Partner Visa to Sponsor Your Wife to Australia

To sponsor wife to Australia, an Australian husband, or an Australian wife in a same-sex marriage, sponsors their spouse for a partner visa. The process to sponsor wife to Australia turns on three things: whether the sponsor is eligible, whether the marriage is recognised for migration purposes, and whether the marriage is genuine and continuing.

The law is the same whoever is sponsoring. A partner visa is gender-neutral, and the word "spouse" in the Migration Act covers a wife or a husband. This guide is written for the Australian sponsor whose spouse is a wife, because that is how most people search for the answer. It explains the visa options, how overseas marriages are recognised, what evidence the Department expects from married couples, what happens with pregnancy and children, and what it costs.

The firm's commercial pages on the Subclass 309 partner visa and the Subclass 820 partner visa explain each pathway, and the complete guide to partner visas in Australia sets out every stage.

How do I sponsor wife to Australia?

To sponsor wife to Australia, the wife applies for a partner visa as the spouse of an eligible Australian sponsor, and the sponsor lodges an online sponsorship and is assessed as part of that application. If the wife is outside Australia, she applies for the offshore Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 visas. If she is in Australia, she may be able to apply for the onshore Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 visas.

Whichever pathway is used to sponsor wife to Australia, each has two stages. The temporary visa, Subclass 309 or Subclass 820, is decided first. The permanent visa, Subclass 100 or Subclass 801, is usually assessed at least two years after the application was made. One application covers both stages, and one charge is paid at the start.

The practical steps to sponsor wife to Australia are:

• confirm the sponsor is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and is not affected by a sponsorship limitation;
• confirm the marriage is recognised for migration purposes, and that any earlier marriage of either spouse has ended;
• choose the right subclass, based on where the wife is and what visa she holds;
• gather identity documents, the marriage certificate, translations and evidence of the relationship;
• lodge the visa application, then lodge the online sponsorship; and
• respond promptly to any requests for police checks, health examinations or further information.

The short answers on how an Australian citizen can bring their wife from overseas and on bringing a spouse to Australia summarise the process, and the guide to the partner visa two-stage process explains how the stages fit together.

Who can sponsor wife to Australia?

A person can sponsor wife to Australia if they are an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, and if they are not prevented by a sponsorship limitation. If the Australian spouse is under 18, a parent or guardian aged 18 or over sponsors instead.

An eligible New Zealand citizen is a protected Special Category Visa holder within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991. Other New Zealand citizens must first become Australian citizens or permanent residents. A person on a temporary visa cannot sponsor.

Two sets of sponsor rules regularly affect husbands who want to sponsor wife to Australia. Regulation 1.20J limits a sponsor to two approved partner sponsorships, with at least five years between them, and stops a person who was sponsored as a partner from sponsoring for five years from their own application, unless there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor. Regulation 1.20KC deals with sponsors convicted of relevant offences, such as violence, stalking or breach of an apprehended violence order, and requires the sponsor to provide police checks on request and to consent to disclosure of relevant convictions.

A husband who previously sponsored a wife from an earlier marriage should check regulation 1.20J before lodging. The firm's commercial page on partner visa sponsorship limitations, the guide to partner visa sponsor requirements and the article on sponsoring as an Australian citizen explain these rules.

Is our marriage recognised if we want to sponsor wife to Australia?

Generally yes, if the marriage was valid under the law of the country where it took place, both spouses gave real consent, neither spouse was still married to someone else, and the marriage does not fall into one of the excluded categories under the Marriage Act 1961.

Paragraph 5F(2)(a) of the Migration Act requires the couple to be married to each other under a marriage that is valid for the purposes of the Act. Section 12 of the Act mirrors Part VA of the Marriage Act, which deals with recognition of foreign marriages, but excludes section 88E. Department policy explains that the effect is that a foreign marriage must have been recognised as valid in the country where it was solemnised, when it was solemnised.

Department policy lists marriages that are not recognised for migration purposes even if they were valid overseas:

• certain polygamous marriages, where only the first marriage is capable of recognition;
• marriages between people within a prohibited degree of relationship, such as a parent and child or a brother and sister;
• certain underage marriages; and
• marriages where either party did not give real consent, for example because consent was obtained by duress or fraud.

Policy also confirms that marriages between cousins are not prohibited and can be recognised, that an arranged marriage is recognised if both parties gave real consent, and that a proxy marriage may be recognised if the law of the place of marriage permits proxy consent and both parties gave real consent. Since 9 December 2017, foreign same-sex marriages that were valid where solemnised have been recognised, so an Australian woman can sponsor wife to Australia on the same basis.

