Subclass 820 Visa: The Onshore Partner Visa Explained

What is the Subclass 820 visa?

The Subclass 820 visa is the temporary onshore partner visa. It is granted to the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is in Australia when the application is lodged. It allows the holder to live, work and study anywhere in Australia while the Department of Home Affairs decides whether to grant the permanent Subclass 801 visa.

The word "onshore" carries real legal weight. The applicant must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, on the day the application is made, and must be in Australia again on the day the visa is granted. A person outside Australia cannot apply for the Subclass 820. Their pathway is the Subclass 309 offshore partner visa, which works in the same two stages with different rules about where the applicant must be.

The Subclass 820 never stands alone. Under the Migration Regulations 1994 an application for the Subclass 820 must be made at the same time and place as an application for the Subclass 801. One form, one application charge, one set of evidence, two visas. The Department decides the Subclass 820 first. Roughly two years after the date of lodgement it returns to the same file and decides the Subclass 801. The applicant does not lodge a second application and does not pay a second Department charge.

This two-stage structure is the single most misunderstood feature of the visa. People read "temporary" and assume the Subclass 820 expires. It does not carry an expiry date in the ordinary sense. It remains in effect until the Subclass 801 application is finally decided, whether that takes two years or longer. People also read "permanent partner visa" and assume they apply for it once the Subclass 820 is granted. They do not, because they already have. The permanent stage is an assessment of an application made on day one.

The Department's own page for the visa is the Subclass 820 Partner visa (temporary) page on the Home Affairs website. The service page on this site, Subclass 820 partner visa, sets out what My Migration Lawyers does on these matters. This article explains the law.

Who can apply for a Subclass 820 visa?

A person can apply for a Subclass 820 visa if they are in Australia, are the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and either hold a substantive visa or can deal with the Schedule 3 criteria. Each of those elements is assessed separately, and an application fails if any one of them is missing.

The applicant must be in Australia. This is a validity requirement, not a merits question. An application lodged from outside Australia is not a valid Subclass 820 application. The charge is spent and nothing has been started.

The applicant must be a spouse or a de facto partner. These are defined terms. Under section 5F of the Migration Act 1958 a spouse is a person in a married relationship. That requires a marriage that is valid under Australian law, a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others, a relationship that is genuine and continuing, and a couple who live together or do not live apart on a permanent basis. Under section 5CB a de facto partner is a person in a de facto relationship with the same elements of commitment, genuineness and living arrangements, who is not married to the other person and is not related by family. Regulation 1.15A lists the matters the Department considers for a married relationship and regulation 1.09A does the same for a de facto relationship. Regulation 2.03A requires both people in a de facto relationship to be at least 18 years old.

The sponsor must be eligible and approved. The Australian partner lodges a sponsorship application and must be approved as a sponsor. The Department can refuse a sponsor who has sponsored partners before. Regulation 1.20J limits a person to two partner or prospective marriage sponsorships in a lifetime, at least five years apart, and a person who was themselves sponsored as a partner cannot sponsor another partner until five years after their own application was made. Regulation 1.20J(2) allows a waiver where there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor, but it has to be argued and evidenced. Our page on partner visa sponsorship limitations explains how the five years is counted and what the Department accepts as compelling. Sponsors are also required to provide police checks, and the Department may refuse to approve a sponsor with certain convictions.

The applicant must hold a substantive visa, or deal with Schedule 3. A substantive visa is any visa other than a bridging visa, a criminal justice visa or an enforcement visa. Visitor, student, working holiday, graduate and skilled visas all qualify. A bridging visa does not. If the applicant holds a substantive visa on the day of lodgement, Schedule 3 does not arise. If the applicant does not, subparagraph 820.211(2)(d)(ii) requires them to satisfy Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 unless the Minister is satisfied that there are compelling reasons for not applying those criteria. That hurdle has its own section below.

The applicant's current visa must not carry condition 8503, unless it has been waived. Condition 8503, the "no further stay" condition, is common on visitor visas. A person whose visa carries condition 8503 cannot make a valid Subclass 820 application in Australia unless the Department first waives the condition under subregulation 2.05(4). A waiver requires compelling and compassionate circumstances that developed after the visa was granted, that were beyond the person's control, and that resulted in a major change in their circumstances. Falling in love is not, on its own, a change of that kind.

