Partner Visa Health Requirements

Partner visa health requirements apply to almost every person who applies for a partner visa in Australia, and to some family members who are not even coming to Australia. The partner visa health requirements are not about whether you are fit or healthy in a general sense. They are a set of legal tests in public interest criterion 4007 that ask three specific questions about tuberculosis, public health risk and cost to the Australian community.

This guide explains the partner visa health requirements for the onshore Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 partner visa, the offshore Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 partner visa and the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa. It covers who must be examined, how the examinations work, what the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth does, what happens when a condition is found, and how a health waiver can be considered. If you want an overview of the whole partner visa process first, our complete guide to partner visas in Australia explains every stage. If a health issue already affects your application, our partner visa lawyers can assess your position before the Department makes a decision.

What are the partner visa health requirements?

The partner visa health requirements are the health criteria in public interest criterion 4007 (PIC 4007) of Schedule 4 to the Migration Regulations 1994, and every partner visa applicant must satisfy them before the visa can be granted. In plain terms, PIC 4007 requires the applicant to be:

• Free from tuberculosis.
• Free from a disease or condition that is, or may result in the applicant being, a threat to public health in Australia or a danger to the Australian community.
• Free from a disease or condition that would be likely to require health care or community services that would result in a significant cost to the Australian community, or prejudice the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to health care or community services.

Whether those tests are met is assessed through immigration health examinations. The results go to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, who gives an opinion on each test. The visa decision maker then applies that opinion.

Partner visa health requirements are one group of public interest criteria among several. The same clauses that require PIC 4007 also require character criteria (PIC 4001 and 4002), the security criterion (PIC 4003), the debts criterion (PIC 4004) and others. A partner visa can be refused for failing a health criterion even where the relationship is genuine and fully proven. That is why the partner visa health requirements deserve the same attention as your relationship evidence.

Which partner visas have health requirements?

Every partner visa subclass has health requirements, and each one imposes them through PIC 4007. The relevant clauses of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations are:

• Subclass 820: clause 820.223 requires the primary applicant to satisfy PIC 4007, and subclause 820.224(1A) extends PIC 4007 to members of the family unit who are not applicants.
• Subclass 801: subclause 801.223(1) requires the applicant to satisfy PIC 4007, and subclause 801.224(2) applies it to non-applicant family members.
• Subclass 309: paragraph 309.228(1)(a) applies PIC 4007 to family members who are also applicants, and subclause 309.228(2) applies it to family members who are not applicants. The primary criteria for the Subclass 309 visa also require PIC 4007.
• Subclass 100: clause 100.222 requires the primary applicant to satisfy PIC 4007, and subclause 100.224(2) applies it to non-applicant family members.
• Subclass 300: clause 300.223 requires the primary applicant to satisfy PIC 4007, paragraph 300.226(1)(a) applies it to family members who are also applicants, and subclause 300.226(2) applies it to non-applicant family members.

So the partner visa health requirements are the same legal test whether you apply in Australia or overseas. What differs between the subclasses is mainly the practical process: where the examinations happen, and whether a second health check is needed at the permanent stage. Our guide to the Subclass 820 visa explains the onshore pathway, and our article on Subclass 820 vs Subclass 801 explains how the two stages fit together.

A concession for some Subclass 300 holders

There is one important exception to the onshore partner visa health requirements. Clause 820.223 applies the public interest criteria "unless the applicant satisfied clause 820.211(5)". Subclause 820.211(5) covers applicants who entered Australia as the holder of a Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa and ceased to hold a substantive visa after marrying the sponsor. Subclause 801.223(2) then provides that the public interest criteria, other than PIC 4019, do not have to be met at the permanent stage where the Subclass 820 visa was granted on that basis. The applicant was already health assessed for the Subclass 300 visa. Department policy extends a similar concession to a dependent child who also entered on the Subclass 300 visa.

PIC 4005 and PIC 4007: why the difference matters

The difference between PIC 4005 and PIC 4007 is that PIC 4007 allows a health waiver and PIC 4005 does not. Most visas use one or the other. Partner visas use PIC 4007, and that is one of the most important features of the partner visa health requirements.

