Partner Visa Brisbane · Practical preparation
Onshore Partner Visa Application Help: 820 and 801
The onshore partner visa pathway combines the temporary 820 and permanent 801 applications. For Brisbane applicants, preparation starts with whether you can validly apply in Australia, followed by relationship evidence and planning for permanent assessment.
Applicant location status and conditions
The applicant and included family members must be in Australia when applying for 820/801, although an 820 decision can be made in or outside Australia, according to Home Affairs.
Before lodging, identify:
- Your current visa and expiry date.
- Conditions recorded on your grant letter and VEVO.
- Any bridging visa and its conditions.
- Any visa refusal or cancellation history.
These details help separate application validity—whether an application can legally be lodged—from the criteria for visa grant.
For an eligible applicant without a substantive visa, 820 eligibility guidance requires the online sponsorship, sponsor-status evidence and at least two Commonwealth statutory declarations made within the preceding six weeks. The declarants must be Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens, provide status evidence and confirm the married or de facto relationship. Omission at lodgement risks invalidity. Form 888 does not satisfy this special declaration requirement.
A refusal or cancellation history combined with no substantive visa can engage section 48. It restricts applications to prescribed classes; it does not mean every previous refusal prevents a partner application. Individual validity requirements still need checking.
Travel is a separate question. A partner application does not automatically provide overseas-return permission. Check your actual grants: Home Affairs bridging-visa travel guidance identifies the Bridging visa B travel period as the permission to leave and return while awaiting a substantive decision.
820 and 801 work at each stage
The 820/801 onshore partner visa pathway involves a combined application, followed by permanent-stage assessment.
| Stage | Applicant task | Evidence focus | Work an Australian migration lawyer can perform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combined 820/801 application | Check whether you can validly lodge and prepare the application. | Location, status, conditions, relationship, sponsor eligibility and applicable validity documents. | Separate validity from grant criteria; assess restrictions; review evidence gaps; prepare the application and necessary legal submissions. |
| Later 801 assessment | Check eligibility and submit permanent-stage information through the existing application. | Updated relationship evidence, relevant changes and requested documents. | Check the assessment point, review updates and help address changes or Department requests. |
Under 801 guidance, assessment eligibility generally begins two years after the combined application—not two years after the 820 grant. A qualifying long-term relationship at application can allow earlier assessment. Neither point guarantees approval or a decision date.
Application location distinguishes the offshore pathway: the 309 applicant and included family must be outside Australia when applying, under 309 guidance.
What relationship and sponsor evidence should you prepare?
For an onshore partner visa, a marriage certificate alone is insufficient. Sections 5F and 5CB require a genuine continuing relationship, an exclusive shared-life commitment, and living together or not being permanently separated. Temporary geographical separation is not itself permanent separation.
| Issue | Relevant material | What needs checking |
|---|---|---|
| Financial and household arrangements | Records explaining shared expenses, financial arrangements and how the household operates. | Whether they reflect your actual circumstances and explain gaps. |
| Social recognition and commitment | Supporting statements, shared activities and evidence of ongoing plans. | Whether the material demonstrates the relationship rather than simply listing events. |
| Sponsor status and history | Status evidence and previous sponsorship or partner-visa application dates. | Eligibility, approval and applicable sponsorship restrictions. |
| Sponsor character | Complete-disclosure AFP certificate, relevant overseas certificates and consent to disclose convictions for relevant offences. | Correct certificate type and residence history. |
The four relationship evidence groups come from regulations 1.09A and 1.15A. There is no universal photo quota or compulsory joint-bank-account rule.
The general requirement is 12 months of de facto relationship immediately before application. Regulation 2.03A preserves exceptions for qualifying registered relationships, compelling and compassionate circumstances and specified humanitarian cases. Registration does not remove the genuine-relationship tests.
Sponsors ordinarily must be Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens, and sponsorship requires approval under Home Affairs guidance. The two-person/five-year framework in regulation 1.20J includes previous sponsorships and having been sponsored as a partner. Relevant periods use specified application dates; compelling-circumstances exceptions need individual assessment.
