Partner Visa on a Student Visa: Can You Apply Onshore?

A partner visa on student visa status is the onshore Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 application made by a person who currently holds a Subclass 500 Student visa and is in a married or de facto relationship with an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. For most students the answer is yes, you can lodge a partner visa on student visa status without leaving Australia.

But the student visa does not simply switch off when you lodge. The partner visa on student visa pathway has a timing rule that catches many applicants: the Bridging visa A granted with your partner application waits in the background until your student visa ends. Until then, you are still a student visa holder. Your study, attendance, work and health insurance conditions still apply, and a breach of any of them can lead to cancellation. A cancellation at the wrong moment can turn a clean onshore application into a status emergency.

This article explains when you can lodge a partner visa on student visa status, which no further stay conditions stop it, which student visa conditions continue after lodgement, whether you can stop studying, what happens if the student visa is cancelled, how to time the lodgement, how dependants are included, how travel works and how student couples should prepare relationship evidence. It is written for people who still hold a student visa. If your student visa has already ended, a different set of rules applies, explained in the Schedule 3 criteria article. For the wider picture of every partner pathway, see the complete guide to partner visas in Australia.

Can You Apply for a Partner Visa on Student Visa Status in Australia?

Yes. A person who holds a Subclass 500 Student visa can generally make a valid application for a partner visa on student visa status while in Australia, by lodging the combined Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 application before the student visa ends. The main exception is a student visa that carries a no further stay condition, which is explained in the next section.

The Subclass 820 is the temporary onshore partner visa, and the Subclass 801 is the permanent visa that follows. They are applied for together, at the same time and on one form, under paragraph 1214C(3)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994. The applicant must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, when the application is made. A student who is already living in Australia meets that requirement. The Subclass 820 visa overview and the comparison of Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 explain how the two stages fit together.

A partner visa on student visa application must still satisfy every other Subclass 820 requirement. The applicant must be the spouse or de facto partner of an eligible sponsor at the time of application. The relationship must be genuine and continuing. The applicant must meet health, character and other public interest criteria. Holding a student visa does not lower any of those requirements. It simply means that the applicant starts from the strongest possible status position. The Subclass 820 partner visa guide and the onshore partner visa requirements guide set out the full criteria.

Why holding the student visa at lodgement is the strongest position

Lodging a partner visa on student visa status while the student visa is in effect gives three legal advantages that are lost the day the student visa ends:

• No Schedule 3. Paragraph 820.211(2)(d) applies Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 only to an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa at the time of application. A student visa is a substantive visa, so a student who lodges in time does not face Schedule 3 at all.
• No section 48 problem from the student visa itself. Section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 only affects a person who does not hold a substantive visa and has had a visa refused or cancelled since last entering Australia. A current student visa holder is not caught by it.
• A Bridging visa A. Because a substantive visa is held at lodgement, the bridging visa that arises from the application is a Bridging visa A, which carries no conditions for partner applicants once it is in effect and gives access to a Bridging visa B for travel.

These advantages are why the timing of a partner visa on student visa application matters so much. The same couple, lodging the same evidence, can be in a very different legal position if they lodge one day after the student visa end date.

Does Your Student Visa Have a No Further Stay Condition?

Most student visas do not carry a no further stay condition, but some do, and if yours does you generally cannot lodge a partner visa on student visa status in Australia until the condition is waived. Check your visa grant notice and the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system before doing anything else.

There are four "no further application" conditions in Schedule 8 to the Regulations: conditions 8503, 8534, 8535 and 8540. The departmental policy on these conditions explains that they prevent a visa holder from validly applying for another substantive visa in Australia, other than the visas named in the condition, until the condition is waived. For student visa holders, the two conditions to look for are 8535 and 8534.

Condition 8535: government-sponsored students

Condition 8535 provides that the holder will not be entitled to be granted a substantive visa, other than a protection visa or a student visa granted on the basis of support from the Commonwealth government or a foreign government, while the holder remains in Australia. Policy states that condition 8535 is mandatory for a Subclass 500 visa if the applicant is a Foreign Affairs student or a Defence student. It may also be imposed where the student receives financial assistance from the Commonwealth or the government of a foreign country.

A scholarship student funded by a government is therefore the student most likely to be unable to lodge a partner visa on student visa status without a waiver. The condition exists, in the words of the departmental policy, so that government-sponsored applicants will return home at the end of their studies.