The applicant must satisfy health, character and integrity criteria. Clause 820.223 requires the applicant to satisfy public interest criteria 4001 (character), 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007 (health) and 4009, and public interest criterion 4019, the Australian values statement, if the applicant was 18 or over at the time of application. Public interest criterion 4020, which deals with false or misleading information and bogus documents, applies to every partner visa application and is one of the most common grounds of refusal. Criterion 4007 contains a health waiver, so a medical condition is not automatically fatal, but the waiver must be requested and supported.

Same-sex and gender-diverse couples apply on identical terms. There is no separate subclass and no additional criterion. The evidence picture can differ, particularly where a couple has had to keep the relationship private in another country, and our page on partner visas for LGBTIQ+ couples addresses that.

Is the Subclass 820 visa permanent residence?

No. The Subclass 820 is a temporary visa. Permanent residence comes only when the Subclass 801 visa is granted, which the Department assesses roughly two years after the combined application was lodged.

The distinction has consequences that surprise people. A Subclass 820 holder is not eligible to apply for Australian citizenship, because the residence requirement counts time as a permanent resident. A Subclass 820 holder cannot sponsor a relative for a permanent visa on the basis of being a permanent resident. Access to most Centrelink payments requires permanent residence or a qualifying visa, and the Subclass 820 is not one. A child born in Australia to a Subclass 820 holder and an Australian citizen or permanent resident is an Australian citizen by birth, but that flows from the other parent's status, not from the Subclass 820.

What the Subclass 820 does give is substantial. The holder can work for any employer without restriction, study without restriction, travel in and out of Australia freely while the visa is in effect, and enrol in Medicare. It is a substantive visa. It is not a bridging visa, and it does not carry the travel and work uncertainties that bridging visas carry.

The period between the grant of the Subclass 820 and the decision on the Subclass 801 is not a probation period during which the Department watches the couple. It is simply the period over which evidence of a continuing relationship accumulates. The applicant's only obligation during it, beyond complying with the law generally, is to keep the Department informed. Section 104 of the Migration Act requires an applicant to tell the Department in writing if a change in circumstances means that an answer given in the application is no longer correct. The end of the relationship, a change of address and the birth of a child are all changes of that kind.

How much does the Subclass 820 visa cost?

From 1 July 2026 the Department application charge for a Subclass 820 visa is AUD 11,710 for most primary applicants. That single charge covers both the Subclass 820 and the Subclass 801. There is no second Department charge at the permanent stage.

Additional applicants included in the application, such as dependent children, attract their own charge, with a higher amount for an applicant aged 18 or over and a lower amount for an applicant under 18. A surcharge applies to credit card payments. Applicants who hold or have held a Subclass 300 prospective marriage visa pay a substantially reduced charge when they lodge the Subclass 820, because they paid the full charge when they applied for the Subclass 300.

The charge is indexed each year and almost always changes on 1 July. The amount that applies is the amount in force on the day the Department receives a valid application, not the day the applicant started preparing it. The current figure should always be confirmed against the Department's visa pricing table before payment.

The Department charge is not the whole cost. Health examinations, police certificates from every country in which the applicant has lived for 12 months or more in the last ten years, certified translations of documents not in English, and professional fees if the applicant is represented all sit on top of it. Our article on what a Subclass 820 visa costs breaks each of those down.

The most important fact about the charge is that it is not refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn. That single fact is the strongest argument for getting the application right before lodgement rather than trying to repair it afterwards.

How long does the Subclass 820 visa take?

On the Department's current published figures, 50 per cent of Subclass 820 applications are decided within 23 months and 90 per cent within 29 months. Applicants should plan for a wait of about two years, and some applications run past two and a half.

Those figures come from the Department's visa processing times tool, which is the only reliable source. They are recalculated regularly and they move. Figures quoted on other websites are routinely months out of date. They are also historical, not predictive. They describe applications the Department has already decided, and they say nothing about any particular file.

