applications as a package, granting you the 820 visa first after confirming your relationship is genuine and you meet all eligibility criteria. This temporary visa lets you live, work, and study in Australia without restrictions while you wait approximately two years for the permanent 801 decision.

Your temporary 820 visa automatically comes with full work rights and Medicare access from the grant date, meaning you don’t need separate applications for these entitlements. The permanent 801 visa follows when the department confirms your relationship has continued and remains genuine, or if you qualify through family violence provisions that protect vulnerable applicants whose relationships ended due to domestic abuse.

The onshore pathway provides immediate bridging visa protection if you apply before your current visa expires, keeping you lawful throughout the process.

Offshore partner visas (309/100)

The subclass 309 (temporary) and subclass 100 (permanent) visas apply when you’re outside Australia at lodgement time. You must remain offshore when the department grants your 309 visa, though you can travel to Australia immediately after that grant. This pathway works identically to the onshore route in terms of eligibility requirements and documentation, but the key difference lies in your physical location during initial processing stages.

Your 309 visa provides the same unrestricted work and study rights as the onshore 820, with Medicare coverage starting from your arrival in Australia. The permanent 100 visa typically processes about two years after your 309 grant, though you can be anywhere in the world when that decision happens.

Prospective marriage visa (300)

The subclass 300 visa lets you enter Australia to marry your Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen partner within nine to fifteen months after the grant. You must genuinely intend to marry and have met your partner in person as adults before applying. This temporary visa doesn’t automatically lead to permanent residency, but it positions you to apply for the onshore partner visa (820/801) after your wedding ceremony in Australia.

Your prospective marriage visa gives you full work rights and lets you study, but it expires regardless of whether you marry, meaning you need to lodge your partner visa application before the 300 visa ends to maintain lawful status.

Eligibility and relationship rules

Your partner visa eligibility depends on proving a genuine, continuing relationship with an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen who agrees to sponsor you. The Department of Home Affairs assesses whether your relationship meets specific legal definitions for either married or de facto partnerships, and both you and your sponsor must satisfy health, character, and sponsorship requirements. These rules apply consistently across all partner visa subclasses, though the evidence you need varies slightly depending on whether you’re married or in a de facto relationship.

Basic eligibility for all partner visas

You must be 18 years or older to apply for any partner visa category, and your sponsor must also meet this age requirement. Your relationship cannot involve close family relatives like siblings, parents, or grandparents, and you cannot be in a polygamous marriage if applying from offshore. The department expects your relationship to be exclusive, meaning you and your partner commit to each other and nobody else during the application period and beyond.

Both you and your sponsor need to pass health examinations conducted by approved panel doctors and meet character requirements through police certificates from every country where you’ve lived for 12 months or more since turning 16. These checks protect Australia’s community and ensure neither party poses security risks or has serious criminal history that would make you ineligible.

Requirements for married relationships

Your marriage must be legally recognized under Australian law, which means it was performed according to the legal requirements of the country where it took place. You need an official marriage certificate that proves the ceremony happened, and the department verifies this document matches government marriage registries. Civil ceremonies, religious marriages, and traditional marriages all qualify as long as they meet legal standards.

Marriages performed offshore are generally accepted if they were legal in that country, but certain polygamous or underage marriages may not qualify.

The department expects your married relationship to demonstrate genuine commitment beyond just the legal paperwork, meaning you live together (or have compelling reasons for living apart), share financial responsibilities, socialize as a couple, and make long-term plans together.

De facto relationship criteria

You qualify as de facto partners when you live together in a genuine, committed relationship without being legally married. Your relationship must have existed for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before you apply, and you need evidence proving you’ve functioned as a couple throughout this entire period. Dating time, online relationships, and periods living separately don’t count toward the 12-month requirement unless you have exemptions.

Your de facto relationship should demonstrate the same four relationship aspects the department assesses for married couples: financial interdependence, shared household responsibilities, social recognition as a couple, and mutual commitment to a life together. The strength of evidence across these four pillars determines whether your relationship qualifies.

Exemptions from the 12-month rule

You can skip the 12-month de facto requirement if you’ve registered your relationship with an Australian state or territory relationship register before applying. Registration provides legal recognition of your de facto partnership, making it equivalent to marriage for visa purposes. Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory all maintain relationship registers, though registration requirements vary by location.

Other exemptions apply when you have a dependent child together from your current relationship, or when compelling and compassionate circumstances exist that make the 12-month requirement unreasonable. These circumstances need solid evidence and typically involve situations beyond your control that prevented you from living together longer before applying.

Your sponsor’s responsibilities

Your Australian partner must formally sponsor your visa application by completing their own sponsorship form and accepting legal obligations to support you. The sponsorship commits them to providing accommodation and financial support if needed, and it limits how many times they can sponsor partners throughout their lifetime. Previous sponsorships count against this limit, so your partner needs to disclose any prior sponsorships when applying.

Sponsors cannot have serious criminal convictions, particularly those involving violence, domestic abuse, or immigration fraud. The department assesses your sponsor’s character and history separately from yours, and sponsorship approval isn’t automatic even when your relationship is genuine.

