Partner Visa Home Visit: What to Expect

What is a partner visa home visit?

A partner visa home visit is a visit by Department of Home Affairs officers to the home of a partner visa applicant and sponsor, made to check whether the couple really lives the way their application says. A partner visa home visit is not a separate step that every couple goes through. It is one of the tools the Department may use when it wants more information about the household, usually because something in the file needs to be verified. For most couples, a partner visa home visit never happens. For some, it happens without much warning.

The purpose of a partner visa home visit is simple to state. A partner visa in Australia depends on the applicant being the spouse or de facto partner of the sponsor in a genuine and continuing relationship. Part of that test is whether the couple lives together, or does not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. Documents can show an address. A visit can show whether two people actually share a life at that address.

This guide explains what the Department's published policy does and does not say about a partner visa home visit, why a visit may happen, what officers are likely to look at, whether a couple must let officers in, what to do if one partner is not home, how to prepare honestly, how observations are used in the decision and in any section 57 letter, and what to do after the visit. It applies to couples applying onshore for the Subclass 820 visa and Subclass 801 visa, and in part to couples in the offshore Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 stream.

Why the partner visa home visit worries couples

A partner visa home visit worries couples because it feels personal. Officers are in the couple's private space, looking at the place where they sleep and eat. Many couples also fear that an honest but unusual living arrangement will be misunderstood. That fear is understandable, but it is usually misplaced when the application is accurate. A partner visa home visit is far more dangerous for a couple whose forms do not match reality than for a couple whose home is simply untidy, crowded or unconventional.

Does the Department of Home Affairs actually conduct partner visa home visits?

Yes, the Department has the practical ability to make inquiries at a couple's address, but its published partner visa policy says very little about how a partner visa home visit is run. That is the honest position, and it should be stated plainly because a great deal of material online describes these visits with more confidence than the published policy supports.

What the published policy actually says

The Department's procedural instruction for the Subclass 820 visa deals with integrity concerns. It says that where a delegate has concerns about the integrity or actuality of the claimed relationship, and fraud or malpractice is suspected, it may be necessary to seek additional information about the applicant's or sponsor's circumstances by requesting assistance from an internal Integrity team. It also says that cases should not be referred to that team where the matter can be resolved by due diligence in normal processes, for example through investigative interviews with the applicant and other relevant persons, checks of documents, departmental databases and other evidence.

The procedural instruction for the Subclass 801 visa says that the permanent stage involves a fresh assessment of the relationship, and that the assessment may be made on the documents provided or may require further investigation, such as interviewing both partners or examining additional relevant documentation. It also refers to additional checks to verify information and to the internal Integrity team.

The clearest reference to a visit appears in the Department's instruction on the family violence provisions in Division 1.5 of the Migration Regulations 1994. In discussing conflicting information, that instruction lists information obtained during the course of visa assessment and gives as an example information obtained "following a site visit". That confirms that site visits occur in partner visa processing and that what is learned at them can be used.

What the published policy does not say

The published policy available for this guide does not set out when a partner visa home visit must happen, how much notice is given, who attends, what questions are asked or what officers record. There is no published checklist. Any article that claims to list the exact steps officers follow at every partner visa home visit should be read with caution. This guide keeps its description of the visit itself general for that reason, and focuses on the law that governs how the observations are used.

Why the Department may conduct a partner visa home visit

The Department may conduct a partner visa home visit when it needs to verify the household aspect of the relationship and the documents on file do not let the case officer reach a view. In practical terms, a partner visa home visit is most likely when the file raises a question that a visit can answer.

Common reasons a partner visa home visit may be considered

The published policy does not list triggers, but the reasons a case officer might want to see the household follow naturally from the integrity guidance and from the relationship test itself. They include:

• addresses that differ between the application, Form 80, the sponsorship, bank records and other documents;
• information from a third party suggesting that the couple does not live together, or that the relationship has ended;
• a sponsor who has sponsored partners before, which also raises the sponsorship limitations under regulation 1.20J;
• a very short relationship before lodgement, or a marriage soon after meeting;
• answers at an interview that do not match each other or the documents;
• evidence that looks as if it was created shortly before lodgement, such as a lease signed weeks before applying;
• a claim that the relationship ended because of family violence, where the case officer needs to test the history of the household; and
• the passage of time before the permanent stage, when the Department must make a fresh assessment.