Three things lengthen an application more than anything else. The first is a request for further information, which sends the file back into a queue even where the applicant responds promptly. The second is a Schedule 3 or sponsorship waiver question, which is decided before the relationship is properly assessed. The third is a health or character referral. An application lodged complete, with every gap in the evidence explained rather than left silent, is the fastest application there is. Our article on Subclass 820 processing times explains what the published figures mean and what delays a file.

Because the wait is close to two years, many applicants find that the Subclass 820 grant and the Subclass 801 assessment arrive within months of each other. That is not a coincidence. The two-year period for the Subclass 801 runs from lodgement, so by the time the Subclass 820 is decided the permanent stage is often already open.

What is the difference between the Subclass 820 and the Subclass 801?

The Subclass 820 is the temporary stage and the Subclass 801 is the permanent stage of one combined onshore partner visa application. The applicant lodges both at once and pays one charge. The Department grants the Subclass 820 first, then assesses the Subclass 801 once at least two years have passed since the application was made.

The two-year rule is in paragraph 801.221(2)(d) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. It is measured from the date the combined application was made, not from the date the Subclass 820 was granted. Applicants who wait for the Subclass 820 grant and then start counting two years are counting from the wrong date.

There are exceptions. Under subclause 801.221(6A), the two-year requirement does not apply to an applicant who was in a long-term partner relationship with the sponsor when the application was made. Regulation 1.03 defines a long-term partner relationship as one of at least three years, or at least two years where there is a dependent child of both the applicant and the sponsor, other than a step-child. Where that applies, the Department assesses the Subclass 801 immediately after granting the Subclass 820 and, if the criteria are met, grants both. Separate provisions in subclauses 801.221(5) and 801.221(6) allow the Subclass 801 to be granted inside the two years where the sponsor has died, where family violence has occurred, or where the applicant has custody or access rights over a child of the sponsor.

Subclass 820Subclass 801Subclass 309TypeTemporaryPermanentTemporaryWhere the applicant must be at lodgementIn AustraliaIn Australia (lodged with the 820)Outside AustraliaWhere the applicant must be at grantIn AustraliaIn AustraliaOutside AustraliaSeparate applicationNo, lodged with the 801No, lodged with the 820No, lodged with the Subclass 100Separate Department chargeOne charge covers bothIncluded in the 820 chargeOne charge covers both 309 and 100When assessedFirstAbout two years from lodgement, or immediately for long-term relationshipsFirstWork and study rightsUnrestrictedUnrestrictedUnrestricted once in AustraliaMedicareYesYesYes once in AustraliaLeads toSubclass 801Citizenship eligibilitySubclass 100

At the Subclass 801 stage the Department asks the applicant to confirm that the relationship is continuing and to provide updated evidence covering the period since lodgement. The same four areas of evidence apply. The documents that decide permanent residence are therefore the ones gathered during the wait, not the ones filed at the start. Our article on the difference between the Subclass 820 and the Subclass 801 covers the second stage in detail.

What does the Department assess in a Subclass 820 application?

The Department assesses whether the applicant is the spouse or de facto partner of the sponsor, and it does so against four areas set out in regulation 1.15A for married couples and regulation 1.09A for de facto couples: 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.

Financial aspects means joint ownership of assets, joint liabilities, pooling of income, sharing of day-to-day expenses, and any arrangement where one partner supports the other. Couples who keep separate finances can still succeed, but the arrangement must be explained rather than left for a case officer to notice.

Nature of the household means how the couple lives together: a shared lease or mortgage, mail addressed to both at the same address, how domestic responsibilities are divided, and living arrangements for any children.

Social aspects means whether the relationship is known to others: joint invitations, joint travel, joint memberships, and statements from people who know the couple. Supporting witnesses complete Form 888 statements. Each witness must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, must be 18 or over, and must attach evidence of identity. Two detailed Form 888 statements from people who genuinely know the couple carry more weight than eight generic ones.

Nature of the commitment means the duration of the relationship, the length of time the couple has lived together, the degree of companionship and emotional support, and whether they see the relationship as long term, evidenced by wills, beneficiary nominations and plans made together.

