It is not citizenship, and it does not turn into citizenship after a period of time. Citizenship is a separate application under a different Act, and this page goes as far as the edge of it — what the 801 gives you, how the residence requirement is built, where this guide stops.
What does the 801 give you?
Permanent residence, and with it the right to live, work and study in Australia indefinitely, to sponsor eligible family members, and to apply for Australian citizenship if you are eligible. Those are the Department of Home Affairs' own three additions to what the temporary 820 already allowed. The permanent visa also carries no conditions: clause 801.6 of the Migration Regulations 1994 records the conditions for the subclass 801 as "Nil".
Two points sit underneath that. Sponsoring family members is a fresh application with its own criteria and charge, not something the 801 does by itself — see who can sponsor an 820 visa for how partner sponsorship works from the sponsor's side. And permanent residence is not citizenship's equal: waiting periods apply to some government payments, and voting and an Australian passport come with citizenship, not before.
Permanent residence is not citizenship
The difference that matters most is that a visa can end and citizenship generally does not. Permanent residence is a visa, held under the Migration Act 1958; citizenship is held under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007. The citizenship facts below come from that Act as in force on 23 September 2026 — compilation No. 37, compilation date 4 June 2026, read on the Federal Register of Legislation. Citizenship law changes, so check the current compilation before relying on any of it.
The general residence requirement
Section 21 of the Act sets the general eligibility criteria for citizenship by conferral. The applicant must be aged 18 or over when the application is made, be a permanent resident both then and when the Minister decides it, satisfy a residence requirement at the time of application, understand the nature of the application, have a basic knowledge of English, have an adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, be likely to reside in or keep a close and continuing association with Australia, and be of good character when the decision is made.
The residence requirement most partner visa holders will be measured against is the general residence requirement in section 22. It has three limbs, all measured backwards from the day the application is made:
- the person was present in Australia for the period of 4 years immediately before that day;
- the person was not present in Australia as an unlawful non-citizen at any time during that four-year period; and
- the person was present in Australia as a permanent resident for the 12 months immediately before that day.
Absences are allowed within fixed totals. Under section 22, absences across the four-year period are treated as presence if they total not more than 12 months, and absences across the final 12-month period are treated as presence as a permanent resident if they total not more than 90 days and the person was a permanent resident throughout them. Confinement in a prison, or in a psychiatric institution by court order in connection with an offence, during the four years defeats the first limb, subject to a ministerial discretion.
Section 22 also carries a discretion written for couples. Where the applicant is the spouse, de facto partner or surviving partner of an Australian citizen, the Minister may treat a period spent outside Australia as presence as a permanent resident, if the applicant was that citizen's partner and a permanent resident during it and had a close and continuing association with Australia. That is a discretion, not an entitlement. Other routes exist — special residence requirements in sections 22A and 22B, a defence service requirement in section 23, and separate provisions for applicants aged 60 or over, for people with certain impairments and for children — and none is set out here.
Why the 820 years count, but not in the way people expect
The two years on the temporary visa count towards the four years of presence, but not towards the 12 months as a permanent resident. The four-year limb asks only that you were present and were not present as an unlawful non-citizen, and the 820 is a lawful substantive visa, as is a bridging visa held while the application was decided. The 12-month limb asks for presence as a permanent resident, and section 5 of the Act defines a permanent resident as a person who holds a permanent visa. The 820 is temporary, so the clock on that limb starts when the 801 is granted.
Key facts
Time on the 820 is lawful residence, not permanent residence. If the 801 is granted more than three years after you first arrived, the four years is usually already behind you and the 12 months as a permanent resident is what you are waiting on. If it is granted earlier, the four years is the binding limb.
The test and the pledge
Under section 21, the requirements about understanding the application, basic English and adequate knowledge of Australia are taken to be satisfied only if the applicant has sat a test approved by the Minister, was eligible to sit it, and completed it successfully within the periods set by the Minister's determination. Section 23A is the power to approve that test and to set what counts as passing, who may sit it and how long they have.