The firm's guides to overseas marriages recognised in Australia and to an overseas marriage that is not recognised explain the tests, and the short answers on a valid marriage for a spouse visa, religious or cultural marriages, proxy and online marriages and cousin marriages deal with common variations.

Underage marriages

Under section 88D of the Marriage Act, as Department policy explains it, a foreign marriage involving a person under 18 is recognised if both parties were at least 16, the marriage was valid where it was solemnised, and neither party was domiciled in Australia at the time. If either party was domiciled in Australia and either party was under marriageable age, the marriage cannot be recognised for migration purposes, although the couple may later be assessed as de facto partners once both are at least 18.

Previous marriages and divorces

A previous marriage of either spouse must have ended by death or divorce before the current marriage took place. If a divorce was not final when the couple married, the later marriage is not valid, and Department policy requires the relationship to be assessed as a de facto relationship under section 5CB instead. That is not necessarily fatal, but it changes what must be proved.

Two remittals in the Partner Visa ART Remittals database show how this arises:

• In Najem (Migration) [2026] ARTA 575, a Subclass 309 matter, the issues recorded were a genuine and continuing relationship, that the couple married in the home country before the divorce of the sponsor's first marriage was finalised, assessment as a de facto relationship, and the nature of commitment. The Tribunal remitted the matter.
• In Kandel (Migration) [2024] AATA 160, a Subclass 309 matter, the issues recorded were a genuine and continuing spousal relationship, the sponsor's visits to Nepal, that an Australian divorce was not recognised in Nepal, and different registered marriage dates. The Tribunal remitted the matter.

A husband who wants to sponsor wife to Australia after an earlier divorce should keep the divorce order and check that the divorce was final before the new marriage. The firm's guides to a partner visa after divorce and a partner visa while still married, and the short answer on applying while still divorcing, explain the options.

What checks will my wife and I go through?

When couples sponsor wife to Australia, the wife must meet the health and character requirements for the visa, and the sponsor may be asked for police checks under the sponsorship rules. Both sets of checks can affect timing, so they should be planned early.

For the wife, the public interest criteria for the Subclass 309 and Subclass 820 visas include the health requirement, character requirements, the requirement to have no outstanding debts to the Commonwealth, the integrity criterion in public interest criterion 4020 and, for applicants aged 18 or over, the Australian values statement. In practice, the wife will usually be asked for police certificates from the countries where she has lived and for health examinations by an approved panel clinic. Results and certificates must be current when the decision is made, so obtaining them too early can mean repeating them.

For the sponsor, the Department may request Australian and foreign police checks under regulation 1.20KC(5). Department policy treats 28 days from the request as a reasonable time to provide them or evidence they have been requested. A sponsor who wants to sponsor wife to Australia and has lived overseas should allow for the time some countries take to issue certificates.

The firm's guides to the partner visa sponsor police check, the partner visa health requirements, overseas police certificates and the character requirements explain each check, and the short answer on police certificate and health check validity explains timing.

What does a married couple have to prove to sponsor wife to Australia?

To sponsor wife to Australia, a married couple must prove more than a valid marriage. Section 5F(2) requires a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, a genuine and continuing relationship, and that the couple live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.

Regulation 1.15A lists the matters the Department considers: the financial aspects of the relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship, and the nature of the couple's commitment to each other. A refusal on genuineness grounds must address all four, unless the refusal is based on the marriage not being valid.

Couples who sponsor wife to Australia as married spouses do not need to meet the 12-month relationship requirement that applies to most de facto couples. That is one of the main reasons couples marry before they apply. But marriage does not reduce the evidence required. Department policy describes the length of the marriage as relevant to the assessment, without any fixed minimum, and expects all the other factors to be considered as well.

Couples who have not yet lived together

Many husbands who want to sponsor wife to Australia married overseas and have not yet lived together for long, or at all. Department policy states that paragraph 5F(2)(d) requires any separation to be temporary, and that an applicant cannot meet it if the couple have never lived together and cannot satisfy the delegate that they intend to live together in the future. There is no set timeframe, and claims are considered case by case.

In practice, couples in this situation need strong evidence of their intention to live together, of contact while apart, of visits and of the reasons for the separation. The firm's guides to a partner visa without living together and to long-distance relationships explain what helps.

Arranged marriages

Department policy states that an arranged marriage is recognised if both parties gave real consent, but that officers are expected to take particular care in assessing whether the couple have a mutual commitment and a genuine and continuing relationship. Couples whose marriage was arranged should explain how they came to know each other, how the decision to marry was made and how the relationship has developed since. The firm's guide to arranged marriages and partner visas and the short answer on arranged marriages and spouse visas explain the approach.