The Department also asks whether the couple live together or do not live apart on a permanent basis. Periods apart for work, study, caring or visa reasons do not defeat an application, but they must be explained.

Married and de facto applicants are treated differently in one respect. A married applicant needs a marriage that is valid under Australian law and no minimum relationship duration. A de facto applicant must generally show that the de facto relationship existed for at least 12 months immediately before the application was made. That requirement is in regulation 2.03A. It does not apply where the relationship is registered under a prescribed state or territory law, such as the Relationships Register Act 2010 (NSW) or the Relationships Act 2008 (Vic), and a relationship registered after lodgement but before decision still counts. It also does not apply where the applicant establishes compelling and compassionate circumstances, which the Department's policy describes as a high threshold. A dependent child of the relationship is the usual example. Pregnancy alone is not. The 12 months runs from when the relationship became mutually committed and exclusive, which is often earlier than the date the couple moved in together. Our article on the 12-month de facto requirement sets out how the period is counted and evidenced.

Evidence fails in predictable ways. The most common failure is volume in one area and nothing in another: hundreds of photographs and no joint finances. The second is a gap that is never addressed. A short relationship history, separate finances or a period living apart are rarely fatal on their own. Silence about them is what invites a request for further information, and a request adds months. Our Subclass 820 evidence checklist works through each of the four areas.

Can you apply for a Subclass 820 visa without a substantive visa?

Yes, but the application must then satisfy Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 or persuade the Department that there are compelling reasons not to apply them. This is the point at which onshore partner visa applications most often go wrong.

Schedule 3 applies to an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa on the day the application is made. That includes a person on a bridging visa and a person whose last visa has expired. Criterion 3001 requires the application to be made within 28 days of the day the applicant last held a substantive visa. Criteria 3003 and 3004 require, among other things, that the applicant became unlawful or lost their substantive visa because of factors beyond their control, that there are compelling reasons for granting the visa, and that the applicant substantially complied with the conditions of their last visa. Most people who have been without a substantive visa for more than 28 days cannot meet criterion 3001, so the application depends on the waiver.

The waiver in subparagraph 820.211(2)(d)(ii) turns on whether there are "compelling reasons" for not applying the Schedule 3 criteria. The Full Federal Court in Waensila v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCAFC 32 held that the decision-maker must consider all of the applicant's circumstances as they stand at the time of decision, not only the circumstances at the time of application. That is a significant protection, because it means circumstances that arise after lodgement, such as the birth of a child, can be taken into account.

The Department's policy is blunt about what does not count. A genuine relationship is not a compelling reason, because a genuine relationship is the basis of every partner visa application. Hardship caused by separation if the applicant had to leave Australia and apply for the Subclass 309 offshore is not, on its own, a compelling reason either, because that hardship is common to every couple in that position. What tends to count is something beyond the applicant's control that led to them becoming unlawful or prevented them from becoming lawful, or a consequence for a third party, most often an Australian citizen child. Our page on Schedule 3 waivers explains how the submission is built.

Two related traps deserve separate mention. The first is condition 8503. A person whose visa carries a no further stay condition cannot lodge at all until the condition is waived under subregulation 2.05(4), and the waiver test is different from the Schedule 3 test. The second is section 48 of the Migration Act. A person who has had a visa refused or cancelled since last entering Australia and who does not hold a substantive visa is barred from applying for most visas onshore. Partner visas are an exception under regulation 2.12, so a section 48 barred person can still apply for the Subclass 820. But Schedule 3 still applies, and item 1124B of Schedule 1 adds further requirements: the person must not have had a partner visa refused since last entering Australia, must lodge the sponsorship form with the application, and must lodge two Form 888 statements from Australian citizens or permanent residents made no more than six weeks before the application.

How do you apply for a Subclass 820 visa?

A Subclass 820 application is lodged online through ImmiAccount, with the Subclass 801 application, the application charge, and the sponsor's separate sponsorship application. The steps below are the sequence that avoids the common failures.