Required documents and evidence

Your partner visa application succeeds or fails based on the quality and completeness of the documents you provide. The Department of Home Affairs requires extensive evidence across multiple categories: identity documents, relationship proof covering four specific aspects, records of previous relationships, health examinations, and character certificates. You submit these documents digitally through your ImmiAccount, and the department may request additional evidence at any stage of processing if they need clarification or stronger proof of your genuine relationship.

Identity and personal documents

You must provide certified copies of your passport biographical pages, birth certificate showing both parents’ names, and two recent passport-sized photographs with your name written on the back. Your birth certificate proves your identity and family connections, while your passport confirms your current nationality and travel history. National identity cards, family books, or government-issued identification documents strengthen your identity evidence when your birth certificate doesn’t show both parents or comes from a country with less reliable record-keeping systems.

Name change documentation becomes essential if your current name differs from your birth certificate, whether through marriage, deed poll, or court order. You attach marriage certificates, divorce decrees, or legal name change documents that create an unbroken chain connecting your birth name to your current passport name. The department cross-checks these documents against international databases to verify authenticity.

Proving your genuine relationship

Your relationship evidence must demonstrate the four pillars the department uses to assess whether your partnership is genuine and continuing: financial aspects, household nature, social connections, and commitment level. You need strong evidence across all four areas, though the exact documents vary depending on whether you’re married or in a de facto relationship. Joint bank statements, shared lease agreements, utility bills in both names, and evidence of joint asset ownership prove financial interdependence and shared household responsibilities.

Social recognition requires statutory declarations from two Australian citizens or permanent residents who know you both and can confirm your relationship is genuine. These witnesses complete Form 888 describing how they know you as a couple, how long they’ve known your relationship, and specific examples of your partnership. Photographs together at family events, joint social media presence, shared travel bookings, and correspondence between you strengthen the social aspects of your relationship.

The strength of your relationship evidence determines whether the department believes your partnership is genuine or exists primarily to obtain migration benefits.

Commitment evidence includes detailed personal statements from both you and your partner explaining how you met, how your relationship developed, significant events you’ve shared, and your future plans together. You attach evidence of emotional support through messages, emails, or letters, particularly during periods of separation. Long-term planning documents like joint lease agreements extending into the future, shared financial goals, or wills naming each other demonstrate genuine commitment beyond visa purposes.

Evidence of previous relationships

The department requires complete disclosure of all previous marriages, de facto relationships, and significant partnerships for both you and your sponsor. You provide divorce certificates, death certificates, or separation documents that prove previous relationships ended legally before your current partnership began. Failure to disclose previous relationships can result in visa refusal for providing false or misleading information, regardless of how strong your current relationship evidence appears.

Health and character certificates

You arrange medical examinations with approved panel doctors after lodging your application, and these doctors send results directly to the Department of Home Affairs without you seeing them. The health examination includes chest x-rays, blood tests, and general physical assessments that check for conditions requiring significant healthcare costs or posing public health risks. Police certificates from every country where you’ve lived for 12 consecutive months or more since turning 16 years old prove your character and criminal history, with most certificates needing to be issued within 12 months of your application date.

Fees and total expected costs

Your partner visa application involves substantial upfront costs that go beyond the visa application fee charged by the Department of Home Affairs. You need to budget for multiple expenses including health examinations, police certificates from various countries, certified document translations, and potential legal fees if you choose professional assistance. The total investment typically ranges from $10,000 to $15,000 AUD for a straightforward application, though complex cases with multiple family members or extensive documentation requirements can push costs significantly higher.

Application fees by visa subclass

The Department of Home Affairs charges $9,365 AUD for the main applicant across all partner visa subclasses (820/801, 309/100, and 300). You pay this fee when you lodge your application, and it covers both the temporary and permanent stages for onshore and offshore partner visas. Secondary applicants face different rates: $4,685 AUD for any dependent child aged 18 or older, and $2,345 AUD for each child under 18 years of age included in your application.

These fees increase slightly each July to account for inflation, so you should check the current rates on the Department of Home Affairs website before lodging. Payment happens through your ImmiAccount using credit card, debit card, or PayPal, and the department doesn’t accept payment plans or installments for visa application fees.

Partner visa fees are non-refundable even if your application is refused or withdrawn, making proper preparation essential before lodging.

Health examinations and police checks

Your health examination costs approximately $300 to $500 AUD per person and must be completed by approved panel doctors listed on the Department of Home Affairs website. Children included in your application need separate health checks at similar costs. Police certificates vary dramatically by country, ranging from free in some jurisdictions to $100 to $200 AUD in others, and you need certificates from every country where you’ve lived for 12 months or more since turning 16.

Document preparation expenses

Certified translations of documents not in English cost approximately $50 to $100 AUD per page depending on the language complexity and urgency. You need Justice of the Peace or Notary Public certification for most original documents, which typically costs $10 to $50 AUD per document in Australia. Obtaining original documents from overseas governments, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, or divorce decrees, can add $50 to $200 AUD per document when you factor in international postage and government processing fees.