None of these means that a partner visa home visit will happen. Each is simply a situation in which a case officer may want more information about the household than paper can give. The broader guide to why partner visas get refused shows how often the household aspect sits at the centre of a refusal.

A partner visa home visit is not an accusation

A common error is to assume that a partner visa home visit means the Department has already decided the relationship is not genuine. That is wrong. A visit is a way of gathering information. The case officer still has to consider all of the circumstances of the relationship before deciding. A visit that confirms what the application says can help the couple. The guide to partner visa relationship evidence explains how household evidence sits beside the other forms of proof.

Where the partner visa home visit fits in the law

A partner visa home visit fits into the law as a way of gathering evidence on the relationship criteria in section 5F or section 5CB of the Migration Act 1958, assessed through the four matters in regulation 1.15A or regulation 1.09A of the Migration Regulations 1994. The visit has no special legal status of its own. What matters is how the information gathered at it bears on those criteria.

Spouses: section 5F and regulation 1.15A

For married couples, subsection 5F(2) of the Migration Act requires that the couple are validly married, have a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, are in a genuine and continuing relationship, and live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. Subregulation 1.15A(2) requires the decision maker, for the Subclass 309, Subclass 100, Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 visas, to consider all the circumstances of the relationship, including the four matters in subregulation 1.15A(3).

The second of those four matters is the nature of the household. Under paragraph 1.15A(3)(b) it includes any joint responsibility for the care and support of children, the living arrangements of the persons, and any sharing of the responsibility for housework. A partner visa home visit speaks most directly to this matter. The Department's policy gives examples of household evidence such as a joint lease, joint utility accounts and mail addressed to either or both partners at the same address. A visit tests whether those documents reflect real life.

De facto partners: section 5CB and regulation 1.09A

For de facto couples, section 5CB of the Migration Act and subregulation 1.09A(3) of the Migration Regulations apply the same four matters, including the nature of the household. De facto couples must also meet the requirements in regulation 2.03A, including the usual requirement of a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before the application, unless an exception applies. The guide to the de facto partner visa 12 month rule and the guide on whether you really need 12 months of de facto relationship for a Subclass 820 visa explain that requirement. For a de facto couple, a partner visa home visit can matter even more, because living together is often the central evidence of the relationship.

The decision maker must still weigh everything

The Department's policy on married relationships says that the four matters are to be considered collectively, that the assessment must not be a count of how many matters are satisfied, and that the decision maker must decide the weight to give to each. That principle applies to what is learned at a partner visa home visit. A visit is one source of information about one aspect of the relationship. It is weighed with the evidence of a genuine relationship already on file, the relationship statement, the Form 888 statements and any interview.

The onus remains on the applicant

Section 65 of the Migration Act requires the decision maker to be satisfied that the criteria are met before the visa can be granted. In practice, that means the applicant must put forward enough reliable material to satisfy the decision maker. This is why a partner visa home visit can help as well as harm. A visit that shows two people sharing an ordinary life supports the application. A visit that shows one person living alone, with no trace of the other, will need a careful and truthful explanation.

What officers look at during a partner visa home visit

During a partner visa home visit, officers are likely to look at whether both partners live at the address, how the household is arranged, who else lives there, and whether what they see and hear matches the application. Because the Department does not publish a procedure for these visits, this section describes the matters that the nature of the household naturally covers, rather than a fixed list of steps.

Living arrangements

The living arrangements of the persons are expressly part of paragraph 1.15A(3)(b) and the equivalent de facto provision. At a partner visa home visit, that may mean looking at whether there is a shared bedroom, whether both partners have clothing and personal belongings in the home, and whether the home looks like a place where two people live their ordinary lives. Officers may notice mail, documents, photographs and everyday items. None of these is a test on its own. Together they help the officer form a picture of the household.

Who lives in the household

Officers may ask who else lives at the address. Many genuine couples share a house with relatives, friends or other tenants. The Department's policy expressly recognises children and the care of children as part of the household aspect. Where other people live in the home, a partner visa home visit may involve questions about who they are, how long they have lived there and how the rooms are used. Where a couple shares a house with co-tenants, the arrangement should already be explained in the relationship statement.

