Do you aspire to live in Australia with your Australian partner? It’s entirely attainable with a partner visa under subclasses 820 (temporary) and 801 (permanent). Check the eligibility and documentary requirements and increase your chances of being granted a visa by engaging an immigration expert from Parish Patience.
If you are either an Australian permanent resident or citizen, or an eligible New Zealand citize, you are qualified to apply for the Partner visa 820. Partner visa 820 is a temporary visa, and securing it is the first step to attaining a permanent visa (subclass 801). It lets a de facto partner (unmarried but committed to a serious relationship) or spouse live in Australia on a temporary basis. With the Partner visa 820, you can have access to quality education, healthcare, and career opportunities in Australia. It can also pave the way to permanent residency which can include your dependent children. Note that you should be in Australia when you apply for the 820 partner visa.
Your length of stay as a temporary partner visa holder can extend up to 24 months or until your permanent visa application is finalised or otherwise withdrawn.
Having a visa partner 820 gives you the following benefits and privileges:
If your substantive visa under subclass 801 was granted, expect the following benefits and privileges as well:
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Needless to say, you need to fulfil some eligibility requirements first before being granted an appropriate visa. To be eligible for a partner 820 visa, you must meet the following criteria:
You Must be in a Committed Relationship
Your Partner Must be Eligible to Sponsor You
You Must Hold a Substantive Visa
You Must Meet Health and Character Requirements
To make sure your partner visa application will be successful, you must prepare a checklist of requirements and submit them accordingly, including:
Dependent documents, if included in the application. These are identity documents such as their birth certificates, parental consent if under 18, or proof of financial dependence on the applicant.
Police clearances. You must secure police clearance for each country, if any, that you have lived in for a year or so for the last 10 years.
Health certificates. You must have a medical certificate signed by a qualified healthcare professional indicating you are in excellent health.
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Application fees and processing time for partner visa can feel overwhelming. Here is your guide for the fees and time so you can plan ahead.
Standard application fee costs AUD $9,095. For those who previously held a Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300), a Partner visa will cost you AUD $1,515. Additional fees may apply if you are including dependents on your visa application.
Estimated processing time is usually within 36 months for the majority of application. However, waiting time could be shorter depending on circumstances such as:
A Bridging Visa A (BVA) is a temporary visa that lets you stay in Australia legally while awaiting the approval of your subclass 820 partner visa. BVA is free and no extra charges apply. There’s also no standard processing time, but usually granted immediately after submitting a valid partner visa application.
As to whether you can work or study on a Bridging visa, it depends on certain situations. You may be allowed to work, but depending on your individual visa conditions. If your bridging visa specifies not being allowed to work, you can apply for work rights under certain circumstances.
You can also study in Australia while holding a BVA. However, you won’t have access to government-funded education support.
Here are the most common mistakes for Partner Visa rejection you should avoid:
One of the biggest reasons for rejection is not providing enough proof of a genuine relationship:
If we’re applying as de facto partners, we must have lived together for at least 12 months before applying—long-distance relationships don’t count unless exceptional circumstances apply.
Filling out the wrong form or leaving out required documents could mean an automatic rejection.
The visa application fee is a mandatory requirement. Missing this payment will mean our application won’t even be processed.
If we don’t hold a substantive visa, we may have extra hurdles under Schedule 3 regulations. If this applies, we must show compelling reasons why we should still be granted the visa.
Looking for a legal partner to help with visa processing and lodgement? Here’s why the Parish Patience team is a perfect fit for your immigration goals and needs.
Trust a team of experienced legal professionals in a highly regarded Sydney-based law firm that’s in existence for well more than 135 years.
Our client results speak for themselves. We’ve assisted thousands of visa applicants become full-fledged permanent residents and Australian citizens.
Your goals and needs are front and centre of what we do. We will fight for your rights for whichever visa you are best suited for.
No hidden fees or unethical practices. You will be working with an Australian immigration firm that values and practises transparency and integrity.
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For all things visa, Parish Patience Immigration is the Australian law firm that people from diverse backgrounds and cases go to for expert legal assistance.
For your partner visa 820/801 application, you will get a skilled visa lawyer or a registered migration agent who will provide you professional advice, assess your overall eligibility against the visa conditions, as well as gather and submit your subclass 820 partner visa checklist of documents with you.
If you want your partner visa 820 processing time to potentially become lesser than the average, partner up with a Parish Patience lawyer to streamline the process without compromising your chances of a partner visa grant.
Both subclasses 820 and 309 are temporary partner visas. Holders of these visas must be in a serious and genuine relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The main difference is that application for a partner visa 820 is to be made onshore only (within Australia) while lodgment for subclass 309 visa must be made offshore only (outside Australia).
Once you are granted a visa under subclass 820, which is a provisional/temporary visa, you have to wait for about two (2) years more to get a permanent partner visa under subclass 801. The good news is that if you have already fulfilled the two-year requirement or have been in a serious relationship for two years or more, and/or have a dependent child with your partner, the waiting period can be bypassed.
The most common reason for partner visa refusal is the lack of relationship evidence (or its genuineness). Having said that, you must demonstrate the seriousness and genuineness of your relationship by submitting pertinent documents that will convince the deciding officers that your relationship is,
in fact, genuine and continuing.
Partner visa 820 processing time depends a lot on certain factors, such as the volume of applications received by the Department, uniqueness of each case being evaluated for approval, as well as whether you submitted complete documents, as failure to do so could result in a visa being denied. On average, though, processing time for partner visas under subclass 820 takes about six (6) to 33 months, according to official reports for 25-90 percent of applications lodged and processed.
You have working rights if you are granted a bridging visa A while your subclass 820 visa is being processed.
The Department of Home Affairs will not automatically cancel or refuse your visa unless the relationship breakdown occurred before granting the permanent partner visa. However, if there is family violence involved or you have a child, you may still be eligible for the permanent 801 visa and stay in Australia even if you and your partner broke up.