Condition 8534: a discretionary student condition

Condition 8534 provides that the holder will not be entitled to be granted a substantive visa, other than a protection visa, a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa or a Subclass 590 (Student Guardian) visa, while the holder remains in Australia. Policy says it may be imposed on a discretionary basis on a Subclass 500 visa holder, other than a government-sponsored student, and that decision makers should consult the student program area before imposing it. A partner visa is not one of the permitted visas, so a student with condition 8534 cannot lodge a partner visa on student visa status without a waiver.

Condition 8503

Condition 8503 is the general no further stay condition. Policy lists it as mandatory for certain visitor visa streams and the Subclass 785 Temporary Protection visa, not for student visas. It is far more common on visitor visas than on student visas. However, if a student previously held a visa with condition 8503 and that condition was never waived, the history needs to be checked. The Subclass 820 and condition 8503 article and the tourist visa to partner visa article explain how the condition works for visitors.

Waiving a no further stay condition

A no further stay condition can only be removed by a waiver under subsection 41(2A) of the Act and the prescribed circumstances in regulation 2.05. Under subregulation 2.05(4), the holder must show that, since the visa was granted, compelling and compassionate circumstances have developed over which they had no control and which resulted in a major change to their circumstances. The departmental policy states that, generally, marrying or starting a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident is not a matter outside the visa holder's control. A relationship alone will rarely support a waiver.

Two further points matter for a partner visa on student visa applicant. First, policy states that the date of a valid application is the date the condition is waived, so a partner application lodged before the waiver is decided is not validly made. Second, the departmental waiver form warns that lodging a waiver request does not keep you lawful if your visa expires before the request is decided. A student with condition 8534 or 8535 and a visa end date approaching needs advice early, because waiting for the waiver can push the eventual partner application past the student visa end date and into Schedule 3.

What Happens to Your Student Visa When You Lodge a Partner Visa on Student Visa Status?

Nothing happens to it immediately. Your student visa stays in effect until its end date, or until another substantive visa is granted, or until it is cancelled. The Bridging visa A granted with your partner application is held from grant, but it does not come into effect until the student visa ends.

This is the most misunderstood part of the partner visa on student visa pathway. The Migration Act 1958 separates the "visa period" of a bridging visa from the time when it is "in effect". Under subsection 5(1), the visa period of a bridging visa begins when it is granted. But the bridging visa is only in effect when the holder does not hold a substantive visa. The departmental policy for the Bridging visa A states that when a Bridging visa A is granted, it will not come into effect until the substantive visa held by the person ceases. The Bridging visa A guide and the overview of bridging visas A, B, C and E explain the general rules.

In practical terms, a person who lodges a partner visa on student visa status lives through two phases:

• Phase one: student visa in effect. From lodgement until the student visa end date, you are a student visa holder. All student visa conditions continue. The Bridging visa A sits in the background.
• Phase two: Bridging visa A in effect. From the day after the student visa ends, the Bridging visa A comes into effect. Because the Bridging visa A is granted for a Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 application, it carries no conditions, so the study, work limit and health insurance conditions of the student visa no longer apply.

If the Subclass 820 is granted during phase one, the student visa ceases when the Subclass 820 comes into effect, and the Bridging visa A never needs to come into effect at all. The Subclass 820 processing time article and how long the onshore partner visa takes explain why most applicants spend some time in phase two.

The online application in ImmiAccount operates as the application for the Bridging visa A at the same time as the partner visa application. No separate bridging visa form is needed at lodgement. After lodgement, check VEVO. It should show the student visa as the visa in effect and the Bridging visa A as held. When the student visa end date passes, check VEVO again to confirm that the Bridging visa A is now in effect.

Which Student Visa Conditions Still Apply After You Lodge?

Every condition on your student visa continues to apply after you lodge a partner visa on student visa status, until the student visa ends. Lodging a partner application does not suspend, vary or remove any student visa condition. The three conditions that matter most are condition 8202 (study), condition 8105 (work) and condition 8501 (health insurance).

Read your student visa grant notice for the full list. Some students also hold conditions relating to welfare arrangements for students under 18, schooling for school-age dependants, or notification of address and course changes. The grant notice and VEVO show exactly which conditions you hold.