Whether both partners are present

Officers may ask to speak with both partners. Where both are home, they may be asked simple questions about their daily life, such as who does the shopping, how the bills are paid, or what the other partner does for work. Where one partner is not home, the officer may ask where that partner is and when that partner will return. A later section of this guide deals with what to do if one partner is absent.

Housework, routines and the shape of a shared life

The regulation refers to the sharing of the responsibility for housework. The Department's policy also refers to the basis on which day-to-day household expenses are shared. At a partner visa home visit, these matters may come up through ordinary questions about routines. The aim is not to test trivia. The aim is to see whether the couple's description of their life together is consistent with how they actually live.

How a partner visa home visit differs from an interview

A partner visa home visit is different from a formal interview, even though both may involve questions. An interview is usually arranged, and both partners may be asked detailed questions about the history of the relationship. A partner visa home visit is mainly about the place where the couple lives and what can be observed there. A couple who has been invited to a formal interview should prepare for that separately. The core principle is the same for both: answers must be true, and they must match the documents.

Do you have to let officers in for a partner visa home visit?

No provision in the partner visa criteria in Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations requires a couple to allow officers into their home for a partner visa home visit. In the ordinary partner visa context, a visit to inspect the household proceeds with the consent of the occupants. However, declining entry has practical consequences, and the decision should not be made lightly.

Why declining has consequences

The onus is on the applicant to satisfy the decision maker that the relationship criteria are met. If a couple declines a partner visa home visit, the decision maker still has to decide the application on the information available. Where the file already contains concerns about the household, a refusal to allow officers to see the home may leave those concerns unanswered. The decision maker may give little weight to household documents that could not be verified. A refusal to cooperate is not, by itself, proof that the relationship is not genuine, but it removes an opportunity to put the concerns to rest.

Asking for a more convenient time

If officers arrive at a time when the couple cannot reasonably receive them, for example because a child is unwell or one partner is about to leave for a shift, it is reasonable to say so politely, explain why, and ask whether another time can be arranged. The explanation must be true. A couple who keeps postponing a partner visa home visit without good reason will create the impression that something is being hidden.

Asking who the officers are and why they are there

It is appropriate to ask the officers to identify themselves and to explain the purpose of the visit. A couple can also ask whether the officers are visiting in connection with the partner visa application. Keeping a note of the officers' names, the time of the visit and what was discussed is sensible. That note becomes important later if the Department relies on what was observed.

A compliance visit is different

A visit about a partner visa application is not the same as a compliance or enforcement action directed at a person who may be unlawful. Where officers attend because of a person's immigration status, different powers and different risks may be involved, including under Schedule 3 criteria issues that affect the partner visa itself. If there is any doubt about why officers have attended, the couple should seek urgent immigration lawyer advice immediately.

What if one partner is absent during a partner visa home visit?

If one partner is absent during a partner visa home visit, the partner who is home should tell the officers truthfully where the other partner is, why, and when that partner is expected back. An absence on the day of a visit is not, by itself, evidence that the couple does not live together. Many couples are apart for ordinary reasons at any given moment.

Ordinary reasons for an absence

Shift work, fly-in fly-out work, interstate work, study, caring for a sick parent, travel overseas for a family event, and a hospital stay are all ordinary reasons why one partner may not be home when officers call. The Department's policy on married relationships says that if parties are living separately and claim that the separation is not permanent, the decision maker needs to consider the reasons for the temporary separation and whether those reasons are consistent with a mutual commitment. The same reasoning applies to an absence discovered at a partner visa home visit.

Evidence that supports the explanation

The partner who is home does not need to produce documents on the spot, but the explanation should be capable of being supported. A roster, a travel itinerary, a work contract for a remote site, or medical correspondence can all confirm an absence later if the Department asks. What matters most is that the explanation given at the door matches what the absent partner later says and what the documents show.

When an absence reveals a real change

Sometimes a partner visa home visit reveals something more than a temporary absence. One partner may have moved out because of conflict, the relationship may have ended, or the couple may be living apart for a longer period than the application suggests. Section 104 of the Migration Act requires an applicant to notify the Department in writing of a change in circumstances that makes an answer in the application incorrect. The guide to Form 1022 change of circumstances explains how that is done. Where the relationship has broken down, the guide on what happens if the relationship breaks down applies, and where family violence is involved, the family violence provisions may be relevant.

