Stay permanently in Australia with your de facto partner or spouse.
Nil. You paid for this visa when you made your combined application for the temporary and permanent partner visas.
Live, work and study in Australia indefinitely;
Sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia;
Enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme Medicare;
Apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.
You must hold either a Partner visa (subclass 820) or a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa.
2 years must have passed since you applied for the combined 820 and 801 visa for you to be eligible to be assessed for the permanent visa.
If you were in a long-term relationship or your sponsor held a specific visa before you applied, you might be granted the permanent visa in less than 2 years. We will let you know if this applies to you.
You must continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of the same person who sponsored you for the temporary Partner visa.
You must:
You might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship ends or your partner dies before we grant the permanent visa. For more information see Your relationship has changed.
If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, we may be able to help you. You may still be eligible for the grant of your permanent visa For more information, see Domestic and family violence and your visa.
If you or any family members owe the Australian government money, you or they must pay it back or arrange to pay it back. This may include family members who do not accompany you to Australia.
We might not grant this visa if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18.
If we granted you a permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) immediately after we granted your temporary Partner visa (subclass 820), you do not have to do anything else. If we did not, you need to provide further documents.
To check which visa you currently hold, use VEVO.
You can appoint anyone to receive documents on your behalf relating to your visa application.
To appoint someone to receive your correspondence, use Form 956A Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient (301KB PDF).
If you need help with your application, you can appoint someone to give you immigration assistance. A person who gives you immigration assistance can:
We treat any correspondence they send as if it came from you.
It is important to provide your own contact details in case we need to contact you directly about your application. The partner visa application form will ask you for your own phone number and email address.
If you appoint someone to give you immigration assistance they must be one of the following:
To appoint someone to provide immigration assistance, use Form 956 Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person (308KB PDF).
For more information, see who can help you with your application.
You are eligible for consideration of the permanent Partner visa two years after you apply for the combined temporary and permanent partner visas.
Once two years have passed since you first applied, you can submit your documents for the permanent stage of your Partner visa. Do not send them before this time.
Make sure you provide all required information with your application. Applications with all required information can be processed faster.
Ensure that all information you provide is accurate. As a visa applicant, you must prove your identity and provide true information with your application.
For more information see Providing accurate information.
Provide a copy of the pages of your most recent passport showing your photo, personal details, signature, passport issue and expiry dates.
To show that you meet our character requirements you may need to provide a current Australian police certificate. You usually need to provide this police certificate for the permanent stage of your Partner visa if you did not attach one with your subclass 820 application.
We may ask you to provide a new Australian police certificate if your previous certificate has expired. For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date.
We only accept complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police. We do not accept standard disclosure certificates or national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police.
To get an Australian police certificate see National Police Checks.
You also need to provide an overseas police certificate from any country, including your home country, where you spent a total of 12 months or more since the grant of your 820 visa.
To get an overseas police certificate, see Offices outside Australia.
You need to provide evidence you are still in a relationship with your partner.
This evidence must show that:
You can also provide further information in support of your visa application. You can provide:
Attach to your ImmiAccount a Commonwealth statutory declaration form. This form must be completed by your sponsor with information about any of the following:
If you are married, provide your marriage certificate or other evidence that your marriage is valid in Australia.
If you are a de facto partner, provide proof of your de facto relationship.
To show you are still in a relationship with your spouse or de facto partner, you can provide the below supporting evidence of your relationship.
Evidence you and your partner share financial matters. This evidence can include:
Evidence you and your partner share domestic matters. This evidence can include:
Evidence that others know about your relationship.
You must provide statements from 2 witnesses who:
Statements from witnesses can be done by completing Form 888 – Supporting statement in relation to a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa application (170KB PDF).
If the witness is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, provide evidence of this such as a passport or birth certificate.
Evidence can also include:
Evidence you are committed to a long-term relationship with each other. This evidence must show that you:
You can also provide the terms of your wills as evidence.
For every family member who currently holds a subclass 820 or 445 visa, provide copies of:
You may need to complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount.
