Partner Visa Applications in Australia: Eligibility, Evidence and Timeline

Priya, an Indian national on a student visa, has been living with her Australian partner, Ben, for 14 months. Ben wants to sponsor her for a partner visa before her student visa expires, but neither of them is sure whether they have enough joint documentation, whether Priya needs to leave Australia to apply, or how long the process will take. They are also anxious about what happens to Priya's right to remain in Australia while the application is pending. Without clear guidance on eligibility, evidence categories, and lodgement procedure, they risk submitting an incomplete application — or missing a critical deadline entirely.

Australia runs a two-stage partner visa pathway:

Choosing the wrong pathway is a common and costly error. Priya, for example, is in Australia — so she should apply for the subclass 820/801 combination, not the offshore pathway. If she were outside Australia at the time of lodgement, she would need to apply for the 309/100 stream instead.

Who can be sponsored? A sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen. The sponsor must be at least 18 years old, must not be subject to a sponsorship bar (imposed after a previous relationship breakdown involving violence), and must not have sponsored more than one previous partner visa applicant (with limited exceptions).

The Department of Home Affairs does not simply ask "are you a couple?" It requires proof across four distinct criteria:

1. 1.Mutual commitment to a shared life — evidence that both partners have decided to build a life together to the exclusion of all others.
2. 2.A genuine relationship — the relationship must not have been entered into for the primary purpose of obtaining a visa.
3. 3.Legal status — the couple must be married, in a registered de facto relationship, or have lived together in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months immediately before lodgement (exceptions exist for compelling and compassionate circumstances).
4. 4.Health and character — the applicant must meet standard health requirements and provide police clearances from every country where they have lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.

Couples who have been together for less than 12 months as a de facto couple but cannot defer their application may be able to access a prospective marriage visa (subclass 300) — an entirely separate pathway worth exploring with a registered migration agent.

The Department assesses evidence across four categories. Weakness in any one area can lead to a request for further information or, in serious cases, refusal.

1. Financial aspects

• Joint bank accounts with regular transactions
• Joint names on a lease, mortgage, or utility bills
• Evidence of financial dependence or interdependence (e.g., one partner paying the other's expenses, shared credit cards)

2. Nature of the household

• A shared residential address confirmed by lease agreements, council rates notices, or correspondence
• Statements about the division of household duties
• Evidence of shared domestic arrangements (photos, receipts for shared purchases of furniture or appliances)

3. Social aspects

• Photographs together over the period of the relationship, ideally with timestamps and third parties present
• Evidence of attendance at family events, weddings, or social occasions together
• Statutory declarations from friends and family members who know the couple as a genuine couple

4. Commitment

• Evidence of travel together
• Knowledge of each other's personal history, interests, and circumstances (sometimes assessed at interview)
• Steps taken to formalise the relationship such as registering a de facto relationship with a state or territory registry (available in most jurisdictions)

A case officer may request an interview with one or both partners, particularly where the relationship is relatively new, is long-distance, or where the evidence is inconsistent or sparse. Being unprepared for such an interview is one of the most common reasons an otherwise valid application falters.

Step 1 — Gather documents before you apply (4–8 weeks)

Compile identity documents (passports, birth certificates), evidence across all four categories described above, sponsor's citizenship or residency proof, and statutory declarations. Do not lodge without covering all four evidence categories.

Step 2 — Health examinations (1–2 weeks)

Both the applicant and any dependants must complete health examinations through an approved panel physician. Book early — appointments can be scarce. Results are submitted directly to the Department.

Step 3 — Police clearances (2–6 weeks)

Order police certificates from each relevant country. Australian Federal Police checks are completed online. International certificates can take significantly longer — plan ahead.

Step 4 — Online lodgement via ImmiAccount (1 day)

Both the 820 (or 309) and 801 (or 100) applications are lodged simultaneously through the Department's ImmiAccount portal. The application fee must be paid at the time of lodgement. As of mid-2025, the base application charge is approximately $8,850 (confirm the current amount with the Department of Home Affairs before lodging, as fees are indexed annually).

Step 5 — Bridging visa (onshore applicants only — automatic)

Once a valid onshore application is lodged, a Bridging Visa A is automatically granted. This allows Priya to remain lawfully in Australia with work rights while her application is processed, provided she held a substantive visa at the time of lodgement.

Step 6 — Temporary visa decision (Stage 1) — typically 12–28 months

The Department assesses the Stage 1 (temporary) visa. During this period it may request further documents or invite the couple to attend an interview. Responding promptly and completely to any request for further information is critical.