The Department's own review of the migration health requirement states that a health waiver is available under PIC 4007, enabling the Minister to consider the compassionate and compelling circumstances of the visa applicant. It also states that where an applicant fails the health requirement for a visa that is subject to PIC 4005, a health waiver is not available.

For couples, this means a partner visa applicant with a serious but stable medical condition is not automatically excluded. If the only problem is the significant cost or prejudice to access test, the partner visa health requirements can still be satisfied through a waiver. That outcome is not guaranteed, but the door is open in a way that it is not for many other visas.

The waiver does not reach every limb. Tuberculosis and a threat to public health are not waivable. An applicant with active tuberculosis must be treated and cleared before the partner visa health requirements can be met. We explain the waiver in detail later in this guide.

The three limbs of the partner visa health requirements

The partner visa health requirements have three separate limbs, and the applicant must satisfy all three. Each limb asks a different question, and each one is assessed by the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth on the medical evidence.

Tuberculosis

The first limb of the partner visa health requirements is that the applicant must be free from tuberculosis. Department policy describes active tuberculosis as the one condition that is always a risk to public health. Screening for tuberculosis is the main reason most adult applicants are asked to have a chest x-ray.

A history of tuberculosis does not automatically mean the partner visa health requirements cannot be met. What matters is whether the person currently has active disease. If active tuberculosis is found, the usual course is treatment until the person is cleared. If old or inactive tuberculosis is found, the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth may ask for further tests or a health undertaking, which is explained below.

Threat to public health or danger to the community

The second limb of the partner visa health requirements is that the applicant must be free from any disease or condition that is, or may result in the applicant being, a threat to public health in Australia or a danger to the Australian community. This limb is about risk to other people, not cost. It is rarely the issue in partner visa matters apart from tuberculosis, but the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth considers it in every case.

Like tuberculosis, a finding against the applicant on this limb cannot be waived. The practical solution, where one exists, is treatment and fresh medical evidence.

Significant cost and prejudice to access

The third limb of the partner visa health requirements is the one that causes most partner visa problems. The applicant must not have a disease or condition that would be likely to require health care or community services during the assessment period, where providing those services would be likely to result in a significant cost to the Australian community, or would prejudice the access of Australian citizens or permanent residents to health care or community services.

Three points about this limb are often misunderstood:

• The test is about the likely cost of the condition, not about whether the applicant will actually use public services. A couple who say they will pay privately are not answering the legal test.
• The Department's guidance states that health spending and community service spending are both counted, including hospital care, medical services, pharmaceuticals, disability services, specialised education support and some welfare payments.
• Prejudice to access is assessed separately from cost. The Department's guidance identifies organ transplants and dialysis as services currently in short supply, so a condition likely to need either can fail this limb regardless of cost.

The Department sets a significant cost threshold and an assessment period, both of which are published by the Department and change from time to time. This article does not state the figure, because it is updated periodically and the correct figure is the one current when your case is assessed. What matters for partner visa health requirements is that the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, not the couple, decides whether the threshold is likely to be exceeded.

The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's opinion

The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth is a registered medical practitioner appointed by the Minister to assess whether visa applicants meet the health criteria. For partner visa health requirements, the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth reviews the examination results and gives an opinion on each limb of PIC 4007.

Under regulation 2.25A of the Migration Regulations, the decision maker must take the opinion of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth on these health matters to be correct. The visa officer cannot simply disagree with the medical opinion because the result seems harsh. The officer can, however, check whether the opinion was validly given, for example whether it addressed the right test and the right person.

The Department's guidance makes an important point about this stage: the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth can only consider the applicant's medical situation, not their other personal circumstances, such as private health insurance or the ability to pay. Those personal circumstances become relevant only if a health waiver is considered. This is why couples who send financial evidence at the medical stage are often disappointed. The evidence is not wrong, but it is being sent to the wrong part of the process under the partner visa health requirements.

The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth can also ask for more information. That may mean further tests, a specialist report or treatment records. A delay in providing those documents is one of the most common reasons partner visa health requirements hold up a decision. Our guide to responding to a section 56 request for more information explains how requests of that kind work and why deadlines matter.