To confirm, check Your relationship has changed.
If you do not have access to ImmiAccount, you can notify us using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
You might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship ends or your partner dies. All information you provide is confidential.
If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, we may be able to help you. You may still be eligible for the grant of your permanent visa. For more information, see Domestic and family violence and your visa.
Things you need to let us know about include:
For more information, see Change in your situation.
If you are unable to upload the relevant documents to your application in ImmiAccount, you need to contact us using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
Have all documents translated into English.
Provide original and translated documents in your application.
Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.
Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited. But on each translation, they must include their:
These details must be in English.
Scan or photograph all documents (English and non-English) in colour.
The scans and photos must be clear enough to read.
If a document is more than one page, save it all as one file.
You do not need to have any documents certified.
Keep a copy of your documents
You are eligible for consideration of the permanent Partner visa two years after you apply for the combined temporary and permanent partner visas.
Once two years have passed since you first applied, you can submit your documents for the permanent stage of your Partner visa. Do not attach them before this time.
Attach a document only once, even if you are using it to show more than one thing.
Clearly label your documents.
Keep a copy of your completed application.
You can attach up to 100 documents for each person on your application.
The attachment limit cannot be increased.
If you reach the attachment limit for an applicant, you can attach more documents to other clients on the application.
You can track and manage your application using ImmiAccount.
For help managing your application in ImmiAccount, see Applying online in ImmiAccount.
To help ensure your application is processed as quickly as possible, attach all necessary supporting documents to your application. The checklist provided on Applying online in ImmiAccount will help in making sure you include all required documents in your application.
If it is within standard processing times do not contact us. We cannot provide any further updates on your application’s progress. You can see if we have asked for more information in your ImmiAccount.
To see standard processing times for this visa see Global processing times.
You can find the answers to common questions about this visa at Partner Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
If you did not attach all documents when you applied, attach them as soon as you can in ImmiAccount.
We might ask you to provide more information.
For more information on attaching documents in ImmiAccount, see Applying online in ImmiAccount.
If you are unable to upload the relevant documents to your application in ImmiAccount, you need to contact us using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
You can add a dependent child to your application before we make a decision on your permanent visa application. Your child must be in Australia and:
Once your child holds a subclass 445 visa, complete and attach to your ImmiAccount, Form 1002 – Application by a subclass 445 dependent child for a permanent partner visa (279KB PDF).
After you have attached the form to ImmiAccount, let us know by using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
If you have a baby, you will need to let us know. For more information, see You had a baby.
After you have updated us in ImmiAccount, let us know by using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
Tell us if things change after you lodge your documents but before we have made a decision.
Things you need to let us know about include:
For more information, see Change in your situation.
If you are unable to upload the relevant documents to your application in ImmiAccount, you need to contact us using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
You may need to complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount.
To confirm, check Your relationship has changed.
If you do not have access to ImmiAccount, you can notify us using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
You might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship ends or your partner dies. All information you provide is confidential.
If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, we may be able to help you. You may still be eligible for the grant of your permanent visa. For more information, see Domestic and family violence and your visa.
Let us know if you no longer want someone to:
After you have attached the form to ImmiAccount, let us know by using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
For more information, see Who can help you with your application.
Let us know as soon as you can if you have made a mistake on your application.
For more information, see After you apply.
If you are unable to update your application in ImmiAccount, you need to contact us using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
You can be in or outside Australia when we decide on your permanent Partner visa.
We will let you know our decision in writing.
If we grant your visa, we will tell you:
Keep a copy of the decision.
If we refuse your visa, we will tell you why we refused the visa and whether you have a right to a review of the decision.
We will not refund the application fee if we refuse your application.
Send us an enquiry today to get started on your visa application.
The Department must approve the sponsorship. Your sponsorship is valid for 2 years after your spouse/partner is granted this temporary Partner visa (subclass 820), and you must commit to supporting the visa holder and any dependent children under this visa for accommodation and financial assistance. This is the case even if they are granted their permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) immediately after they are granted the temporary Partner visa.