Never ask someone to pretend

No one should ever ask a friend or relative to pretend to be a partner, to say that a partner lives at the address when that partner does not, or to hide the fact that a partner has moved out. Giving false or misleading information to the Department can lead to refusal under public interest criterion 4020 in Schedule 4 to the Migration Regulations, and to serious long-term consequences for future visa applications. An honest explanation of a difficult situation is always safer than a false one.

Shared houses, living with family and other household arrangements

A partner visa home visit does not require a couple to live in a home of their own. The law looks at the living arrangements of the persons, not at whether those arrangements match a particular model. Many genuine couples live in arrangements that look unusual on paper.

Living with parents or extended family

Couples who live with parents or extended family often have no lease in their own names and may not pay rent directly. At a partner visa home visit, officers may see a household of several adults. What matters is whether the couple lives together as a couple within that household. The arrangement should be described in the relationship statement and, where relevant, supported by Form 888 statements from family members who live there or know the household well. A Form 888 is a supporting witness statement, not a statutory declaration.

Share houses and co-tenants

Couples in share houses usually rent one room and share common areas with other tenants. A partner visa home visit may involve the officers meeting the other tenants. Co-tenants are not required to give evidence, but if they are present they may be asked who lives in which room. The couple's description of the arrangement should match what the co-tenants are likely to say. The guide to Form 888 example answers and common mistakes explains how housemates can give useful supporting evidence.

Couples with two addresses

Some couples genuinely keep two addresses, for example because one partner works in a regional area during the week. Others have moved recently and still receive mail at an old address. These situations are not fatal, but they must be disclosed and explained. A partner visa home visit to an address where only one partner is ever present will raise questions unless the application has already made the arrangement clear.

Cultural and religious arrangements

Cultural and religious practices can shape how a household looks. Separate sleeping arrangements during a period of religious observance, a household where one partner manages all finances, or a home shared with elderly relatives can all be genuine features of a relationship. The Department's policy recognises that the laws or traditions of an applicant's home country may affect how openly a relationship is acknowledged. Where cultural practice explains an arrangement that an officer may find unusual at a partner visa home visit, the explanation should already be on file.

How to prepare honestly for a partner visa home visit

The best preparation for a partner visa home visit is an accurate application. Couples cannot usually predict whether a visit will happen or when, so preparation is mostly about making sure that the file tells the truth about the household and that both partners understand what the file says.

Step 1: Check that the addresses in the file are correct

Every address in the application, the sponsorship, Form 80 and the supporting documents should be checked against the couple's real history. Differences should be corrected or explained. An address error that seems minor on paper can become a serious credibility problem at a partner visa home visit. The partner visa document checklist and the 820 partner visa evidence checklist show the documents where addresses commonly appear.

Step 2: Read your own application again

Both partners should read the application and the relationship statement again, so that they know what has been said about the household. This is not memorising a script. It is making sure that each partner is aware of what was written in their name. If something in the file is wrong, the time to correct it is before a partner visa home visit, not after. The guide to the partner visa relationship statement explains why the statement must be in the couple's own words and must be true.

Step 3: Report changes as they happen

A new address, a new household member, a period of separation or a change in work that takes one partner away must be reported where section 104 requires it. A partner visa home visit to an address the couple left months ago, without any notice to the Department, is one of the most damaging situations a couple can create for themselves.

Step 4: Keep ordinary records of the household

Couples do not need to prepare a display of evidence for a partner visa home visit. They should, however, keep ordinary records that show a shared home: the lease, utility bills, joint accounts, mail and similar documents. These are the same records the Department's policy refers to when it describes household evidence, and they can be uploaded if the Department later asks for more information.

What honest preparation does not include

Honest preparation never includes staging a home. Moving a partner's belongings into a house where that partner does not live, borrowing clothing, or arranging photographs to suggest a shared bedroom that does not exist are all forms of false evidence. Honest preparation also never includes coaching partners to give identical scripted answers. Couples who live together naturally describe their life in slightly different words, and that is normal. Identical, rehearsed answers to every question can look less credible, not more. My Migration Lawyers does not prepare scripts, does not coach answers and does not help any couple present a household that does not exist.

A hypothetical example

Consider a hypothetical couple who live in a two-bedroom unit. The sponsor works night shifts. The applicant's sister stayed with them for six months while studying and used the second bedroom. The application lists only the couple at the address and does not mention the sister. At a partner visa home visit during the day, the officers find the sponsor asleep and the sister at home. The sister answers the door and says that she lives there. Nothing in this situation is improper, but it looks confusing because the application is incomplete. Had the couple disclosed the sister's stay and the sponsor's shift work, the visit would simply have confirmed what the file already said.