Condition 8202: enrolment, course progress and attendance

Condition 8202 is the condition most likely to cause trouble for a partner visa on student visa applicant, because study commitments often change once a relationship becomes serious.

Condition 8202 requires a Subclass 500 holder (other than a Defence, Foreign Affairs or secondary exchange student) to:

• be enrolled in a full-time registered course;
• maintain enrolment in a registered course that, once completed, will provide an Australian Qualifications Framework qualification at the same level as, or a higher level than, the course for which the visa was granted; and
• ensure that the education provider has not certified the student as not achieving satisfactory course progress or satisfactory course attendance under section 19 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and the relevant standard of the national code.

Each element continues after a partner visa on student visa application is lodged. A student who stops attending, fails enough units to trigger an unsatisfactory progress certification, or moves into a lower-level course to reduce study commitments may be in breach of condition 8202. Moving from a bachelor degree to a cheaper certificate course while waiting for the partner visa is a common example of a breach that students do not recognise as one.

Condition 8105: the student work limit

Condition 8105 limits work during any fortnight when the student's course of study or training is in session. The base limit in subclause 8105(1) is 40 hours a fortnight, but subclause 8105(2A) provides that for a Subclass 500 Student visa the limit is 48 hours a fortnight. A "fortnight" is a period of 14 days starting on a Monday. The limit does not apply to work that is a registered requirement of the course, or to a student who has commenced a masters degree by research or a doctoral degree.

Because the limit only applies in fortnights when the course is in session, work during scheduled course breaks is not limited by condition 8105. But the fortnightly limit applies in full during semesters, and it continues after lodgement of a partner visa on student visa application. Many couples assume that once the partner application is lodged, the student can work full time. That is only correct once the Bridging visa A is in effect. Until the student visa ends, working more than the limit in a fortnight when the course is in session is a breach of condition 8105. The Subclass 820 work rights article explains the position once the Bridging visa A is in effect.

Condition 8501: health insurance

Condition 8501 requires the holder to maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while in Australia. For student visa holders this is usually Overseas Student Health Cover. Keep the cover in place for the whole period the student visa remains in effect, including after the partner visa on student visa application is lodged. Letting the policy lapse because a partner application is pending is a breach of the condition while the student visa is still the visa in effect.

Keep evidence of continuous cover. A partner visa on student visa applicant should treat condition 8501 as running until the day the student visa ends. If a question about compliance is ever raised, a policy certificate covering the full student visa period is the simplest answer.

Can You Stop Studying After Lodging a Partner Visa on Student Visa Status?

Not safely while the student visa is still in effect. Lodging a partner visa on student visa status does not release you from condition 8202. You can stop studying without breaching your student visa only once the student visa has ended and the Bridging visa A is in effect, or on a basis that has been checked against the condition and your provider's obligations first.

The options usually look like this:

• Finish the course. If the course ends before or close to the student visa end date, completing it is normally the cleanest path. Course completion is not a breach of condition 8202.
• Continue studying until the student visa ends. Once the student visa reaches its end date, the Bridging visa A comes into effect with no conditions, and there is no longer any study requirement.
• Wait for the Subclass 820 grant. If the Subclass 820 is granted while the student visa is still in effect, the student visa ceases and the study obligations end with it.
• Seek advice before any deferral, suspension or change of course. An education provider can in some circumstances defer or suspend enrolment, and those decisions are governed by the education legislation and the national code. Whether a particular deferral or change keeps you within condition 8202 depends on the facts. Get advice before you sign anything with the provider.

Do not ask for the student visa to be cancelled

Some couples are told that the simplest way to stop studying is to ask the Department to cancel the student visa, so that the Bridging visa A comes into effect straight away. That advice is dangerous. The cessation clause for a Bridging visa A provides that it ceases if the substantive visa held when it was granted is cancelled. The departmental policy confirms that the Bridging visa A ceases on that cancellation whether or not it has come into effect, unless the cancellation was made on character grounds under section 501, 501A or 501B.

In other words, cancelling the student visa does not activate the Bridging visa A. It ends it. The person can then be left without any visa at all. No one should take this step with a partner visa on student visa application pending unless a lawyer has checked the exact provision, the current policy and the person's full history.

Why the provider's records matter

Education providers report to the Department about overseas students. If a student stops attending or withdraws, those records exist whether or not the student tells the Department. In a partner visa on student visa matter, the student's attendance and enrolment record can surface during processing, especially if a compliance question is raised. It is better to plan the study position deliberately than to let it drift and explain it later.

