Rules as of 26 October 2026

Partner visa 820/801 and 309/100: rules, sponsor and fees

How the Partner visa works in stages, what counts as a relationship, sponsor duties, documents needed and fees confirmed by the official sources.

Verified Written 26 October 2026

How do the partner visas fit together?

The Partner visa is a staged process: a temporary visa first, then a permanent visa. If you apply in Australia, the temporary visa is the 820 and the permanent visa is the 801. The application must be made while you are in Australia, but not in immigration clearance.

If you apply from outside Australia, the Partner (Provisional) visa (309) must be applied for at the same time and place as the Partner (Migrant) visa (100), and you must be outside Australia. The 309 carries a condition that the holder makes a first entry to Australia before a date the Minister specifies.

The 820 stays in effect until the holder is notified that the 801 application has been decided, or the application is withdrawn. To get the 801 you must hold the 820 (or a Dependent Child visa), and being granted any other visa ends eligibility for it.

What relationship counts?

For the onshore Partner (Temporary) visa, the main criterion is that you are the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is not barred from being a sponsoring partner.

A de facto partner must show the relationship lasted at least 12 months immediately before the application date, unless compelling and compassionate circumstances exist. The 12-month rule does not apply to a registered relationship. For a de facto relationship, both partners must be at least 18.

The decision-maker must consider all circumstances of the relationship, including the financial aspects, the nature of the household, the social aspects and the nature of the couple's commitment. Evidence is grouped under finances, household, social matters and commitment, together with a written history of how the relationship developed.

What are the sponsor's duties and limits?

For the Partner (Temporary) visa, the spouse or de facto partner sponsors if aged 18 or older; for a spouse under 18, a parent or guardian aged 18 or older who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen sponsors instead. The sponsor must assist the applicant and included family members financially and with accommodation.

A partner's sponsorship ends 2 years after the temporary visa is granted if the applicants are in Australia at grant, or 2 years after their next arrival in Australia if they are outside Australia at grant. You cannot change sponsor: the person sponsoring at application must be the same person sponsoring for those 2 years.

A sponsorship cannot be approved unless no more than 1 other person was previously granted permission on it as a partner. Where there was such a person, or the sponsor was earlier sponsored as a partner, at least 5 years must have passed since that earlier application; compelling circumstances can override this.

Which statements and documents are needed?

An onshore applicant without a substantive visa must include at least 2 statutory declarations, each made within the last 6 weeks by an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen confirming the relationship, or the application may be invalid.

A Form 888 supporting statement must be completed by a person aged 18 or over who knows the couple and their relationship history. An applicant may be asked to submit up to 3 separate Form 888 statements while the application is processed.

A police certificate is valid for 12 months from its date of issue. If you spent 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since turning 16, you must provide an Australian Federal Police national police certificate; state or territory certificates are not accepted. Partner applications must be lodged online through ImmiAccount; paper applications are accepted only by invitation, and an uninvited paper application is invalid.

What does it cost?

For applications made from 2026-07-01, the first-instalment base charge for the Partner (Residence) visa is AUD 11,710 for an applicant without a Pacific-regional passport and outside the reduced-rate cases. The same charge applies to the Partner (Migrant) visa applied for from outside Australia by an applicant without a Pacific-regional passport. Each additional applicant pays AUD 5,860 if aged 18 or over and AUD 2,935 if under 18 (standard passport holders).

Applicants holding a valid passport from a Pacific-regional country pay a lower first instalment: AUD 9,600 base, AUD 4,805 per additional adult and AUD 2,405 per additional child.

The Partner (Temporary) application itself carries no separate charge, because the charge is paid on the combined Partner (Residence) application. The visa application charge is not refunded if the Partner application is refused.

How is the permanent visa decided, and what affects the wait?

In the standard route, the permanent visa can be granted only after at least 2 years have passed since the combined temporary and permanent application. This wait does not apply to couples who were in a long-term partner relationship when they applied: at least 3 years, or 2 years with a dependent child of both partners.

The Minister may approve earlier in cases such as the sponsor's death or family violence. To start the permanent stage, the temporary visa holder logs in to ImmiAccount, selects New application > Family > Stage 2 Permanent Partner Visa Assessment (100, 801) and completes the form using the application ID.

The permanent Partner visa (801) allows travel to and entry into Australia for 5 years from the date of grant. Home Affairs gives onshore Partner (820 and 801) applications the highest processing priority and ranks offshore Prospective Marriage (300) and Partner (309 and 100) applications lower, so those are likely to take longer.

820 · 801 · 309 · 100 Partner visa (820/801 and 309/100)

For advice on your own case, ask a registered migration agent (MARA) or an Australian legal practitioner. Rules change, so always check the official source.