How partner visa home visit observations are used in the decision

Observations from a partner visa home visit are used as evidence about the nature of the household and, through it, about whether the relationship is genuine and continuing and whether the couple lives together or does not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. They are weighed with everything else on file. They do not decide the application on their own.

Observations are one source among many

The Department's policy says the decision maker must consider each relationship against all four matters in the regulation, take into account any other relevant information, and decide on balance whether the requirements of the Act are met. A partner visa home visit that finds an untidy house, a small room or an unusual arrangement does not override years of joint finances, family recognition and consistent evidence. Equally, a partner visa home visit that finds a perfectly arranged home does not cure a file full of contradictions. The guide to the Subclass 820 visa explained and the complete Subclass 820 partner visa guide explain the wider set of criteria that sit around the household question.

Observations that support the application

Where officers see two people living an ordinary shared life at the address in the application, the visit supports the household aspect. In that situation, a partner visa home visit may resolve a concern that would otherwise have led to a request for more information or a natural justice letter.

Observations that raise concerns

Where officers find that one partner does not appear to live at the address, that the address is occupied by other people, or that what they are told does not match the application, the observations may become adverse information. How that information is handled before a decision is governed by sections 56 and 57 of the Migration Act, discussed below. The guide to why Subclass 820 partner visas are refused shows how household concerns of this kind feed into refusals.

Inconsistency matters more than appearance

The most serious risk from a partner visa home visit is not the appearance of the home. It is inconsistency. If what the partners say at the door differs from each other, from the relationship statement or from the forms, the inconsistency may affect the credibility of the whole application, not only the household aspect. That is why the preparation described above focuses on accuracy rather than presentation.

The partner visa home visit and a section 57 natural justice letter

If the Department intends to rely on adverse information from a partner visa home visit to refuse an onshore partner visa, it will usually need to put that information to the applicant and invite comment under section 57 of the Migration Act 1958 before deciding. The response to that letter is often the most important document in the whole application.

What section 57 requires

Under subsection 57(1), relevant information is information that the decision maker considers would be the reason, or part of the reason, for refusing the visa, that is specifically about the applicant or another person rather than a class of persons, and that was not given by the applicant for the purpose of the application. Subsection 57(2) requires the decision maker to give the applicant particulars of that information, ensure as far as reasonably practicable that the applicant understands why it is relevant, and invite the applicant to comment. Section 57 applies to applications for visas that can be granted while the applicant is in the migration zone and where the Act provides for merits review of the decision, which covers the onshore Subclass 820 visa and Subclass 801 visa.

Observations made by officers at a partner visa home visit, and information from other people at the address, are not information given by the applicant for the purpose of the application. They will often be relevant information that must be put to the applicant. Something the applicant personally said to officers may be treated differently, which is one more reason why every statement at a partner visa home visit must be accurate.

How the invitation may be given

Under section 58 of the Migration Act, an invitation to comment must say whether the response is to be given in writing, at an interview or by telephone. Where it is to be given otherwise than at an interview, it must be given within the period specified in the invitation or the prescribed period. Under section 63, the Department cannot decide the application until the comments are received, the applicant says that no comment will be made, or the time for responding ends. The guide to the s57 natural justice letter for a partner visa explains how a response is structured.

Section 56 requests after a visit

Not every partner visa home visit leads to a natural justice letter. The Department may instead ask for more information under section 56, for example a lease, utility bills, a work roster or evidence of a recent move. The guide to responding to a section 56 request explains what a complete response looks like. A request of this kind is an opportunity to resolve the concern before it becomes a reason for refusal.

What a strong response to adverse visit information contains

A strong response deals directly with each item of adverse information. It explains what the couple says actually happened at the partner visa home visit, corrects any misunderstanding, explains any absence or unusual arrangement, and attaches documents that support the explanation. It is truthful even where the truth is uncomfortable. It does not attack the officers. Where the visit revealed a genuine error in the application, the response should acknowledge and correct it rather than defend it. For offshore applicants, where section 57 in this form does not apply, the Department may still invite comment on concerns, and the same approach to a response should be taken.