The Subclass 309 remittal in To (Migration) [2023] AATA 4331 records issues of a genuine and continuing relationship, a valid marriage, money transfers and the sponsor's multiple visits to Vietnam. The Tribunal remitted the matter. Remittals of this kind show the evidence that married couples living in different countries often rely on. The short answer on whether a marriage certificate is enough for a spouse visa addresses the most common misunderstanding.

Can I sponsor wife to Australia if we met online or married quickly?

Yes. Meeting online, marrying soon after meeting or having a large age difference does not prevent a couple from being granted a spouse visa, but each of these features tends to attract closer scrutiny, so the evidence needs to address them directly.

The Department is looking for the same thing in every case: a genuine and continuing marriage with a mutual commitment to a shared life. Where the couple met online, the evidence should show how the relationship moved from online contact to meeting in person and to marriage. Where the couple married quickly, the statements should explain why, including any cultural or family reasons. Where there is an age gap, evidence of shared plans, family acceptance and day-to-day commitment is especially important.

The Subclass 309 remittal in Tay (Migration) [2023] AATA 574 records issues of persuasive evidence consistent with the sponsor's commitment to a relationship with the visa applicant, a substantial age difference, and a copy of the marriage certificate provided. The Tribunal remitted the matter. Husbands who want to sponsor wife to Australia in these situations should not try to hide the features that concern the Department. They should explain them.

The firm's guides to partner visas for couples who met online and to age gaps, and the short answers on age gaps and spouse visas and on marrying soon after meeting, explain how these cases are presented.

Offshore or onshore: which visa should I use to sponsor wife to Australia?

If the wife is outside Australia, she applies for the offshore Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 visas. If she is in Australia on a visa that permits a further application, she may be able to apply for the onshore Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 visas. The right choice depends on where she is when she applies and what visa she holds.

The offshore Subclass 309

All applicants for a Subclass 309 visa must be outside Australia when they apply, under paragraph 1220A(3)(b) of Schedule 1. Subclause 309.412(1) provides that the applicant must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted, subject to a limited COVID-era concession. Once granted, the Subclass 309 allows the wife to travel to, enter and remain in Australia until the Subclass 100 application is decided, and policy is that the first entry date is 12 months from grant.

Many couples choose the offshore pathway to sponsor wife to Australia because the wife can continue living and working at home while the application is processed, and the couple can visit each other. A wife who visits Australia while the Subclass 309 is processing must be back outside Australia when the decision is made. The short answers on a Subclass 309 spouse visa, on visiting Australia while the Subclass 309 is processing and on being outside Australia when the Subclass 309 is granted explain the practical rules.

The onshore Subclass 820

A wife who is already in Australia may be able to apply for the Subclass 820 visa. Whether she can depends on her current visa. A visitor visa with condition 8503 ("no further stay") generally prevents a further application in Australia unless the condition is waived. A wife without a substantive visa, or on certain bridging visas, will usually need to meet or be waived from the Schedule 3 criteria. A wife subject to section 48 must lodge the sponsorship and two supporting Form 888 statements at the same time as the application.

The onshore pathway lets the wife stay in Australia during processing, usually on a bridging visa that allows work. It also avoids separation. But lodging onshore when the wife's visa does not allow it can produce an invalid application or a refusal. The firm's guides to onshore versus offshore partner visas, a partner visa while on a tourist visa and the no further stay condition explain the risks, and the short answers on the Subclass 820 spouse visa and on marrying in Australia on a visitor visa deal with common scenarios.

Should we marry first, or apply as fiancés?

Couples who are engaged but not yet married, and who plan to sponsor wife to Australia after the wedding, have two options: the Subclass 300 prospective marriage visa, to marry in Australia, or a Subclass 309 application made on the basis of an intention to marry, provided the marriage takes place before the visa is decided.

The Subclass 300 visa is for an applicant outside Australia who intends to marry an Australian sponsor in Australia. The applicant must have met the sponsor in person since turning 18 and must marry within the visa period, after which the couple apply for the onshore partner visa. Under subclause 309.211(3), a Subclass 309 applicant can also apply before marrying if the intended marriage will be valid, but the marriage must take place before the Subclass 309 visa can be granted.

For a couple who are already married, the Subclass 300 is the wrong visa. The Subclass 300 remittal in Khawari (Migration) [2023] AATA 933 records issues that the applicant and sponsor were validly married, a marriage certificate was provided, and the applicant was to be assessed for a spouse visa rather than a prospective marriage visa. The Tribunal remitted the matter. The firm's commercial page on the Subclass 300 prospective marriage visa and the short answers comparing a fiancé visa with a partner visa and on marrying overseas instead explain the choice.