• Confirm the applicant's visa status on the day of lodgement. Check VEVO. Confirm whether the current visa is substantive, whether it carries condition 8503, and when it expires. Everything else depends on this.
• Confirm the sponsor is eligible. Check previous sponsorships against regulation 1.20J, confirm citizenship or permanent residence, and arrange the sponsor's police checks.
• Confirm the relationship meets the definition. For married couples, confirm the marriage is valid under Australian law. For de facto couples, fix the date the relationship became committed and exclusive, confirm the 12 months or an exception, and consider registration if the period is short.
• Assemble evidence against the four areas. Financial, household, social and commitment, with third-party documents spanning time in each. Write the applicant's and sponsor's statements after the documents are assembled, so the dates agree.
• Obtain Form 888 statements. Two or more, from Australian citizens or permanent residents who know the couple, with identity evidence attached.
• Deal with Schedule 3, condition 8503 or section 48 before lodgement, not after. Where any of them applies, the submission on compelling reasons or the waiver request is part of the application, not an afterthought.
• Arrange health examinations and police certificates. Health examinations are arranged through ImmiAccount after lodgement. Overseas police certificates can take months and should be requested early.
• Lodge through ImmiAccount and pay the charge. The application is valid only when it is complete and paid. Starting an application in June and paying in July attracts the July charge.
• Confirm the bridging visa. Check the bridging visa grant notice for the date it takes effect and the conditions attached.
• Keep gathering evidence. The Subclass 801 is assessed on the period after lodgement.

What can you do while the Subclass 820 application is being decided?

An applicant who held a substantive visa at lodgement is usually granted a Bridging Visa A with no conditions, which takes effect when the current visa ends and allows unrestricted work and study until the Subclass 820 is decided. An applicant who lodged without a substantive visa is usually granted a Bridging Visa C or E, which often carries work restrictions.

The nil-conditions position for Subclass 820 applicants comes from a legislative instrument made under paragraph 010.611(1)(c) of Schedule 2, which allows Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 applicants who are eligible for a Bridging Visa A to be granted it with no conditions imposed. The bridging visa is granted at or shortly after lodgement but sits dormant until the substantive visa ceases. Until then, the conditions of the substantive visa continue to apply. A student visa holder with a work limitation remains bound by that limitation until the student visa ends and the Bridging Visa A takes effect.

A Bridging Visa A does not permit travel. If the holder leaves Australia the visa ceases and there is no visa to return on. An applicant who needs to travel must first be granted a Bridging Visa B, which permits departure and return within a specified period. Because the Subclass 820 can only be granted to an applicant who is in Australia, an ill-timed trip can jeopardise the application itself. Our article on work rights while a Subclass 820 is pending covers bridging visas in detail.

Applicants for an onshore partner visa are generally able to enrol in Medicare once the combined application has been lodged, because the application includes an application for a permanent visa. Services Australia decides eligibility on its own criteria, and the bridging visa grant notice is usually the document it asks for.

How long can you stay on a Subclass 820 visa?

A Subclass 820 visa holder can stay in Australia until the Subclass 801 application is finally decided. The visa has no fixed expiry date. It remains in effect through the two-year period, through any delay beyond it, and through any review of a Subclass 801 refusal lodged in time.

While the Subclass 820 is in effect the holder can leave and re-enter Australia without a bridging visa, work for any employer, study at any level, and enrol in Medicare. The holder must, however, be in Australia when the Subclass 801 is granted, so extended absences around the time of the permanent decision need to be managed.

The Subclass 820 ceases if the Subclass 801 is refused and the refusal is not reviewed in time, and it can be cancelled on the ordinary cancellation grounds in the Migration Act, including section 109 for incorrect information and section 116 where the circumstances that led to the grant no longer exist. The most common trigger for the last of those is a relationship that has ended without the Department being told.

What happens if the relationship ends before the Subclass 801 is granted?

If the relationship ends before the Subclass 801 is decided, the application can still succeed in three situations: where the sponsor has died, where the applicant or a dependent child has suffered family violence committed by the sponsor, or where the applicant has custody of or access to a child of the sponsor under a Family Court order. Outside those situations, the ending of the relationship means the Subclass 801 cannot be granted.