What to do after a partner visa home visit

After a partner visa home visit, the couple should write down what happened while it is fresh, check whether anything said or seen differs from the application, correct the record where it is wrong, and respond carefully to any request or letter that follows.

Make a note straight away

Each partner who was present should write down the date and time of the partner visa home visit, the names of the officers if given, who was home, what questions were asked, what answers were given, which rooms the officers saw and anything the officers said about their purpose. A partner who was absent should note where that partner was and why. These notes are not sent to the Department automatically. They are the couple's own record and are important if a natural justice letter arrives months later.

Check the file against what happened

The couple should compare what happened at the partner visa home visit with the application. If an answer given at the door was wrong because of nerves or a misunderstanding, or if the visit revealed a change in circumstances that has not been reported, the couple should get advice about correcting it. Correcting an error promptly and voluntarily is very different from waiting for the Department to find it.

Do not contact the officers to argue

It is rarely helpful to call or email the officers after a partner visa home visit to argue about what they saw. If the Department intends to rely on adverse information, it will usually put that information in writing. The proper place to answer it is a considered written response. Couples who have appointed a lawyer through Form 956 will have Department correspondence sent to the lawyer, who can manage the response.

Keep living normally and keep records

The couple should keep living their ordinary life and keep ordinary records. Processing can take a long time, and the guides to how long an onshore Subclass 820 visa takes and Subclass 820 visa processing times explain why. While waiting, most onshore applicants hold a bridging visa. The guides to bridging visas in Australia, the Bridging visa A, the Bridging visa B for travel, and work rights while waiting for a Subclass 820 visa explain those arrangements.

The partner visa home visit at the permanent stage

A partner visa home visit can occur at the permanent stage as well as at the temporary stage, because the Department must make a fresh assessment of the relationship before granting the Subclass 801 visa. The Subclass 801 procedural instruction says that this fresh assessment is based on the evidence before the delegate at the time of decision, and may require further investigation.

Why the permanent stage matters

Under paragraph 801.221(2)(d) of the Migration Regulations, at least two years must generally have passed since the combined application was made before the Subclass 801 visa can be granted, subject to limited exceptions. During that time, couples move house, change jobs, have children and go through difficult periods. A partner visa home visit at the permanent stage will be compared with the household as it was described at lodgement and as it has been updated since. The guide to Subclass 820 vs Subclass 801 explains the two stages.

Continuing relationship at the temporary stage

For the Subclass 820 visa itself, the Department's procedural instruction says that the delegate may treat the continuing relationship requirement as satisfied without further inquiry where there is no contrary evidence and no significant time has passed since the relationship was assessed. Otherwise, the delegate is expected to take reasonable steps to confirm that there has been no material change. A partner visa home visit is one of the steps the Department may take.

Family violence claims and site visits

Where a relationship has ended and the applicant relies on the family violence provisions, the Department must still be satisfied that the relationship was genuine until it ended. The Division 1.5 instruction expressly contemplates information obtained following a site visit being compared with the family violence evidence. A person in that situation should get advice before responding to any request. The family violence partner visa page explains how My Migration Lawyers approaches those matters.

What Tribunal decisions show about the household aspect

Tribunal decisions show that the household aspect of the relationship, which is the matter a partner visa home visit tests most directly, is regularly at the centre of partner visa reviews. The decisions below are remittals: in each, the Tribunal sent the matter back to the Department to reconsider. They are described only by the issues recorded for each decision. They are not home visit cases, and a remittal does not mean any later grant.

Living arrangements and residential information

In Le (Migration) [2019] AATA 3698, a Subclass 820 matter, the recorded issues were a genuine spousal relationship, the sharing of day-to-day household expenses, living arrangements and the sharing of responsibility for housework. In Le (Migration) [2025] ARTA 2423, the recorded issues included a genuine and continuing relationship and incorrect residential information in the visa application. In 2306750 (Migration) [2026] ARTA 1754, the issues recorded included whether the applicant was the de facto partner of the sponsor at the time of application and whether they resided together.

Household arrangements and shared expenses

In Monye (Migration) [2021] AATA 1966, the recorded issues included pooling of financial resources and household arrangements. In Doan (Migration) [2022] AATA 4617, they included sharing of household expenditure, regular responsibility for the sponsor's children and regular social activities. In Singh (Migration) [2019] AATA 5382, they included shared household expenses and housework and joint responsibility for the care of children. In Lee (Migration) [2023] AATA 1821, the recorded issues included joint bank accounts and a residential tenancy agreement.

