Partner Visa 820 Onshore: How Long It Takes

The subclass 820 is the onshore half of a two stage visa. You lodge the 820 and the 801 together, pay once, and the Department decides the temporary stage first. The permanent stage is assessed around two years after lodgement.

The number people ask about is the wait to the first decision. On the Department's own guide, half of 820 applications are decided within 23 months and nine in ten within 29 months. Those figures describe applications already decided. They are not a promise about yours.

What the wait is actually made of

Very little of the elapsed time is active assessment. Most of it is queue.

Lodgement and the bridging visa

An onshore application made while you hold a substantive visa attracts a Bridging Visa A. It sits dormant until your current visa expires, then takes effect with full work rights. This is the reason onshore applicants are rarely disrupted by the length of the wait.

Allocation

The file waits for a case officer. Nothing you do speeds this up, and requests for an update do not move a file forward. What does help is arriving at allocation with a complete file, because an incomplete one restarts the clock on your own file rather than the queue.

Requests and decision

Health, character and any outstanding evidence are usually dealt with together. Where the four evidence categories under Regulation 1.15A are already covered, this stage is short.

The permanent stage

Around two years after lodgement the 801 becomes assessable, and the Department looks for evidence that the relationship has continued across that period. Applicants who stop collecting evidence on the day they lodge find this stage harder than the first.

What it costs

AUD $11,710 for the primary applicant as at 1 July 2026, covering both stages. The subclass 300 costs more overall, because a further $1,955 applies after marriage. The subclass 461 is around $1,330, but it is a five year temporary visa with no permanent stage.

The single charge across two stages is worth keeping in mind when comparing an appeal against a fresh application after a refusal. A second application means a second $11,710.

Which subclass applies turns on three things: where you are when you lodge, whether you are married or de facto, and whether your partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen. In Australia, the 820. Outside Australia, the 309. Engaged with under 12 months of living together, the 300.