Step 7 — Two-year waiting period before permanent grant

If the Stage 1 visa is granted, the applicant generally must wait a further two years from the original lodgement date before the permanent (Stage 2) visa can be granted. This waiting period does not apply to couples who were married or in a registered relationship for three or more years before lodgement, or where the couple has a dependent child together.

Step 8 — Stage 2 (permanent) assessment — Subclass 801/100 grant

The Department reassesses the relationship at Stage 2 — confirming the relationship is still genuine and ongoing. Submitting an updated evidence package at this point (covering developments since Stage 1 lodgement) is strongly advisable.

Typical total duration: 24–36 months from lodgement to permanent grant, though this varies significantly. Confirm current processing times on the Department of Home Affairs website before lodging.

• Assuming a marriage certificate alone is sufficient. Marriage proves a legal status, not a genuine ongoing relationship. Case officers require evidence of day-to-day life together.
• Not translating documents. All documents not in English must be accompanied by a translation by a NAATI-accredited translator. Untranslated documents are routinely set aside.
• Lodging offshore when eligible to lodge onshore. This eliminates access to a bridging visa and forces the applicant to remain outside Australia — sometimes for years.
• Failing to update the Department on change of address or relationship circumstances. A failure to notify can be treated as non-compliance and may prejudice the application.
• Thinking the relationship only needs to be proven at lodgement. The Department assesses genuineness at both Stage 1 and Stage 2. Couples who separate during the waiting period must notify the Department, which typically results in the permanent visa not being granted.
• Confusing registered migration agents with general solicitors. Only a registered migration agent (RMA) or Australian legal practitioner may charge for migration advice. Using an unlicensed adviser is both a legal risk and a practical one — their errors cannot easily be undone.

The partner visa framework operates primarily under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). The regulations set out the Schedule 2 criteria that applicants for subclass 820, 801, 309, and 100 visas must satisfy, including the definitions of "spouse" and "de facto partner", the 12-month cohabitation requirement, and the two-year waiting period for the permanent grant. The assessment of a "genuine relationship" is a merits question decided on the totality of the evidence — there is no single document that is determinative.

As noted above, the provided case sources for this article do not contain partner visa migration decisions, so no specific case citations are made in the following section.

Because the partner visa jurisdiction sits within the federal migration tribunal and court system — not the New South Wales courts from which the sources for this article are drawn — no specific case citations from the provided sources apply here. However, the following general principles are well established through merits review decisions at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and its successor, the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART):

• Applications where couples maintained separate finances and had no joint documents were routinely the subject of prolonged scrutiny, regardless of genuine intent.
• Couples in long-distance or international relationships face heightened evidential burdens, particularly where the parties have had limited opportunity to cohabit.
• Statutory declarations from family and friends carry significant weight when they are specific and detailed — generic declarations ("they are a lovely couple") add little.

If a partner visa is refused, an applicant may seek merits review at the ART (formerly the AAT) within 21 days of notification of the refusal decision. The right to review does not apply in all circumstances (for example, if the applicant is an unlawful non-citizen at the time of decision). Confirm review rights and deadlines with a registered migration agent or solicitor promptly upon receiving any adverse decision.

Use this checklist before submitting your partner visa application:

• [ ] Sponsor confirmed eligible (citizen, PR, or eligible NZ citizen; no sponsorship bar)
• [ ] Relationship meets the 12-month de facto requirement or parties are married/registered
• [ ] Health examinations booked and completed
• [ ] Police clearances ordered for all relevant countries
• [ ] Financial evidence compiled (joint accounts, bills, lease)
• [ ] Household evidence compiled (address proof, domestic arrangements)
• [ ] Social evidence compiled (photos with timestamps, travel, event attendance)
• [ ] Commitment evidence compiled (registered relationship, travel itineraries, knowledge of each other's history)
• [ ] At least two statutory declarations from people who know the couple
• [ ] All non-English documents translated by a NAATI-accredited translator
• [ ] Application fee confirmed and payment method ready
• [ ] ImmiAccount created for both applicant and sponsor
• [ ] Dependent children identified and included in the application
• [ ] Reviewed current processing times on the Department of Home Affairs website

You can get a free AI-powered matter analysis through ROY to help you identify the gaps in your partner visa evidence before you lodge — visit the ROY platform to get started.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Australian partner visa applications. It is not legal advice and does not take into account your individual circumstances. Migration law is complex and changes frequently. You should consult a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner before making any decisions about your visa application.