The provisions differ slightly depending on when the relationship ended. If it ended before the Subclass 820 was decided, subclauses 820.221(2) and 820.221(3) apply. Subclause 820.221(2) covers the death of the sponsor, where the applicant must show they would have continued to be the sponsor's partner and that they have developed close business, cultural or personal ties in Australia. Subclause 820.221(3) covers family violence and child custody. If the relationship ended after the Subclass 820 was granted, subclauses 801.221(5) and 801.221(6) cover the same situations at the permanent stage, and an applicant who meets them does not have to wait out the two years.

Family violence is assessed under Division 1.5 of the Regulations. Regulation 1.23 sets out when a sponsor is taken to have committed family violence, and the violence, or part of it, must have occurred while the married or de facto relationship existed. Evidence is either judicial, such as a court injunction or conviction, or non-judicial, which requires a statutory declaration from the applicant and evidence from prescribed professionals. Our page on the family violence provisions explains what the Department accepts.

Two things matter above all when a relationship ends. The first is timing: the position is far better for an applicant who obtains advice before the Department is told than for one who waits for the sponsor to withdraw. The second is section 104. An applicant whose relationship has ended and who says nothing is not keeping their options open. They are exposing the visa to cancellation under section 109.

Why are Subclass 820 visas refused?

Subclass 820 visas are refused most often on evidence, Schedule 3, sponsor limitations and public interest criterion 4020, and rarely because the Department decides that a couple is not in love. A refusal on any of these grounds carries a right of review to the Administrative Review Tribunal, and the deadline for applying is short and strictly enforced.

Evidence refusals happen where the material does not address one or more of the four areas, where the statements and the documents contradict each other on dates, or where the applicant lodged thin and never responded properly to a request for further information. A case officer who issues one request and receives a partial response is entitled to decide on what is before them.

Schedule 3 refusals happen where an applicant without a substantive visa relied on the relationship itself as the compelling reason. The Department's policy says in terms that this is not enough.

Sponsor refusals happen where regulation 1.20J caught a sponsor who had sponsored before, or where the sponsor's character history led the Department to refuse the sponsorship.

Public interest criterion 4020 refusals happen where any document or statement in the application is found to be false or misleading, including statements made in an earlier visa application. A criterion 4020 refusal carries an exclusion period from further grants, which makes it the most damaging of the four.

A refusal notice states the deadline for review. It runs from the date the applicant is taken to have received the decision, which is not always the date they read it. Where the applicant lodges for review in time, the bridging visa continues in effect through the review. Where they do not, it does not. Our page on partner visa refusals explains how the deadline is counted and what the Tribunal considers.

How My Migration Lawyers handles Subclass 820 matters

My Migration Lawyers acts in many Subclass 820 matters and is regularly instructed in the complex ones: applications lodged without a substantive visa, applications where the sponsor has sponsored before, applications where condition 8503 or section 48 is in play, and applications where the relationship has ended before the permanent stage. Weiwei Zhang, Principal Lawyer, leads the firm's partner visa practice and reviews every Subclass 820 matter.

The firm's work on a Subclass 820 matter starts with the applicant's status on the day of lodgement, because that decides whether the application is a straightforward one or a Schedule 3 one, and the two are prepared very differently. The firm checks VEVO, the sponsor's history against regulation 1.20J, and the relationship against sections 5F and 5CB before any evidence is gathered.

The firm then structures the evidence against the four areas in regulations 1.15A and 1.09A, so that a case officer finds each area addressed and each gap explained. The applicant's and sponsor's statements are their own evidence, drafted from their instructions, reviewed and corrected by them, and lodged only when they agree with every date in them. The firm prepares the compelling reasons submission where Schedule 3 applies, the waiver request where condition 8503 applies, and the additional Schedule 1 material where section 48 applies.

After lodgement the firm manages the bridging visa, the health and police requirements and any request from the Department, and advises on travel. Where a Subclass 820 has been refused, the firm advises on review to the Administrative Review Tribunal within the deadline and acts in the review.

Anyone considering a Subclass 820 application can find the firm's partner visa services on the partner visa lawyers page, and can request a consultation online. Consultations are by video and the firm acts for clients anywhere in Australia.