Subclass 820 Partner Visa (Temporary)
The Subclass 820 Partner Visa is the temporary onshore stage of the Australian partner visa program. It is granted to the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen who is inside Australia at the time of application. The Subclass 820 permits the applicant to live, work, and study in Australia, access Medicare, and travel in and out of the country. It precedes the permanent Subclass 801 visa, which is assessed approximately two years after the combined application was lodged.
Key facts
Visa Type
Temporary
Application charge
$9,365 (covers 820 and 801)
Processing time
16 months (50%) / 24 months (90%)
Location at lodgement
Inside Australia
Who qualifies for the Subclass 820
To qualify for the Subclass 820, the applicant must be in a genuine and continuing relationship as the spouse or de facto partner of an eligible sponsor, must be inside Australia at the time of lodgement, must hold a substantive visa that does not carry a no-further-stay condition (or have a valid waiver), and must meet Australian health and character requirements. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen, aged 18 or over.
Married couples demonstrate the relationship through a valid marriage certificate accompanied by supporting evidence across the four relationship aspects. De facto couples must generally show 12 months of cohabitation immediately before lodgement, unless the relationship is registered with an Australian state or territory that permits registration, or compelling circumstances apply such as a dependent child.
The four aspects of relationship assessment
Every partner visa application is assessed across four aspects. The Subclass 820 stage requires evidence across all four. Applications that lean heavily on some aspects and neglect others attract Requests for Further Information, extending processing time materially.
Financial aspects
Joint bank accounts, shared liabilities, joint ownership of assets, pooling of financial resources, and evidence of mutual financial responsibility. Patterns of financial interaction over time carry more weight than isolated transactions immediately before lodgement.
Nature of the household
Lease agreements or property titles in both names, shared utility accounts, mail addressed jointly, and statements describing the shared household and division of responsibilities. The Subclass 820 stream benefits from the applicant and sponsor being in Australia together, which makes contemporaneous household evidence straightforward to produce.
Social aspects
Form 888 statutory declarations from adults who know both partners, photographs across a range of settings and dates, joint attendance at social events, and evidence that the couple is recognised as a couple by family, friends, and the wider community.
Commitment to a shared life
Evidence of future planning, the length of the relationship, mutual knowledge of the personal circumstances of each partner, emotional support during significant events, and documentation of shared long-term intent, including wills, powers of attorney, and beneficiary nominations where relevant.
Bridging visa status during processing
On lodgement of a valid Subclass 820 application, the applicant is typically granted a Bridging Visa A. The Bridging Visa A allows the applicant to remain lawfully in Australia while the partner visa is processed, with full work rights and Medicare access. The Bridging Visa A activates when the substantive visa currently held by the applicant ceases.
The Bridging Visa A does not permit travel outside Australia. Applicants who need to travel overseas during processing must apply for a Bridging Visa B, which grants a specified travel facility period. Travel without a Bridging Visa B results in the Bridging Visa A ceasing, with no right to return on the partner visa until the partner visa is granted. Timing of travel, work commitments, and family obligations during processing should be planned with this in mind.
Decision-ready lodgement
The single most significant factor affecting Subclass 820 processing time is application completeness at lodgement. A decision-ready application includes complete identity documents, a marriage certificate or relationship registration (where applicable), evidence across all four relationship aspects, police certificates from every country the applicant and sponsor have lived in for 12 months or more in the past 10 years, health examinations completed through panel physicians, and the sponsorship application lodged and approved.
Applications lodged incomplete trigger Requests for Further Information. Each request adds months to processing time. Front-loading with complete, indexed, and clearly-labelled evidence is the single most effective strategy for reducing the wait.
Common complications
Subclass 820 applications involving certain factors require careful handling. A prior refusal, prior sponsorship of a different partner, relationship commencement shortly before lodgement, significant age or cultural difference between partners, or a current visa with a no-further-stay condition all raise the standard of evidence expected and affect strategy.
Applicants facing any of these factors should obtain specialist advice before lodging. The difference between lodging well and lodging poorly under these circumstances is often the difference between grant and refusal, and between a smooth processing experience and one marked by extensive Requests for Further Information.
Related pathways
The Subclass 820 is the temporary stage of the onshore pathway. Applicants outside Australia should consider the Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 offshore stream. Engaged couples should consider the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa.
Strategic preparation of the Subclass 820
Visa Plan Lawyers prepares onshore partner visa applications to the decision-ready standard. Every application is built around the four relationship aspects, with evidence indexed to each aspect, any complications addressed candidly, and the case for direct grant of the Subclass 801 presented clearly where the facts support it.