What If the Student Visa Is Cancelled?

A student visa can be cancelled under paragraph 116(1)(b) of the Act if the holder has not complied with a condition of the visa, such as condition 8202 or condition 8105. The consequences for a partner visa on student visa applicant depend on whether the cancellation happens before or after the partner application is lodged.

The Department will usually issue a notice of intention to consider cancellation and give the holder an opportunity to respond before deciding. That notice is the most important document a student will receive. A full, accurate and evidenced response, prepared quickly, is often the best chance of keeping the student visa and therefore keeping the partner pathway clean. The visa cancellations service page explains how cancellation matters are handled, and the urgent advice guide sets out what to gather first.

Cancellation before the partner application is lodged

If the student visa is cancelled before the partner application is lodged, the person becomes an unlawful non-citizen unless they hold another visa. Two serious problems then follow:

• Schedule 3 applies. The applicant no longer holds a substantive visa at the time of application, so the Subclass 820 can only be granted if Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 are satisfied, or the decision maker is satisfied there are compelling reasons for not applying them. The cancellation itself becomes part of the compliance history assessed under criterion 3004. The Schedule 3 partner visa waiver article and the Schedule 3 waivers page explain how these cases are assessed.
• Section 48 applies. A person whose visa has been cancelled since last entering Australia, and who holds no substantive visa, is subject to section 48. Regulation 2.12 still allows a partner application, but paragraph 1124B(3)(e) of Schedule 1 imposes extra validity requirements, including a sponsorship form signed by the Australian partner and lodged with the application, and two supporting Form 888 statements made within the required period before lodgement. Missing any of them makes the whole application invalid. The partner visa after a visa refusal article explains section 48 for partner applicants, and the Form 888 guide explains the supporting statements.

Lodging within 28 days after the student visa ceased satisfies criterion 3001 only. Criteria 3003 and 3004 can still apply unless waived, so a short gap still needs proper analysis.

Cancellation after the partner application is lodged

If the student visa is cancelled after a valid partner visa on student visa application has been lodged, the partner application itself remains valid. Schedule 3 is a time of application criterion, and the applicant held a substantive visa at that time, so paragraph 820.211(2)(d) does not apply. Section 48 also does not undo an application that was already validly made.

The bridging visa position, however, collapses. The Bridging visa A ceases on cancellation of the student visa. Item 1301 of Schedule 1 generally prevents a further Bridging visa A where the last substantive visa held was cancelled, unless that cancellation is set aside on review. A further Bridging visa C is generally not available either, because the initial Bridging visa C must be applied for on the same form as the substantive application. In practice the person is often left needing a Bridging visa E, which may carry no work, no study, reporting and address conditions, and which does not allow travel. The cancellation record will also sit on the file when the partner application is decided.

A student who receives a cancellation decision should obtain advice immediately about whether to seek review at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The review deadline is short, it runs from notification, it is strictly applied, and the Tribunal cannot extend it. If the cancellation is set aside, the person is in a far better position than if it stands.

Dependants on the student visa

Family members who hold student visas as dependants of the primary student can also be affected if the primary student's visa is cancelled. Their own visas, and any bridging visas they hold through the partner application, need to be checked at the same time. A cancellation problem in a family is never only the primary student's problem.

How to Time a Partner Visa on Student Visa Application

The best time to lodge a partner visa on student visa application is when the relationship requirements are met and the evidence is ready, with a comfortable margin before the student visa end date. Lodging in the final days before expiry leaves no room for a document problem, a payment issue or an ImmiAccount error.

Course end date versus visa end date in a partner visa on student visa case

Finishing your course does not end your student visa. The student visa ends on the date stated in the grant notice and shown in VEVO. For many students the visa end date falls some time after the course finishes. That gap is often the most comfortable window for a partner visa on student visa lodgement, because the course is complete, condition 8202 is no longer at risk of breach through non-attendance, and condition 8105 does not limit work outside fortnights when a course is in session.

Check the actual visa end date on VEVO rather than relying on memory or on the course timetable. If the course end date has changed because of a transfer, deferral or extension, the visa end date may not have changed with it.