What evidence do I need to sponsor wife to Australia?

To sponsor wife to Australia, the couple need identity documents, the marriage certificate with an English translation if required, evidence that any previous marriage ended, the sponsor's evidence of status, and evidence of each of the four aspects of the relationship.

Typical evidence used to sponsor wife to Australia as a married couple includes:

• the marriage certificate and, where relevant, evidence that the marriage was registered under local law;
• divorce orders or death certificates for any previous marriage of either spouse;
• the sponsor's citizenship certificate, Australian birth certificate or evidence of permanent residence;
• evidence of living together, or of the reasons for living apart and plans to live together;
• joint financial evidence, money transfers and evidence of support;
• photographs across the relationship, wedding photographs and evidence of the wedding being known to family and friends;
• call logs, messages and travel records;
• each spouse's own statement about the history of the relationship; and
• Form 888 statements from Australian citizens or permanent residents who know the couple.

Each spouse should write and review their own statement, and the statements should be consistent with each other and with the documents. The firm's guides to partner visa relationship evidence, the marriage certificate, Form 888 statements and evidence translation explain each item, and the short answers on wedding photos for a spouse visa, translating a marriage certificate and a name change after marriage deal with common issues.

Can I sponsor wife to Australia if she is pregnant or we have a baby?

Yes. Pregnancy does not prevent a husband from proceeding to sponsor wife to Australia, and a child of the marriage can strengthen the evidence of the relationship. Where the child is born matters for whether the child needs a visa.

A child born in Australia acquires Australian citizenship by birth if a parent was an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident at the time of birth. A child born overseas to an Australian citizen parent is generally eligible to be registered as an Australian citizen by descent. In either case the child usually does not need to be included in the visa application. Where a child is not an Australian citizen and is born after the application is made but before it is decided, regulation 2.08 adds the newborn to the application automatically.

Pregnancy also affects the health requirement. Pregnant applicants are usually asked to defer a chest x-ray until after the birth, which can delay the decision. The Subclass 309 remittal in Kazmi (Migration) [2023] AATA 3082 records issues of a genuine and continuing relationship, the applicant being pregnant with the sponsor's child, pooling of financial resources and joint international travel. The Tribunal remitted the matter.

A dependent child of both spouses, other than a step-child, can also shorten the wait for the permanent visa. If, when the application is made, the couple have been in the relationship for at least two years and have such a child, the long-term partner relationship exception allows the permanent visa to be assessed without the usual two-year wait. Without a child, the relationship must have lasted at least three years.

The firm's guides to partner visas and pregnancy, pregnancy and medical tests and adding a newborn to a partner visa, and the short answers on a baby who is an Australian citizen and on having a child together, explain the detail.

Can my wife's children come too?

Yes, if they are her dependent children and they are included in, or added to, the application before it is decided. Children who are added later need a separate pathway.

Dependent children are usually included when the wife applies, and a sponsor who plans to sponsor wife to Australia together with her children should list every child in the application, including children who will not migrate. Regulation 2.08B allows a dependent child to be added to an undecided Subclass 309 or Subclass 820 application at the applicant's written request. If the wife's Subclass 309 has already been granted, a dependent child not included in the application may be sponsored for a Subclass 445 dependent child visa before the Subclass 100 is granted.

Where the child's other parent is overseas, the Department generally needs that parent's consent for the child to migrate, or a court order, before it can grant the visa to the child. The firm's guides to adding children to a partner visa, stepchildren in a partner visa and child custody and consent, and the short answers on including children in a partner visa and on the other parent's consent, explain the requirements.

How much does it cost to sponsor wife to Australia?

The Partner visa application charge to sponsor wife to Australia, for the Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 or the Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 combination, is AUD 11,710 for most applicants at the time of writing. The charge for the permanent stage is paid when the temporary visa is applied for.

Additional charges apply for each dependent child included in the application. Other costs usually include health examinations, police certificates, translations and, where relevant, document certification. Holders of a Subclass 300 visa who later apply for the onshore partner visa pay a reduced charge. Visa application charges are indexed and usually change on 1 July each year. The firm's guides to the partner visa cost and partner visa fee increases explain how charges are set, and the short answer on whether the charge includes the permanent stage clarifies a common question.

How long does it take to sponsor wife to Australia?

There is no fixed time. Processing depends on the Department's caseload, the completeness of the application, whether further information is requested and how quickly health and police checks are completed. The Department publishes indicative processing times on its website, and they change regularly.