The 820 sponsor checklist requires complete-disclosure AFP certificates, not state certificates or standard disclosure. Overseas sponsor certificates cover countries with 12 months total residence in the last 10 years since age 16.
For social evidence, Form 888 is completed by someone aged at least 18 who knows both people and their relationship history. It requires identity evidence, signature and date; citizenship or permanent-residence evidence applies where relevant, not to every writer.
The Regulations cited here must be read with the commenced amendment, which does not change these partner provisions, rather than treating compilation 288 alone as current law.
Do Schedule 3 or No Further Stay conditions affect your application?
| Issue | Effect | Next legal check |
|---|---|---|
| No substantive visa | Additional grant criteria may apply, separately from validity requirements. | Identify the applicable limb of clause 820.211 and assess Schedule 3. |
| No Further Stay condition | Most further visa applications in Australia are prevented by a relevant condition. | Check the grant letter, VEVO and any available waiver basis before lodging. |
Under the ordinary limb of clause 820.211, applicants without a substantive visa face Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 unless the Minister is satisfied there are compelling reasons not to apply them. Other specific limbs exist; relief is not automatic.
Home Affairs waiver guidance describes a major change after grant and outside the holder’s control. Marriage, starting a de facto relationship and pregnancy are not waiver reasons on their own. A waiver request neither waives the condition nor extends the visa; a granted waiver does not guarantee a partner visa.
An Australian migration lawyer can check the restriction, separate validity and grant questions, and assess any available exception or waiver argument.
How should you prepare for the later 801 assessment?
Plan for permanent-stage evidence from the combined onshore partner visa application, rather than treating the 820 grant as the end of preparation.
- Check eligibility. Applicants ordinarily hold 820 or 445; use the combined application date and any qualifying earlier-assessment circumstances described in 801 guidance.
- Use the existing application. Submit Stage 2 – Permanent Partner Visa Assessment information in ImmiAccount using the application ID, as explained in the partner visa FAQ.
- Review updates and requests. Check relationship evidence, relevant changes and the actual notice. Sections 56–57 address information requests and specified adverse-information invitations; not every request is an s 57 invitation.
- Manage deadlines. If more time is needed, follow the extension-request instructions in the partner visa FAQ. Do not assume approval or that the original deadline stops.
Assessment eligibility does not guarantee a decision on the anniversary. The official processing guide is a guide, not a personal forecast.
Enquire with an Australian migration lawyer about preparing your onshore 820/801 application or reviewing permanent-stage evidence. Identify your current visa, expiry date, relevant conditions and application stage so the lawyer can assess the work needed. Partner Visa Brisbane is an information and lawyer-enquiry guide, not a law firm.
Compare the applicant’s location and the legal task before choosing the next step. Partner Visa Brisbane: Pathways and Legal Help.
Examine visa conditions, uncertain status and previous decisions before planning lodgement. Complex Partner Visa Help: Status, Schedule 3 and Visa Conditions.
Coordinate the overseas applicant’s documents with the Australian sponsor’s preparation. Offshore Partner Visa Application Help: 309 and 100.
Organise applicant, sponsor and relationship records, then identify evidence gaps. Partner Visa Evidence and Document Checklist for Brisbane Couples.
Questions about this step
Can an 820 decision be made while I am outside Australia?
Yes. Home Affairs permits an 820 decision in or outside Australia. This differs from the requirement to be in Australia when applying and does not establish permission to travel or return.
Does withdrawing sponsorship automatically cancel my visa?
No. Sponsorship withdrawal is distinct from the applicant withdrawing the visa application, as explained in the partner visa FAQ. Its effect needs individual assessment; 801 guidance identifies qualified continuation pathways after some relationship changes.
Is permanent assessment a new 801 application?
The 820 and 801 are applied for together. At permanent assessment, the existing applicant submits Stage 2 information using the application ID, following the partner visa FAQ.