Preparing for the partner visa health requirements before you lodge

The best preparation for the partner visa health requirements is to identify every person who must be examined and every known health issue before the application is lodged. Most couples never have a problem with health. The couples who do usually knew about the condition in advance, and the difficulty comes from not planning for it.

Before lodgement, it is sensible to work through these questions:

• Who is in the applicant's family unit, including children who live elsewhere and will not migrate?
• Does the applicant or any family member have a diagnosed condition that needs ongoing treatment, medication or support services?
• Has anyone had tuberculosis, a positive tuberculosis test or an abnormal chest x-ray in the past?
• Is any applicant pregnant, or likely to be pregnant, when the examinations are requested?
• Are there existing specialist reports and treatment records that can be gathered now?

None of these questions changes the legal test. They change how ready the couple is when the Department asks. A couple who already holds a recent specialist report can respond within the time allowed. A couple who must start looking for a specialist after the request arrives often cannot. For applicants inside Australia, timing of lodgement also affects the bridging visa and work rights. Our guide to bridging visas in Australia explains how those rules fit alongside the partner visa health requirements.

Partner visa health examinations: eMedical, HAP ID and who examines you

Partner visa health examinations are arranged through a HAP ID and recorded in the Department's eMedical system, and they must be done by an approved clinic. These practical steps are the part of the partner visa health requirements most applicants deal with directly.

The HAP ID

The HAP ID is the Health Assessment Portal identifier linked to your health case. The Department's guidance states that you need the HAP ID to make an appointment for your health examinations. The clinic uses the HAP ID to access your record in eMedical and to attach the results to the right person and the right application. If more than one family member is examined, each person has their own HAP ID.

eMedical

eMedical is the electronic system used to record immigration health examinations and send the results to the Department. The Department's guidance states that the clinic submits the results and its recommendation for assessment, and that online applicants can see information about their health assessment processing in their ImmiAccount. Our guide to creating an ImmiAccount explains the account that partner visa applications are lodged through.

Examinations in Australia: Bupa Medical Visa Services

Applicants in Australia arrange their health examinations with the Department's migration medical services provider, Bupa Medical Visa Services. This applies to most onshore Subclass 820 applicants and to anyone else in Australia who is asked to complete examinations for a partner visa.

Examinations overseas: panel physicians

Applicants outside Australia must be examined by one of the Department's approved panel physicians or clinics. This applies to most Subclass 309 and Subclass 300 applicants. Examinations by a family doctor or a clinic that is not on the Department's panel do not satisfy the partner visa health requirements, however thorough they are.

What the examinations usually include

The examinations required depend on the visa, the person's age, their country of residence and any health history. The Department's panel instructions describe a medical history and physical examination for all applicants, a chest x-ray for applicants aged 11 or older and an HIV test for applicants aged 15 or older, with further tests where the instructions or the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth require them. Applicants pay for their own examinations. Our guide to the cost of a Subclass 820 partner visa explains the costs that sit outside the visa application charge.

Honesty at the examination matters. A partner visa application also has to satisfy PIC 4020, the integrity criterion, and the Department's policy confirms that information given to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth falls within its scope. Failing to disclose a known condition is a far greater risk to a partner visa than the condition itself.

Who must meet the partner visa health requirements?

The partner visa health requirements apply to the applicant, to every family member included in the application, and usually to family members who are not migrating. This last group surprises many couples.

The applicant and included family members

The primary applicant must meet the partner visa health requirements. Any family member included in the application, such as a dependent child, must also meet them. Under the "one fails, all fail" criteria in each subclass, the primary applicant cannot be granted the visa if an included family member does not satisfy PIC 4007. A health problem for one child can therefore stop the visa for the whole family.

Family members who are not migrating

Partner visa health requirements also extend to members of the applicant's family unit who are not applying. Subclause 820.224(1A), subclause 309.228(2), subclause 300.226(2), subclause 801.224(2) and subclause 100.224(2) each require non-applicant family members to satisfy PIC 4007 unless the decision maker is satisfied that it would be unreasonable to require the person to undergo assessment.

The usual example is a child of the applicant who lives with a former partner overseas and will not come to Australia. The Department's guidance confirms that family members might have to meet the health requirement even if they are not migrating to Australia. The reasoning is that the child could later be sponsored, and the Department wants to know the position now.