Lodging too close to expiry

If the partner application is not validly made before the student visa ends, the applicant becomes unlawful the next day and all of the advantages described above are lost. Missing the date by a single day changes the bridging visa class from a Bridging visa A to a Bridging visa C or E, removes access to a Bridging visa B, and brings in Schedule 3. The partner visa document checklist and the 820 partner visa evidence checklist help couples prepare early.

A valid application only needs the prescribed form, the visa application charge payable to the Department and the other Schedule 1 requirements. It does not need every piece of evidence on day one. Where time is short, the priority is a valid lodgement while the student visa is in effect, followed by a well-organised evidence upload. Where time is not short, it is usually better to lodge a complete, consistent application from the start.

Relationship requirements at the time of application

The relationship must meet the legal definition on the day of lodgement. A married couple must have a marriage that is recognised as valid for the purposes of the Act. A de facto couple generally needs to have been in the relationship for at least 12 months before lodgement, unless an exception applies, such as a registered relationship. These are separate legal questions, explained in the de facto partner visa article and the 12 month de facto rule article.

If the relationship requirement will only be met after the student visa end date, the couple face a genuine timing problem. That is a matter for advice before the student visa ends, because the options narrow quickly afterwards. A couple who are engaged and living overseas sometimes consider the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa, but for a student already in Australia the timing of the onshore lodgement is usually the central question.

Do not lodge another visa application without a plan

A partner visa on student visa applicant should not lodge other visa applications without checking how they interact with the partner application. Some students lodge a further student visa or a Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa application to stay lawful while the relationship develops. Each substantive application made in Australia produces its own bridging visa, and the interaction between them can be complex. A partner visa on student visa strategy should be planned as a whole, not one application at a time.

Work Rights After Lodging a Partner Visa on Student Visa Status

Your work rights depend on which visa is in effect. While the student visa is in effect, condition 8105 limits work to 48 hours a fortnight when your course is in session. Once the student visa ends and the Bridging visa A comes into effect, the Bridging visa A granted for a partner application carries no conditions, so there is no work limit.

The nil conditions rule comes from paragraph 010.611(1)(c) of Schedule 2 and a legislative instrument that specifies Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 applicants. The departmental policy on the Subclass 820 confirms that applicants eligible for an associated Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B can be granted that bridging visa with nil conditions. This is different from most other visa types, where the Bridging visa A copies the work conditions of the previous visa.

For a partner visa on student visa applicant, this means full work rights begin on the day the Bridging visa A comes into effect, not on the day of lodgement. Employers sometimes see the VEVO record of a Bridging visa A and assume unrestricted work rights from the date of grant. Check VEVO yourself and keep the student visa work limit until the student visa has actually ended. The Subclass 820 work rights article covers the detail.

Can You Travel While a Partner Visa on Student Visa Application Is Pending?

Yes, but the rules depend on which visa is in effect when you leave. While the student visa is in effect, you can generally travel on the student visa if it permits re-entry. Once the Bridging visa A is in effect, you must obtain a Bridging visa B before leaving, or the Bridging visa A ceases on departure.

Travelling while the student visa is still in effect

Subsection 82(8) of the Act ceases a bridging visa when the holder leaves Australia, but only if the bridging visa is in effect. A Bridging visa A that is held but not yet in effect is not ceased by departure. The departmental policy confirms this. If you leave and return on the same student visa, the Bridging visa A remains held and comes into effect when the student visa ends.

The trap is the student visa end date. If the student visa ends while you are overseas, the Bridging visa A ceases at the same time. You would then be outside Australia with a pending partner visa on student visa application and no visa to return on. Do not plan travel that runs close to, or past, the student visa end date.

Travelling once the Bridging visa A is in effect

Once the Bridging visa A is in effect, it is a visa to remain in Australia only. To travel and return, you must apply for and be granted a Bridging visa B before you leave. The Bridging visa B criteria in Part 020 of Schedule 2 require that you hold a Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B, that you have a pending substantive visa application made in Australia, and that your reasons for leaving and re-entering are substantial. A visa application charge is payable to the Department. The Bridging visa B is granted with a travel facility period, and you must return before it ends. The Bridging visa B guide explains the application.

Being in Australia for the decision

Clause 820.411 requires the applicant to be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, when the Subclass 820 is granted. If you are overseas when the Department is ready to decide, the decision may be deferred or the application may be refused. A person refused a Subclass 820 must also be in Australia to apply to the ART for review. Long trips during processing carry real risk for any partner visa on student visa applicant. A partner visa on student visa couple planning a wedding overseas or a family visit should obtain advice on timing before booking.