Professional passport photographs meeting Australian visa requirements cost around $15 to $25 AUD for the required two copies. Budget an additional $500 to $1,000 AUD for miscellaneous expenses like courier fees, document storage, and multiple certified copies of frequently requested documents.

Processing times and what to expect

Your partner visa processing time varies significantly depending on which subclass you apply for, when you lodge, and how complete your application is at submission. Current departmental estimates show onshore partner visas (820/801) taking 12 to 24 months for the temporary stage, while offshore visas (309/100) process in similar timeframes. These estimates represent only the temporary visa decision, and you’ll wait approximately two additional years from that grant date before the department assesses your permanent visa application. Understanding these timeframes helps you plan your life during what becomes a three to four year journey from initial lodgement to permanent residency.

Current timeframes by visa type

The Department of Home Affairs processes 75% of onshore temporary partner visas (820) within 24 months and 75% of offshore temporary visas (309) within 33 months based on recent statistics. Your prospective marriage visa (300) typically processes faster at 12 to 18 months because it involves less complex relationship assessment. Permanent stage processing for both 801 and 100 visas usually happens within 6 to 12 months after you become eligible, though straightforward cases sometimes receive grants within days when the department confirms your relationship has continued.

Processing speed varies throughout the year, with applications lodged during peak periods (December through February) often taking longer due to higher volumes and reduced staffing during holiday periods.

What happens after you lodge

You receive an automatic acknowledgement email within 48 hours of lodging your partner visa, confirming the department has your application and assigning your case to an immigration officer. The department then conducts initial checks on your documents, health results, and police certificates over the following weeks. Case officers may request additional evidence or clarification about specific aspects of your relationship at any stage, and they expect responses within 28 days of their request.

Your application enters a queue after initial document checks, and case officers assess applications based on lodgement date, complexity, and departmental priorities.

Most applicants experience long periods of silence between lodgement and decision, though you can check your ImmiAccount for status updates. The department typically contacts you only when they need additional information or when they’re ready to make a decision.

Factors that affect your timeline

Your document quality and completeness at lodgement dramatically impacts processing speed, as missing evidence or unclear relationship proof triggers requests for further information that add months to your timeline. Health examination delays occur when you don’t complete medical checks promptly after lodging, while police certificates taking months to obtain from certain countries can stall your application. The complexity of your case matters too, with straightforward married relationships processing faster than de facto partnerships requiring extensive evidence across the four relationship aspects.

High application volumes, government processing capacity, and external security checks all influence how quickly the department reaches your case in their queue.

Common issues and how to avoid them

Your partner visa application can face delays or refusal due to preventable mistakes that applicants make throughout the process. The most frequent problems involve incomplete documentation, inconsistent information between forms, weak relationship evidence, and poor timing around existing visa expiry dates. Understanding these common pitfalls before you lodge helps you avoid costly setbacks that add months or years to your processing time, or worse, result in visa refusal that forces you to start over.

Missing or inconsistent documentation

You create serious problems when your application forms contain information that doesn’t match your supporting documents. Case officers flag applications where your employment dates differ between Form 47SP and your resume, or where your address history contradicts utility bills and lease agreements. Double-check every date, name, and detail across all forms and documents before submitting, and have your partner review their sponsorship form against your application to catch discrepancies.

Missing translations of non-English documents represent another frequent issue that triggers requests for further information. You must provide certified English translations for every document not originally in English, even if only portions contain foreign language text. Submit these translations with your initial application rather than waiting for the department to request them.

Relationship evidence gaps

Your relationship proof fails when you provide strong evidence for only one or two of the four required aspects while neglecting the others. Applications showing excellent financial interdependence but zero social recognition or weak household sharing face skepticism from case officers who question whether your relationship is genuine. Gather evidence across all four pillars (financial, household, social, and commitment) and aim for roughly equal strength in each category.

Case officers look for balanced evidence that shows your relationship functions as a genuine partnership across all areas of daily life, not just selected aspects.

Statutory declarations from witnesses who barely know you or haven’t seen you together as a couple provide little value and sometimes harm your application by suggesting you lack genuine social connections.

Visa expiry timing problems

You risk becoming unlawful in Australia if you don’t lodge your partner visa before your current visa expires, which prevents automatic bridging visa entitlements and complicates your application with Schedule 3 criteria. Set reminders at least three months before your current visa expiry date to begin gathering documents and preparing your partner visa application, allowing buffer time for unexpected delays in obtaining police certificates or certified translations.

Next steps for your partner visa

Your partner visa journey begins with gathering comprehensive documentation, understanding which subclass suits your situation, and preparing a complete application that demonstrates your genuine relationship across all four assessment pillars. The complexity of requirements and substantial costs involved make proper preparation essential before you commit to lodging. You need at least three to six months to collect police certificates, complete health examinations, obtain certified translations, and compile relationship evidence that satisfies departmental expectations.

Professional guidance eliminates costly mistakes that delay processing or result in refusal. Contact Simon Mander Consulting for expert assessment of your eligibility, document preparation support, and strategic advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Our 22+ years of experience with Australian partner visas means you avoid common pitfalls while building the strongest possible case for reuniting with your loved one in Australia.