Two parts of the timeline to sponsor wife to Australia are fixed by law. The permanent Subclass 100 or Subclass 801 visa is generally not decided until at least two years after the application was made, unless the long-term partner relationship exception applies. And a Subclass 309 holder must make first entry to Australia by the date set in the grant, which policy sets at 12 months from grant. The firm's guides to partner visa processing times and the first entry deadline explain how to plan.

What happens after my wife's visa is granted?

After the temporary visa is granted, the wife can live, work and study in Australia, and the couple prepare for the permanent stage, when the Department checks again that the marriage is genuine and continuing and that the wife is still sponsored by the same sponsor.

The sponsor's undertaking to ensure adequate accommodation and to provide financial assistance as required applies for up to two years from the wife's arrival, or from grant if she applied in Australia. If the relationship breaks down because of family violence by the sponsor, or the couple have a child together and share parental responsibility, the wife may still be able to obtain permanent residence. The firm's guides to partner visa work rights, temporary versus permanent partner visas and partner visa sponsor obligations, and the firm's family violence partner visa page, explain the rules.

Why are applications to sponsor wife to Australia refused?

Applications to sponsor wife to Australia are most often refused because the Department is not satisfied the marriage is genuine and continuing, because the marriage is not recognised, because the sponsorship cannot be approved, or because the wife cannot meet a public interest criterion or applied for the wrong subclass.

The common refusal grounds for married couples include:

• insufficient evidence of the financial, household, social or commitment aspects of the marriage;
• inconsistent statements or interview answers about how the couple met, married or lived;
• a marriage that is not valid because an earlier divorce was not final, or because local registration requirements were not met;
• a sponsor affected by regulation 1.20J or regulation 1.20KC, or a sponsor who did not provide police checks or consent to disclosure;
• false or misleading information, which engages public interest criterion 4020; and
• an onshore application made while the wife's visa did not permit it, or without addressing Schedule 3.

Most of these grounds can be anticipated before lodgement. The firm's guides to why partner visas get refused, partner visa refusal reasons and PIC 4020 explain how each ground is assessed. Anyone who wants to sponsor wife to Australia after a previous refusal should read the guide to a partner visa after a previous refusal.

What if the spouse visa is refused?

A refused Subclass 309 or Subclass 820 visa can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal if the review application is lodged within 28 days after notification, or 7 days if the applicant is in immigration detention. The time cannot be extended.

For a Subclass 309 refusal, current Department instructions state that the visa applicant applies under regulation 4.02(5)(raa). For a Subclass 820 refusal, the applicant applies. For a Subclass 300 refusal, the sponsor applies. The review fee for fees paid on or after 1 July 2026 is AUD 3,727, with a 50% reduction for financial hardship and a 50% refund if the decision is set aside, varied or remitted. There is no merits review of a Subclass 100 refusal made while the applicant is outside Australia.

The firm's partner visa refusal lawyers page and the guides to the partner visa appeal deadline and ART fees explain the process, and the short answers on why a spouse visa can be refused even though the couple are married and on appealing a spouse visa refusal to the ART deal with the questions married couples ask most.

How My Migration Lawyers helps sponsors who want to sponsor wife to Australia

My Migration Lawyers deals with complex partner visa cases, acts in many spouse visa matters for Australian sponsors, and is capable of handling an application to sponsor wife to Australia from the first assessment through to the permanent stage or review. The firm's Principal Lawyer is Weiwei Zhang, and the firm's approach is explained on the about My Migration Lawyers page.

When a sponsor wants to sponsor wife to Australia, the firm:

• confirms the sponsor's eligibility, including previous sponsorships under regulation 1.20J and any relevant offence history under regulation 1.20KC;
• assesses whether the marriage is recognised under section 12 of the Migration Act and Part VA of the Marriage Act, including previous divorces, underage, proxy, religious and same-sex marriages;
• advises whether the Subclass 309, Subclass 820 or Subclass 300 is the right pathway, including condition 8503, section 48 and Schedule 3 issues;
• plans the evidence around the four aspects of the marriage, including couples who have not yet lived together;
• presents each spouse's own account of the relationship, which each of them reviews and corrects;
• advises on pregnancy, newborns and including the wife's children; and
• responds to Department requests and acts on review if the visa is refused.

The firm acts for sponsors across Australia through its partner visa lawyers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The short answers on who can help with a wife visa and on a spouse visa lawyer in Australia explain how the firm works with couples in different countries, and sponsors who need to move quickly can use the urgent partner visa lodgement service.

If you are ready to sponsor wife to Australia, or need advice on whether your marriage and circumstances qualify, book a consultation with My Migration Lawyers, or call 1300 040 300.