Including Dependants in a Partner Visa on Student Visa Application

A dependent child who is a member of the applicant's family unit can generally be included in the partner visa on student visa application as a secondary applicant, and should normally be included at lodgement. Children who are not included at the time of application can face a more difficult pathway later.

Many students in Australia have children who hold student dependant visas. Those children hold their own conditions, which can include conditions about schooling and work. Their conditions continue until their own visas end, in the same way as the primary student's conditions. In a partner visa on student visa application that includes children, each family member's visa, conditions and expiry date should be checked on VEVO before lodgement, so that every member of the family lodges while holding a substantive visa.

Where the child is the child of the student from a previous relationship, the consent and custody position of the other parent needs to be addressed, and the best interests of the child are relevant across the Migration Regulations. The child must also meet health and other public interest criteria. Changes after lodgement, such as the birth of a child or a child moving overseas, should be reported to the Department, usually using Form 1022.

The student's spouse or partner who is already a secondary holder on the student visa is a different case. A partner visa requires an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen sponsor. Two overseas students in a relationship cannot use the partner visa on student visa pathway for each other.

Relationship Evidence for Student Couples

A partner visa on student visa application is decided on the relationship, assessed across four aspects: the financial aspects, the nature of the household, the social aspects and the nature of the commitment. Student couples often have a lighter paper trail than older couples, so the evidence in a partner visa on student visa application needs to be organised deliberately.

The Department will assess whether the couple have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others, whether the relationship is genuine and continuing, and whether they live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. The partner visa relationship evidence guide and the guide to preparing evidence of a genuine relationship explain each aspect.

Common evidence problems for student couples

Student couples tend to face the same handful of evidence problems:

• Share houses and student accommodation. Many student couples live with other tenants, and the lease may be in one name or in the name of a head tenant. Evidence that the couple share a room, share household tasks and are known to the other tenants as a couple helps explain the arrangement.
• Limited joint finances. One partner may be supported by family overseas, and the other may have a low income from casual work. Joint finances may be modest. Evidence of shared spending, contributions to rent and bills, and any joint account or shared payment arrangement is still important.
• Education expenses. Where the Australian partner has helped with course fees, textbooks or living costs, that support can be relevant evidence of financial interdependence.
• Address records. The student's address is recorded with the education provider, with the Department and in other places. Addresses given in the partner application, the Form 80 personal particulars form and supporting statements should be accurate and consistent with those records.
• A short relationship. Couples who marry soon after meeting need strong evidence of how the relationship developed and of their future plans.

The written account of the relationship belongs in one relationship statement, supported by Form 888 statements from people who know the couple. The statements are the client's own evidence and the witnesses' own evidence. They must be accurate. Same-sex couples face the same assessment, explained on the same-sex partner visa page.

What Tribunal Decisions Show About Relationship Evidence

Tribunal decisions show that the evidence issues student couples face are the same issues the Tribunal examines on review of Subclass 820 refusals. In each of the following decisions, drawn from a database of partner visa remittals, the Tribunal set aside the refusal and remitted the matter, which means it sent the application back to the Department to reconsider. A remittal is not a grant. The issues listed are the issues the decisions were reported on:

• Ho (Migration) [2023] AATA 405: a Federal Circuit and Family Court remittal concerning a genuine and continuing relationship, financial pooling and shared accommodation with other co-tenants.
• Le (Migration) [2025] ARTA 2423: a genuine and continuing relationship, incorrect residential information in the visa application, a joint bank account and shared education expenses.
• Phuong (Migration) [2019] AATA 4637: the sponsor acting as the applicant's representative, a genuine spousal relationship, financial aspects and minimal financial integration.
• Wang (Migration) [2024] ARTA 822: a genuine and continuing relationship, a couple validly married two months after meeting, the financial, household and social aspects of the relationship and the nature of the commitment, and future plans.

Ho and Phuong were decided by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal before the ART replaced it on 14 October 2024. Le and Wang were decided by the ART. These decisions illustrate the matters the Tribunal examined. They do not establish that any particular fact will lead to a particular outcome. What they show is that share housing, modest finances, education costs, address errors and a short courtship do not by themselves end a case, and that the evidence presented, and its consistency, decides it.