Whether it is "unreasonable" to require assessment depends on the facts. A common situation is a child in the custody of a former partner who refuses to allow the examination. An argument that assessment would be unreasonable needs evidence, not just a statement that the examination is inconvenient. The family composition you declare also matters for the partner visa health requirements, so it should be complete and accurate from the start. Our guide to Form 80 explains why family details must be consistent across forms.

One of the database decisions on partner visa health requirements illustrates the risk. In Evangelio (Migration) [2022] AATA 1109, a Subclass 820 matter, the issue recorded was that the applicant's non-migrating sons did not satisfy PIC 4007(1)(c) and whether the medical opinion was validly made. A health issue for a family member who will never migrate can still become the central issue in an onshore partner visa case.

The Australian partner

The Australian sponsor does not have to meet the partner visa health requirements. PIC 4007 applies to the applicant and the applicant's family unit, not to the sponsor. The sponsor's health can still be relevant elsewhere, for example to compelling circumstances in a waiver request or in the assessment of the relationship.

When are partner visa medicals requested and how long are they valid?

Partner visa medicals can be done after lodgement when the Department asks, or in some cases upfront before lodgement, and the results are generally valid for 12 months. Timing is one of the most practical parts of the partner visa health requirements.

After lodgement

The Department's partner visa guidance states that you can complete your health examinations after you apply. Many applicants wait until the Department issues a request, which usually includes the HAP ID and instructions. The request letter sets a time to respond, and that time should be treated as strict.

Upfront examinations

The Department's My Health Declarations service lets some applicants complete health examinations before they lodge. If the visa you intend to apply for does not appear as an option in that service, you need to wait until after you apply. Upfront examinations can be useful where the couple wants to identify any health issue early. They can also be wasted if processing takes longer than the validity period.

Validity of results

The Department states that health assessment results are valid for 12 months from the time you complete your examinations, and that a health undertaking, if required, is valid for six months. If results expire before the visa is decided, the Department may ask you to provide them again. Our article on Subclass 820 visa processing times and our guide to how long the onshore partner visa takes explain why many applicants are asked to repeat examinations during a long wait.

For the Subclass 309 visa and the Subclass 300 visa, health validity also affects travel. Department policy on condition 8504 lists the validity of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's opinion on the last medical and radiological examination among the dates used to set the first entry date for many visas. A first entry date that falls soon after grant is often a sign that the health clearance was close to expiry.

Children and the partner visa health requirements

Children included in a partner visa application must meet the partner visa health requirements in the same way as adults, and a health issue for a child can affect the whole application. Under the "one fails, all fail" criteria, the primary applicant cannot be granted the visa if an included child does not satisfy PIC 4007.

The examinations a child needs depend on age. Younger children usually have a medical examination without a chest x-ray, unless the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth asks for one. Older children may need the same tests as adults.

A child with a developmental, cognitive or ongoing medical condition may raise the significant cost limb. In those cases, the evidence about the child's actual needs is critical. A diagnosis on its own says little about cost. A report that describes the child's current functioning, the support actually required and the likely course of the condition gives the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth a proper basis for an opinion. One database decision, 2005509 (Migration) [2024] AATA 759, a Subclass 309 matter, records the issues as the health criteria, mild functional and cognitive impairment, mild developmental delay and the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's opinion.

The Department's guidance also notes that if an applicant does not meet the health requirement, the visa will not be granted unless the applicant is an eligible child or a health waiver is available. The Department publishes separate guidance on special consideration for some children born and ordinarily resident in Australia. Whether that applies depends on the child's circumstances and needs advice. Where a child's health is the issue, the interests of that child, and of any Australian citizen siblings, are central to any waiver request under the partner visa health requirements.

Pregnancy and the chest x-ray

Pregnancy does not exempt an applicant from the partner visa health requirements, but the chest x-ray can usually be deferred until after the birth. The Department's panel instructions state that a chest x-ray can be deferred until after childbirth for pregnant applicants, and that informed consent must be obtained and the radiation risk explained if an x-ray is taken during pregnancy.

