Partner visa (820/801 and 309/100)

Under Direction 117, a family visa application ranks highest in priority when the main applicant lodged it from inside Australia and the visa can be granted onshore.

Under Direction 117, family visa applications rank lower in priority when the main applicant was outside Australia at lodgement or has to be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Partner applications are processed under a global model, so any departmental office in or outside Australia may handle them regardless of the applicant's nationality or location.

When assessing a Partner application 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.

A long-term partner relationship is a spousal or de facto relationship that has lasted at least 3 years, or at least 2 years if the couple have a dependent child (not a step-child) of both partners.

The Partner visa FAQ 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.

At the decision stage of a Subclass 820 Partner visa the applicant must satisfy public interest criterion 4007 (with limited exceptions in clause 820.223(2)), so a health waiver is available for them.

Under the main criterion for the onshore Partner (Temporary) visa, the applicant must be 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; other subclauses cover special groups.

The 12-month de facto requirement does not apply if the de facto relationship is a registered relationship under section 2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, or in the specified humanitarian visa situations.

Both the applicant and the person they claim to be in a de facto relationship with must be at least 18 years old.

A partner or prospective-marriage sponsorship cannot be approved unless no more than one other person was previously granted permission on the sponsor's sponsorship as a partner, and, where there was such a person (or the sponsor was earlier sponsored as a partner), at least 5 years have passed since that earlier application; compelling circumstances can override this.

Under the exception in regulation 1.20J, sponsorship can still be approved where the Minister is satisfied there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.

The Family stream of the 2026-27 Migration Program has a planning level of 52,460 places, with about 41,500 Partner visas and 3,500 Child visas estimated for planning purposes.

Unless compelling and compassionate circumstances exist, a de facto partner applying for the Partner (Temporary) visa must show the de facto relationship lasted at least 12 months immediately before the application date.

A visa applicant may be asked to submit up to three separate Form 888 supporting statements while the Partner or Prospective Marriage application is being processed.

In the standard route the permanent Partner visa can be granted only once at least 2 years have passed since the combined temporary and permanent application was made, but this wait does not apply to couples who were in a long-term partner relationship when they applied, and the Minister may approve earlier in cases such as the sponsor's death or family violence.

Indicative planning levels for the Partner category rise from 40,500 to 41,500 and for the Child category from 3,000 to 3,500 in 2026-27.

Health assessment results are valid for 12 months from completion of the examinations, a health undertaking stays valid for 6 months, and the department may ask for them again if they expire before decision.

The temporary Partner visa stays in effect until the holder is notified that the permanent Partner visa application has been decided, or until that application is withdrawn.

The permanent Partner visa permits the holder to travel to and enter Australia for 5 years from the date of grant.

A Prospective Marriage visa stays in effect until a date set by the Minister that is between 9 and 15 months after the grant, or for 9 months after the grant if no date is set.

The temporary Partner (Provisional) visa stays in effect until the end of the day on which the holder is notified that the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa application has been decided, or that application is withdrawn.

The Partner (Provisional) visa carries a condition that the holder must make their first entry to Australia before a date the Minister specifies for the purpose.

The combined 820/801 partner application (charged under Class BS) costs a standard first instalment of $11,710 for the main applicant, $5,860 for each additional applicant aged 18 or over and $2,935 for each under 18; the second instalment is nil, and special sub-cases such as transitional or prospective-marriage visa holders pay other amounts.

Partner applicants holding a Pacific-regional passport who fall in no special sub-case pay $9,600 as main applicant, $4,805 for additional applicants aged 18 or over and $2,405 for those under 18.

The offshore partner application (309 provisional followed by 100 permanent) is charged under Class BC at a first instalment of $11,710 for the main applicant, $5,860 for each extra applicant aged 18 or over and $2,935 for each under 18, with a nil second instalment.

Pacific-regional passport holders applying for the offshore partner visas pay $9,600 as main applicant, $4,805 for additional applicants aged 18 or over and $2,405 under 18.

For a Partner (Residence) Class BS application made on or after 1 July 2026 by an applicant with no Pacific-regional passport who falls under none of the reduced-rate cases, the first-instalment base application charge is AUD 11,710.

For a Partner (Migrant) Class BC application (the offshore partner pathway) by an applicant without a Pacific-regional passport, the first-instalment base application charge in force from 1 July 2026 is AUD 11,710.

The Partner (Temporary) 820 visa (Class UK) has a nil visa application charge of its own and must be applied for at the same time and place as a Partner (Residence) 801 (Class BS) application.

The Partner (Provisional) 309 visa carries a nil visa application charge in its own Schedule 1 item and must be lodged together with a Partner (Migrant) 100 application.

Under Direction 117 the department may prioritise a Partner application if the applicant shows special circumstances of a compassionate nature and compelling reasons to depart from the normal order; there is no guarantee, and a temporary Partner visa holder cannot get priority for the permanent stage until two years have passed since they applied for the temporary visa.

The department will only consider priority processing if all supporting documents are lodged with the application, and says most priority requests cannot be approved.

Applicants should not contact the department about progress while an application is still within the standard processing time; status can be checked in ImmiAccount.

A Form 888 supporting statement for a Partner or Prospective Marriage application must be completed by a person who knows the couple and their relationship history and is at least 18 years old.

Within each priority group, Direction 117 orders family applications as: ministerial intervention cases, then partner or dependent child, orphan relative, contributory parent or contributory aged parent, carer, and finally parent, aged parent, remaining relative and aged dependent relative.

The explanatory statement says the first instalment of the visa application charge rose by 25 per cent from 1 July 2026 for most visa subclasses in Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations, which covers the family visas in this topic.

From 1 July 2026 a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid Partner visa application.

Family visa applications are now ordered under Ministerial Direction 117, which replaced Direction 102 on 25 July 2026; Direction 103 still governs queue-date order for capped and queued family visas.

Ministerial Direction 117 replaced Direction 102 on 25 July 2026 and gives highest priority to family visa applications lodged while the primary applicant was in Australia for a visa that can be granted onshore.