Partner Visa 820 and 801: Cost, Processing Time and Evidence

The onshore Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) is the main permanent residence pathway for the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is already in Australia. You lodge one combined application covering both stages: the temporary 820 first, then the permanent 801 about two years later.

Two figures matter before anything else. The application charge is AUD11,710 for most main applicants, and it covers both stages. At the temporary stage, Home Affairs is currently deciding 50 per cent of subclass 820 applications within 18 months and 90 per cent within 32 months. This guide walks through the cost, the timeline, who is eligible, the evidence that actually carries weight, and the traps that delay or sink otherwise strong applications.

Partner visa 820 and 801 at a glance

• Who it is for: the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

• Where you apply: in Australia. You and any family members applying with you must be onshore at lodgement.

• Cost: from AUD11,710 for the main applicant, covering both the 820 and the 801. Extra charges apply for each family member included.

• Stage 1 (subclass 820): temporary. Full work and study rights, travel in and out of Australia, and access to Medicare.

• Stage 2 (subclass 801): permanent residence. Assessed from two years after you lodged, unless a long-term relationship concession applies.

• Sponsor: your partner, who must be approved by Home Affairs. The sponsor cannot be changed once you apply.

• Key requirement: a genuine and continuing relationship, evidenced across four areas the Department assesses.

How much does the Partner visa 820/801 cost?

The visa application charge is paid once and covers both the temporary and permanent stages. Current charges are:

• Most applicants: AUD11,710 for the main applicant.

• Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) holders: generally AUD1,955 for the main applicant.

• Former subclass 300 holders who entered Australia on that visa, did not lodge the 820/801 before it expired and do not hold a substantive visa: generally AUD2,475.

• Each additional family member included in the application attracts a further charge.

From 1 July 2026, a reduced visa application charge applies to eligible citizens of Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste. Eligibility is assessed on the primary applicant's passport, and it extends to family members included in the application. The listed countries are the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The application charge is not the whole cost. Budget separately for health examinations, police certificates from every country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the past 10 years, biometrics where required, certified translations of non-English documents, and professional fees if you use a registered migration agent or lawyer. Home Affairs cannot process an application if the correct charge is not paid, so check the current figure with the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator before you lodge.

How long does the Partner visa take?

Processing times vary considerably, and the published guide reflects applications recently decided rather than a promise about yours. As at the date this article was checked, the Department's processing time guide shows:

• Subclass 820 (temporary): 50 per cent processed in 18 months, 90 per cent in 32 months.

• Subclass 801 (permanent): 50 per cent processed in 5 months, 90 per cent in 12 months, measured from your date of eligibility rather than from lodgement.

Your date of eligibility for the permanent stage is two years after you lodged the combined 820/801 application. So the realistic end-to-end picture for most couples is a temporary visa somewhere inside the first two years, then permanent residence assessed after that two-year mark.

Partner applications are considered and decided in the order set by Ministerial Direction 117, which governs family visa processing priorities. Beyond that, the things most within your control are completeness and consistency. An application that arrives decision-ready, with the sponsorship lodged promptly and evidence that does not contradict itself, avoids the request-for-information cycles that add months.

Who can apply for the 820/801 partner visa?

In most circumstances you must be the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and you must be in Australia when you apply.

If you are married, the marriage must be valid under Australian law. Married applicants must, in most cases, be 18 or older when they apply.

If you are in a de facto relationship, you generally need to show the relationship has existed for at least 12 months immediately before applying. Both partners must be 18 or older. The 12-month requirement can be waived where the relationship is registered under a state or territory relationship register, or where there are compelling and compassionate circumstances. Registering your relationship is worth considering early if the 12-month mark is close, because it removes an argument the Department might otherwise raise.

You will also need to satisfy the standard criteria: the health requirement, the character requirement, no outstanding debt to the Australian Government, and a signed Australian Values Statement if you are 18 or over. Where an applicant is under 18, the Department must be satisfied the grant is in the best interests of the child.