A deferral means the health assessment is not complete until the x-ray is done. The visa usually cannot be granted until the partner visa health requirements are fully met. Couples who are expecting a child should tell the clinic and plan around the deferral. A baby born during the application may also need to be added and examined. Our guide to Form 1022 for a change of circumstances explains how changes such as a birth are reported.

What happens if a health condition is found?

If a health condition is found, the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth decides whether it affects any limb of the partner visa health requirements, and the result can range from clearance with no further step to an opinion that a criterion is not met. Most conditions found at an immigration medical do not lead to a refusal.

Further information and specialist reports

The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth might ask for more information or further health examinations. Typical requests are a specialist report, test results, a treatment history or a current prognosis. The quality of that medical evidence matters. A report that says only "the patient is well" is far less useful than one that addresses the diagnosis, current treatment, likely course and future needs.

Health undertakings

The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth might recommend that the applicant sign a health undertaking. A health undertaking is a promise to contact a state or territory health authority and attend follow up after arriving or after grant. It is commonly used for inactive tuberculosis and some other conditions. Signing it does not mean the applicant has failed the partner visa health requirements. It means the applicant meets them on the basis of the follow up. One database decision, May (Migration) [2020] AATA 5416, a Subclass 309 matter, records the issue as the health criteria and the applicant's signed undertaking to present to a state health authority for follow up assessment.

An opinion that a criterion is not met

If the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth gives an opinion that the applicant does not meet a limb of PIC 4007, the decision maker must treat that opinion as correct under regulation 2.25A. If the limb is tuberculosis or public health, the visa cannot be granted while that remains the position. If the limb is significant cost or prejudice to access, the partner visa health waiver becomes the central question.

Before refusing a visa on information that is adverse to the applicant, the Department generally invites comment. Our guide to the section 57 natural justice letter for partner visas explains how to respond. A response on partner visa health requirements is often the most important document in the file, because it is where the applicant puts forward the circumstances relevant to a waiver.

The partner visa health waiver under PIC 4007(2)

The partner visa health waiver allows the Minister to waive the significant cost and prejudice to access limb of PIC 4007 in some cases. It is available because partner visas use PIC 4007 rather than PIC 4005. It is not available for tuberculosis or a threat to public health.

The waiver provisions in subclause 4007(2) operate only where the applicant meets all the other criteria for the visa, and where the Minister is satisfied that granting the visa would be unlikely to result in undue cost to the Australian community or undue prejudice to the access of Australian citizens or permanent residents to health care or community services. The word "undue" is important. The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth has already found that the cost is "significant". The waiver asks a different question: whether, in all the circumstances, that cost is undue.

This is the point at which the partner visa health requirements stop being purely medical. The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth cannot consider personal circumstances. The waiver decision maker can. That is why a waiver request should be prepared as a full legal submission with evidence, not as a short letter. If your application has reached this stage, our partner visa refusals team can review the medical opinion and the waiver material before a decision is made.

What the Department considers in a partner visa health waiver

The Department considers whether there are compelling and compassionate circumstances that justify the grant despite the cost, together with any steps that would reduce or offset the cost to the Australian community. The Department's review of the migration health requirement describes the PIC 4007 waiver as enabling the Minister to consider the compassionate and compelling circumstances of the visa applicant.

In partner visa matters, the circumstances commonly put forward include:

• The Australian citizen or permanent resident partner, and the effect on them of the visa being refused.
• Any Australian citizen children, and their best interests in living with both parents.
• The length and strength of the relationship and the couple's life together in Australia.
• The applicant's current health, treatment and prognosis, supported by specialist evidence.
• Whether the likely cost can be reduced, for example through the applicant's work, family support or arrangements for treatment.
• The circumstances in the applicant's home country, including access to treatment there.

The weight given to each matter depends on the evidence. Department policy for other waivers stresses that a genuine relationship is the basis of every partner visa, so the relationship alone is rarely enough. A strong waiver submission on partner visa health requirements connects the facts to the legal test of "undue" cost and prejudice. It does not simply list hardships.