Approval is not the end. Section 26 requires most applicants to make a pledge of commitment, with exceptions for applicants aged under 16, for people with a permanent or enduring incapacity of the kind the section describes, and for some other categories. The pledge must be made in one of the forms in Schedule 1 to the Act, in the prescribed way, before the Minister or a person authorised to receive it. Under section 28, a person required to make the pledge becomes an Australian citizen on the day the pledge is made — not on the day the application is approved. An approval can be cancelled if the pledge is not made within 12 months after notice of the approval.
Travel: five years, then a resident return visa
Clause 801.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994 grants "a permanent visa permitting the holder to travel to and enter Australia for 5 years from date of grant". Diarise that date. Once the five years pass the visa no longer authorises re-entry, so a trip overseas needs a visa that does. The Regulations provide the Subclass 155 Five Year Resident Return visa for that: under clause 155.212 one route to it is lawful presence in Australia totalling at least two years in the five years immediately before the application, as the holder of a permanent visa or as a citizen, and clause 155.511 then gives a further five-year facility. Applicants who do not meet that test can be granted a shorter one, and there is a separate three-month subclass. For travel before the permanent visa, see travelling on a granted 820.
Where this guide stops
Here. Citizenship eligibility, the application, the fee, the test and the ceremony are the Department's territory, and the starting point is Becoming a citizen as a permanent resident. Nothing above is advice about your own eligibility: dates of arrival, periods overseas, visa history and character all change the answer, and citizenship has its own review paths this guide does not cover.
Applications with a complicated history — long absences, a period without a substantive visa, a criminal matter, an identity document that does not match — are more likely to succeed when prepared with a migration lawyer, because the residence limbs are counted to the day and a miscount means a refusal rather than a delay. Working with a migration lawyer explains how to check a lawyer's practising certificate.
If you are not yet at the permanent stage, when the 801 is assessed and 801 stage documents come first. Once the 801 is granted, settling in Australia covers the years in between.
Common questions
How long after the 801 can I apply for Australian citizenship?
The general residence requirement in section 22 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 asks for four years present in Australia immediately before the day the application is made, with no period as an unlawful non-citizen in that time, and the last 12 months of it spent present in Australia as a permanent resident. Time held on the 820 is lawful presence but is not time as a permanent resident, so the 12 months normally starts when the 801 is granted. Other routes exist for some applicants, and eligibility should be checked against the Act and the Department's own citizenship pages.
Does time on the 820 count towards citizenship?
Towards the four years of presence, yes, because the 820 is a lawful visa and the Act asks only that you were not present as an unlawful non-citizen during that period. Towards the 12 months as a permanent resident, no. Under section 5 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 a person is a permanent resident only while holding a permanent visa, and the 820 is temporary.
Can I travel overseas and still meet the residence requirement?
Within limits. Section 22 treats absences as presence if the total of them is not more than 12 months across the four-year period, and if the total across the final 12 months is not more than 90 days and you were a permanent resident throughout. There is also a discretion for the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen who was overseas while a permanent resident and kept a close and continuing association with Australia.
Do I have to sit the citizenship test?
For the general eligibility route, yes. Section 21 of the Act treats the requirements about understanding the application, basic English and adequate knowledge of Australia as satisfied only if you have sat and successfully completed a test approved by the Minister. The Act sets out separate eligibility routes for applicants aged 60 or over, for people with certain impairments and for children, which do not include those requirements.
What happens five years after the 801 is granted?
The travel facility ends. Clause 801.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994 grants a permanent visa permitting the holder to travel to and enter Australia for five years from the date of grant. After that you need a visa that authorises re-entry, normally a resident return visa, or you need to be an Australian citizen. Being in Australia when it expires is not a problem in itself; leaving and trying to return is.
Sources
Keep reading
When Is the 801 Assessed? The Two-Year Eligibility Point
The 801 is assessed two years after the combined partner visa application was made, not two years after the 820 was granted. What happens at that point.
Read the guide →
801 Visa Documents and Evidence Update
What to provide at the 801 stage — updated relationship evidence for the whole period since lodgement, fresh statements, and what not to redo unprompted.
Read the guide →
Long-Term Relationship Exemption: Going Straight to the 801
If you were in a long-term partner relationship when you applied, the Migration Regulations remove the two-year wait for the permanent subclass 801 visa.
Read the guide →