Sponsorship

Your partner sponsors you, and Home Affairs must approve them. Two points catch people out. First, the sponsor should lodge the sponsorship form as soon as possible after you apply, not months later. Second, you cannot change your sponsor. The person who sponsors you at lodgement must be the same person sponsoring you for the two years after your 820 is granted. Sponsorship limitations also apply to people who have sponsored partners before, and sponsors may be asked to provide police certificates.

Your visa status when you apply: bridging visas and condition 8503

This is where onshore applications most often go wrong, and it is worth checking your own visa on VEVO before you do anything else.

Condition 8503. If your current or a previous visa carries a "no further stay" condition such as 8503, you cannot lodge the 820 until a waiver has been approved. The waiver must be granted before you apply, not alongside the application.

Bridging visas. If you lodge a valid application while holding a substantive visa, you are normally granted a Bridging visa A, which comes into effect when your current visa expires and keeps you lawful while the 820 is decided. A Bridging visa A does not permit travel. If you need to leave Australia before the 820 is granted, you must apply for and be granted a Bridging visa B before you go, or you risk not being able to return to your application.

If you do not hold a substantive visa. You can still apply in limited circumstances, but the bar is higher and the lodgement requirements are different. You must demonstrate that compelling reasons exist for the grant, and your application may be invalid unless it includes, at lodgement, the sponsorship form, evidence of your sponsor's citizenship or residence status, and at least two Commonwealth statutory declarations made within the previous six weeks by Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens confirming your relationship, plus evidence of each declarant's status. Home Affairs is explicit that Form 888 is not a statutory declaration and will not satisfy this requirement, in any current or previous version. A driver's licence or Medicare card is not accepted as evidence of a declarant's status either. If you have also had a visa refused or cancelled, further limitations may bar the application entirely.

Holders of certain regional visas may also be prevented from applying onshore. If any of this describes your situation, get advice before lodging rather than after.

The four areas of relationship evidence

Home Affairs assesses the relationship as a whole across four areas. The aim is not the biggest possible bundle of documents. It is a clear, consistent account that a decision-maker can follow, with documents that support it. Volume without a narrative is the most common weakness in a refused application.

1. Financial aspects

Joint leases or mortgages, joint bank accounts and transaction histories, shared bills and utilities, joint loans, insurance policies naming each other, and evidence of pooled income or shared major purchases. Not every couple manages money the same way. If you keep separate accounts, say so and explain how you actually share costs, rather than manufacturing an arrangement that does not reflect your life.

2. Nature of the household

Evidence of where and how you live together: the lease or title, mail and official correspondence to the same address at overlapping dates, utility accounts, and statements explaining how you divide domestic responsibilities. Where children are involved, include documents about joint responsibility for their care.

3. Social aspects

Evidence that other people recognise your relationship: joint travel and bookings, invitations addressed to you both, membership of shared activities, photographs placed in context with dates and occasions rather than an undated gallery, and evidence of shared friends and family. Form 888 is the standard supporting statement here, completed by people who know you both and can speak to the relationship from their own knowledge. Two well-written Form 888s from witnesses who give specific detail carry far more weight than six generic ones. Note that the Form 888 requirement for supporting evidence is separate from the statutory declaration requirement described above for applicants without a substantive visa.

4. Commitment to each other

Your knowledge of each other's background, family and circumstances; how you stayed in touch during any periods apart; wills, superannuation nominations, powers of attorney or emergency contacts naming each other; and your plans for the future. A well-structured relationship statement from each partner gives the evidence a timeline and makes everything else legible.

Document checklist before you lodge

• Identity documents and valid passport pages for the applicant, sponsor and any children included.

• Evidence of the sponsor's Australian citizenship, permanent residence or eligible New Zealand status. A passport or birth certificate, not a driver's licence or Medicare card.

• A relationship statement from each partner covering how you met, how the relationship developed, periods apart and why, significant events, and your plans.

• Evidence organised across the four areas above, with a document index if the bundle is large.

• Form 888 supporting statements from witnesses, with evidence of their status.

• Marriage certificate, or relationship registration certificate, or evidence covering the 12-month de facto period.