What If the Partner Visa on Student Visa Application Is Refused?

A refusal of a partner visa on student visa application is generally reviewable by the ART, but you must be in Australia when you apply for review. The review deadline is short, it runs from notification of the decision, it is strictly applied and the Tribunal cannot extend it. Read the refusal letter on the day it arrives.

Most refusals follow a section 56 request for more information or a section 57 natural justice letter. Responding properly to those letters is the last chance to avoid a refusal. The Subclass 820 refusal reasons article and why partner visas get refused explain the common grounds, and the partner visa refusal appeal options article and the ART review guide explain what comes next. Review matters are handled through the firm's partner visa refusals service and visa refusals service. After the Tribunal, judicial review may be available in limited cases.

If the relationship ends while the application is pending, the application does not end automatically, but the change must be reported. Some applicants may still have a pathway, for example under the family violence provisions. The relationship breakdown article explains the options.

Common Mistakes in a Partner Visa on Student Visa Application

Most problems in a partner visa on student visa matter come from a small number of predictable mistakes:

• Not checking for condition 8534 or 8535 before lodging, so the application is invalid.
• Lodging after the student visa end date, which brings in Schedule 3 and removes the Bridging visa A.
• Assuming full work rights from the day of lodgement, and breaching condition 8105.
• Dropping out or failing attendance after lodgement, and exposing the student visa to cancellation.
• Asking for the student visa to be cancelled, which ends the Bridging visa A instead of activating it.
• Letting health insurance lapse while the student visa is still in effect.
• Travelling close to the student visa end date, so the Bridging visa A ceases while the applicant is overseas.
• Inconsistent addresses and dates across the application, the Form 80, provider records and supporting statements.

Each of these is avoidable if the position is checked before lodgement. If you have already lodged yourself and are concerned about any of them, the article on hiring a lawyer after lodgement and the second opinion guide explain how a lawyer can step in. A lawyer can be appointed on an existing application using Form 956.

How My Migration Lawyers Helps With a Partner Visa on Student Visa Application

My Migration Lawyers plans every partner visa on student visa matter around one question: what is the client's status on the day of lodgement, and what will it be on every day after that until the Subclass 820 is decided? The firm deals with the student visa and the partner visa as one matter, not two.

In practice, the firm's work on a partner visa on student visa application follows these steps:

• Status audit. My Migration Lawyers checks the student visa grant, its end date and its conditions on VEVO, including any condition 8534, 8535 or 8503, and reviews any past refusal or cancellation. The firm obtains the visa history itself rather than asking the client to find old grant notices.
• Lodgement timing. The firm works out the latest safe lodgement date, taking into account the course end date, the visa end date and when the relationship requirement is met, and plans the lodgement with a margin.
• Condition plan. Before lodgement, the firm explains which student visa conditions continue, how the work limit applies, whether the client can stop studying and when, and what must not be done, including any request to cancel the student visa.
• Evidence and statements. The firm organises the relationship evidence across the four aspects, prepares the relationship statement from the client's own account for the client to review and correct, and checks every address and date against the client's records.
• Dependants and travel. The firm confirms each family member's visa position and advises on travel before the student visa ends and on any Bridging visa B application after it ends.
• Problems during processing. If a notice of intention to consider cancellation, a section 56 request or a section 57 letter arrives, the firm prepares the response and keeps the bridging visa position under watch.

My Migration Lawyers acts in many onshore partner matters for clients who hold, or recently held, student visas, including complex cases involving no further stay conditions, attendance and work limit problems, cancellation notices and tight visa end dates. The firm is equipped to handle them. Matters are supervised by Weiwei Zhang, Principal Lawyer. No outcome can be promised in any migration matter, but a clear assessment of a partner visa on student visa position before lodgement prevents most avoidable harm.

The firm acts for clients across Australia, including through its partner visa lawyers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Hobart and Parramatta. Consultations are held by video, so location is no barrier. You can learn more about My Migration Lawyers, its partner visa lawyers, its onshore Subclass 820 visa service, or what to expect from a consultation.

If you hold a student visa and want to lodge a partner visa on student visa status, or if your student visa end date is approaching, speak to a lawyer before you act.

Book a consultation with My Migration Lawyers to have your partner visa on student visa position assessed. You can also call 1300 040 300.