Couples should also understand what a waiver cannot do. It cannot change the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's opinion. It cannot reach tuberculosis or the public health limb. It is a discretionary decision, and an applicant who meets the partner visa health requirements only through a waiver has no certainty of the outcome. Our article on why partner visas get refused and our guide to why Subclass 820 partner visas are refused put health refusals in the context of other refusal grounds.

Partner visa health requirements at the second stage

Partner visa health requirements apply again at the permanent stage, but applicants who were cleared at the first stage are not ordinarily asked to repeat their examinations. Subclause 801.223(1) and clause 100.222 both require PIC 4007 for the permanent visa.

Department policy for the Subclass 801 and Subclass 100 visas states that applicants who received a permanent health clearance for their Subclass 820 or Subclass 309 visa, or had a health waiver exercised, are not ordinarily required to undertake further health checks at the permanent stage. The policy describes this as a decision to exempt applicants from additional screening, not as a re-use of the old results.

The policy sets out the only situations in which repeat examinations should be requested at the permanent stage:

• Where the decision maker has reason to believe the applicant failed to disclose a health condition at the first stage, or fraud may have been involved, or the Department has information that the applicant's health has changed since the first visa was granted.
• Where the applicant's temporary or provisional visa ceased more than 12 months before the decision maker started assessing the permanent visa.

Family members who did not complete examinations at the first stage, such as a child born or adopted after the provisional visa was granted, must complete them at the second stage. A non-applicant family member first disclosed during the permanent stage must also be assessed under PIC 4007, unless it would be unreasonable to require it. Our Subclass 820 partner visa guide and our 820 visa guide to requirements and documents explain what else is assessed at each stage.

How the partner visa health requirements fit with the rest of your application

The partner visa health requirements are assessed alongside the relationship, sponsorship, character and other criteria, and a weakness in any of them can affect a health waiver. The waiver is available only where the applicant meets all the other criteria for the visa, so a health waiver cannot rescue an application that fails on another ground.

This has practical consequences:

• Relationship evidence must be strong and complete. Our partner visa document checklist and our 820 partner visa evidence checklist explain what to prepare.
• Sponsorship must be valid. Our guide to when a sponsor cannot sponsor a partner visa and our sponsorship limitations service explain the limits.
• Onshore applicants without a substantive visa must also deal with Schedule 3. Our guides to the Schedule 3 criteria and our Schedule 3 waiver service explain that separate test.
• Travel during the application raises its own health questions. The Department's policy on the Bridging visa B requires decision makers to consider the possibility of exposure to infectious diseases and any current health condition that might create a public health risk on return.

Same-sex couples face exactly the same partner visa health requirements as any other couple. Our LGBTI partner visa page explains how we act for same-sex couples. Where the relationship has ended because of family violence, our family violence partner visa lawyers explain how the special provisions interact with the remaining criteria, including health.

Partner visa health refusals and Tribunal review

A refusal for failing the partner visa health requirements can generally be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal, and the Tribunal can consider fresh medical evidence and the health waiver afresh. Review deadlines are short and strictly applied, so the refusal letter should be read on the day it arrives.

The Tribunal decisions recorded in our database show the kinds of health issues that lead to a remittal back to the Department:

• In Rous (Migration) [2020] AATA 1877, a Subclass 820 matter, the issue recorded was the health criterion and documentation of the specified medical examination provided to the Tribunal.
• In Freeland (Migration) [2024] AATA 1083, a Subclass 820 matter, the issue recorded was the health requirements and evidence of the required examination provided to the Tribunal.
• In Dayao (Migration) [2023] AATA 1900, a Subclass 820 matter, the issue recorded was that the Department's records showed the health requirements finalised and the applicant auto cleared.
• In Smith (Migration) [2024] AATA 3921, a Subclass 300 matter, the issue recorded was the health criteria, a member of the family unit, and Department records showing the applicants auto cleared.
• In 1923768 (Migration) [2020] AATA 3910, a Subclass 309 matter, the issue recorded was a failure to meet the health criteria in PIC 4007, a further Medical Officer of the Commonwealth opinion, and a finding that the applicant satisfied the health criteria.
• In Biskaps (Migration) [2023] AATA 2972, a Subclass 820 matter, the issue recorded was the health requirement, a medical assessment provided on review, and an Australian citizen child of the relationship.