• Details of former relationships, and documents for any dependent children including custody or consent arrangements.

• Police certificates, health examination results and any other documents requested for your circumstances.

Upload documents that are clear, complete and readable. If a document is not in English, check the current translation requirements before you submit it. Keep copies of everything you lodge, and respond to any Department request by the date given, because missed deadlines can lead to a decision on the material already held.

From 820 to 801: the permanent stage

Two years after you lodged the combined application, you reach your date of eligibility and Home Affairs assesses the permanent 801. You do not lodge a new application or pay again, but you do need to provide updated evidence showing the relationship has continued.

To be granted the 801 you must hold either the temporary subclass 820 visa or a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445). This is the reason for one of the most damaging avoidable mistakes: do not obtain another substantive visa after your 820 is granted without understanding the effect. A new visa can displace the 820 and, with it, your eligibility for the 801.

The Department may grant the permanent visa in less than two years where you were in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied. Under the migration regulations, a long-term partner relationship means one that has continued for at least three years, or at least two years where there is a dependent child of both partners. If you think this may apply to you, flag it at lodgement rather than hoping it is noticed.

Once the 801 is granted you have permanent residence: you can live, work and study indefinitely, sponsor eligible family members, and apply for Australian citizenship when you meet the residence requirements.

What if your circumstances change?

Life does not pause while a visa is processed, and the Department expects to be told when things change. Report a new address, a new passport, the birth of a child, or a change in your relationship status.

If the relationship ends before the permanent visa is granted, you may still be eligible in particular circumstances, including where there are children of the relationship or where your sponsor has died. If you are experiencing family or domestic violence, the family violence provisions may allow the permanent visa to be granted even though the relationship has ended. You do not have to stay in a relationship to keep a visa application alive. If safety is a concern, seek support and get advice about your options.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Documents without a story. A timeline and clear statements let the decision-maker see how the evidence fits together. A folder of screenshots does not.

• Relying on one type of evidence. Photographs alone say nothing about the financial, household and commitment aspects.

• Inconsistent dates and addresses. Cross-check forms, statements, leases, bank records and travel history against each other before lodging. Contradictions invite scrutiny of everything else.

• Lodging without checking visa conditions. Condition 8503 and a lapsed substantive visa change what is possible, and both need to be dealt with before you apply.

• Delaying the sponsorship form. The application is not complete until the sponsorship is lodged and approved.

• Getting a different visa after the 820. It can cost you the 801.

• Leaving Australia on a Bridging visa A without first being granted a Bridging visa B.

• Not reporting changes. A new address, passport, child or relationship change should be notified.

If a partner visa is refused

A refusal is not necessarily the end of the matter. Most partner visa refusals carry merits review rights, and the time limit to lodge an application for review is short and strictly applied. If you have received a refusal, check the decision record for the review body and the deadline immediately, and get advice about the grounds. You can read more about the process on our Administrative Review Tribunal applications page.

When to get tailored advice

Many partner applications are straightforward. Some are not, and the cost of getting it wrong is high given the application charge is not refunded on refusal. It is worth having your circumstances reviewed before lodging if you have a complex visa history, a prior refusal or cancellation, a period without a substantive visa, condition 8503 on a current or previous visa, a de facto relationship shorter than 12 months, dependent children or custody arrangements, a change in your relationship, or evidence you are not confident about.

A tailored review focuses on the rules and evidence that apply to your situation, rather than on general information. To discuss your onshore partner pathway, see our partner visa services or book an appointment with Possible Migration.

Official sources

• Department of Home Affairs: Partner visa (apply in Australia)

• Department of Home Affairs: Partner visa (Temporary) subclass 820

• Department of Home Affairs: Partner visa (Permanent) subclass 801

• Department of Home Affairs: Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions

• Department of Home Affairs: Visa processing times guide

• Department of Home Affairs: Family visa processing priorities (Ministerial Direction 117)

Information checked 2 September 2026. Visa application charges, processing times and policy settings change, so confirm current figures with the Department before you rely on them. This article is general information only and is not legal or migration advice.