These decisions show that the questions a partner visa home visit raises are the same questions decision makers and the Tribunal examine in ordinary household evidence: where the couple lives, who lives with them, how they share the home and its costs, and whether the documents are accurate. The guide to what to expect at an ART review explains the review process.

If a partner visa is refused after a home visit

If a partner visa is refused after a partner visa home visit, the refusal decision should be read immediately and advice obtained about review, because review deadlines are short and strictly applied. The Administrative Review Tribunal replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024 and now reviews partner visa refusals.

Review rights for onshore applicants

A decision to refuse a Subclass 820 visa is generally reviewable under subsection 338(2) of the Migration Act. Under subsection 347(3), the review application may only be made by an applicant who is physically present in Australia when the review application is made. The decision letter states the review rights and the deadline. The guides to partner visa refused appeal options and to finding a visa appeal lawyer explain the next steps.

Using the review to answer the visit

On review, the Tribunal considers the matter afresh on the evidence before it, which allows a couple to answer what was observed at a partner visa home visit with fuller evidence and, where relevant, oral evidence at a hearing. A couple considering other pathways after a refusal can read about a partner visa after a visa refusal and the wider visa refusals page. Where a granted visa is later at risk, the visa cancellations page is relevant.

How My Migration Lawyers helps with a partner visa home visit

My Migration Lawyers helps couples before, during and after a partner visa home visit by making sure the application tells the truth about the household, by advising promptly when officers have attended, and by preparing the written response when the Department relies on what it observed. The firm deals with complex partner visa cases, acts in many matters where the household aspect is in question, and is capable of handling matters in which a visit has raised serious concerns.

Before any visit happens

The firm reviews the application, the sponsorship, Form 80 and the supporting documents against the couple's real living history, so that every address, every household member and every period apart is accurately recorded. Where the household is unusual, such as a share house, a multigenerational family home, two addresses or a period of separation for work, the firm makes sure the arrangement is explained in the couple's own relationship statement and supported by appropriate evidence. The statement remains the couple's own account, reviewed and corrected by them. This work is often done for couples who lodged themselves and want the file checked, as described in the guide to hiring an immigration lawyer after lodging your own application, or who want a second opinion from an immigration lawyer.

Straight after a partner visa home visit

When a couple contacts the firm after a partner visa home visit, the first step is to take a detailed account from each partner of what happened, while it is fresh. The firm then compares that account with the file, identifies anything that now needs to be corrected or reported under section 104, and advises on the risks. Where the visit has revealed a real change in the relationship, the firm advises on the options honestly, including where the relationship has broken down.

Responding to the Department

Where the Department issues a section 56 request or a section 57 natural justice letter after a partner visa home visit, the firm prepares the response. That means answering each item of adverse information directly, explaining absences and arrangements truthfully, and organising supporting evidence so that the case officer can see the answer clearly. The firm also advises on related issues that may surface at the same time, such as Schedule 3 waivers, sponsorship limitations, the Subclass 309 visa, the Subclass 300 prospective marriage visa and the LGBTI partner visa. Where a refusal has already been made, it acts on partner visa refusals and Tribunal review.

Who leads the work

Partner visa matters at My Migration Lawyers are led by Weiwei Zhang, Principal Lawyer. More about the firm is on the About My Migration Lawyers page, the partner visa lawyers page and the My Migration Lawyers home page. Couples deciding whether they need help can read about when you need an immigration lawyer for a partner visa, what an immigration lawyer does, the comparison of a partner visa lawyer and doing it yourself, the guide to a partner visa lawyer in Australia, the factual comparison of a migration agent and an immigration lawyer, and the guide to choosing the best partner visa lawyer in Australia.

The firm acts for couples across Australia by video consultation, including clients of its partner visa lawyers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Hobart and Parramatta. The guide to booking an immigration lawyer consultation explains what happens at the first meeting.

Book a consultation about a partner visa home visit

If officers have visited your home, if you expect a partner visa home visit because of concerns in your file, or if you have received a letter after a visit, the right time to get advice is now, before you respond. Book a Consultation with My Migration Lawyers to have your household evidence and your response reviewed. You can also call 1300 040 300.