Several of these decisions involve a simple problem: the examination had not been completed or recorded when the Department decided. That is the most avoidable way to fail the partner visa health requirements. Others involve a fresh medical opinion obtained on review. The lesson is that partner visa health requirements can often be met on review, but only if the applicant can still act within time.

If your partner visa has been refused, our guide to partner visa refused appeal options and our article on what to expect at an ART review explain the next steps. A visa appeal lawyer can explain how review works in your case, and our wider visa refusals practice and judicial review practice act where a matter goes further. If you are considering a new application after a refusal, our article on a partner visa after a visa refusal explains the restrictions that may apply.

Common mistakes with partner visa health requirements

The most common mistakes with partner visa health requirements are about timing, disclosure and evidence, not about the medical condition itself. The mistakes we most often see are:

• Missing the deadline in a health examination request, so the Department decides without the results.
• Assuming that examinations done for an earlier visa automatically satisfy the partner visa health requirements, without checking whether they are still valid and recorded against the current application.
• Leaving out a child from a previous relationship, or failing to arrange that child's examination.
• Sending financial evidence to the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, who cannot consider it, instead of preparing it for a waiver.
• Providing a short medical letter instead of a specialist report that addresses diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
• Not disclosing a known condition, which creates an integrity problem far worse than the health issue.
• Responding to a natural justice letter on health without addressing the waiver at all.
• Missing the Tribunal review deadline after a health refusal.

Each of these can be avoided with early advice. If you lodged the application yourself, our article on hiring an immigration lawyer after visa lodgement explains how a lawyer can step in, and our guide to Form 956 and 956A explains how a representative is appointed. Our article on a second opinion from an immigration lawyer explains what a review of your file involves, and our guide to urgent immigration lawyer advice explains what to prepare when a deadline is close.

Getting advice on partner visa health requirements

Advice on partner visa health requirements is most useful before the examinations, because the way the family unit is declared and the timing of the examinations both affect the outcome. It is essential once the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth has raised a concern, because the response and any waiver material are where the case is won or lost.

If you are deciding whether you need help at all, see when you need an immigration lawyer for a partner visa, our guide to choosing a partner visa lawyer in Australia and our factual comparison of a partner visa migration agent or lawyer. Our article on booking an immigration lawyer consultation explains what to bring.

Where My Migration Lawyers acts on partner visa health matters

My Migration Lawyers acts for couples across Australia on partner visa health requirements, with consultations by video. Couples can find our local partner visa pages for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Hobart and Parramatta. Where a health issue sits alongside other visa problems, our general immigration pages for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Hobart and Parramatta explain our wider practice. Couples comparing representatives may find our guide on how to choose a partner visa lawyer in Australia useful. More of our partner visa writing is on the My Migration Lawyers blog, and our immigration lawyers Australia home page lists all our practice areas.

How My Migration Lawyers helps with partner visa health requirements

My Migration Lawyers acts in many partner visa matters where the partner visa health requirements are a live issue, and many of those matters are complex. They include applicants with chronic or serious conditions, children with developmental or medical needs, non-migrating family members who cannot easily be examined, applicants with past tuberculosis, and couples facing a refusal on health grounds. The firm deals with complex cases as a regular part of its partner visa practice and is capable of handling them.

Before the examinations, the firm reviews the family composition to be declared, identifies who must meet the partner visa health requirements, and advises on timing so that results remain valid when the decision is made. Where a family member is not migrating and cannot be examined, the firm assesses whether there is a proper basis to say that assessment would be unreasonable, and presents the evidence for that.

Where the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth raises a concern, the firm helps the applicant obtain the right specialist evidence, checks that the medical opinion addresses the correct limb of PIC 4007, and prepares the response to the Department. Where the issue is significant cost or prejudice to access, the firm prepares a full health waiver submission, presenting the couple's own circumstances, their children's interests and their evidence in the form the law requires. The firm also acts on health refusals before the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Our work is led by Weiwei Zhang, Principal Lawyer. You can read more about My Migration Lawyers, see our partner visa lawyers page or send us a message through our contact page.

If a health issue affects your partner visa, get advice before you respond to the Department. Book a consultation or call 1300 040 300.