If something changes while your partner visa is being processed, you have to tell the Department in writing, as soon as practicable. This is not a courtesy. Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958 provides that if circumstances change so that an answer to a question on a non-citizen's application form is incorrect in the new circumstances, the person must, as soon as practicable, inform an officer in writing of the new circumstances and of the correct answer in them. Partner processing runs for years, so most applicants have something to report.
What counts as a change you have to notify
Anything that makes an answer on your application form wrong. Section 99 of the Act is wide: information you give, or that is given on your behalf — orally or in writing, at an interview or otherwise — is treated as an answer to a question on your form. So a change to something you said in a statement or at an interview is caught too. The changes that matter most are:
- Relationship status — you separate, reconcile, marry, divorce, or your living arrangements change.
- The birth of a child, or a child joining the family unit. A child born after the 820 is granted cannot be added to your application; see including children in your application.
- A new residential or postal address. Section 52(3A) requires a visa applicant to tell the Minister where they intend to live while the application is being dealt with, and section 52(3B) requires notice of an address you propose to live at for 14 days or more.
- A new passport, including a renewal, one in a new name, or a change of nationality.
- A change of name, by marriage, deed poll or otherwise. See changing your name after marriage.
- A new criminal charge or conviction, anywhere in the world. This also bears on the character requirement.
- A change of email address or phone number, including where you had nominated your sponsor's email for correspondence.
Key facts
Section 100 provides that an answer is incorrect even though the person who gave it did not know it was. Section 106 provides that the obligation is not removed or affected by the Department already having, or having access to, the information from another source.
Which form do you use?
Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances is the general form: relationship status, a new child, a change of name, a new charge or conviction, a change in your family unit.
Form 929 Change of address or passport details is the narrower form for a new residential or postal address, email address, phone number or passport details.
The Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount is what the Department of Home Affairs points partner visa holders to when a relationship ends. The Partner Processing Enquiry Form, also in ImmiAccount, is the channel for other partner-specific notifications, including a child who needs to be included at the permanent stage.
Attach the completed form to your application in ImmiAccount under the same transaction reference number (TRN), and keep a copy and the date you uploaded it.
Notifying when you do not have ImmiAccount access
You can still notify. Section 52 of the Act requires a visa applicant to communicate with the Minister in the prescribed way, and regulation 2.13 of the Migration Regulations 1994 prescribes it: in writing, including your full name as set out in the application, your date of birth, and one of your client number, the Immigration file number, or the receipt number issued when the application was made. Regulation 2.14 requires it to be sent to or left at the office at which the application was given, unless the Department has told you in writing of another office.
Section 52(3) matters here: a communication made in a way that is not the prescribed way is taken not to have been received unless the Department in fact receives it. Use a form and a reference number, not an informal email.
Notifying safely when the relationship is not safe
If you are not safe right now, call 000. The duty to notify does not require you to tell your sponsor, and it does not require you to notify from a device or account your partner can see.
The Department publishes online safety advice for applicants in unsafe relationships: change your ImmiAccount password, do not rely on saved passwords, and consider opening a new email account that only you control. The eSafety Commissioner publishes a checklist along the same lines. If you nominated your sponsor's email for correspondence, change that first. You can also appoint an authorised recipient, or appoint your lawyer (or another authorised adviser) using Form 956, so the Department's letters go to them rather than to a shared address.
A relationship that has ended does not automatically end your prospects of permanent residence: the migration law allows the permanent visa to be granted in defined situations, including where you or a dependent child experienced family violence committed by the sponsoring partner. Before you write anything, read family violence provisions and if the relationship ends, because the wording and dates in your notification become evidence later.
What happens if you do not notify
Not notifying goes to the truthfulness of the application, and the Act gives the Department a route to act on it. Under section 107, the Department may give a visa holder a written notice giving particulars of possible non-compliance with sections 101 to 105 and a period in which to show cause why the visa should not be cancelled; section 109 is then the power to cancel. Section 111 confirms it applies whether the non-compliance was deliberate or inadvertent.
A pending application is exposed differently. Clauses 820.226 and 801.226 of Schedule 2 require the applicant to satisfy public interest criterion 4020, which is not met where there is evidence the applicant gave information false or misleading in a material particular in relation to the application. A stale answer you keep relying on can become a false one. The Department can also cease to be satisfied that you meet a criterion and refuse — usually after a letter inviting comment; see natural justice letters and visa cancellation.
Where advice makes the difference
The risk here is not the form; it is the wording. A notification is read later as a statement of fact about dates, living arrangements and intentions, and the Department compares it against everything else on the file. One drafted with an immigration lawyer is more likely to succeed, because they will notify within time, use the right form, and avoid a sentence that closes off a claim you may need — particularly where the change is a separation, a criminal charge, or a period of living apart. No one can promise an outcome.
What to do next: if the change is a separation, go to if the relationship ends before you file anything. If you are thinking of ending the application, read withdrawing an application first. For what you must keep doing after grant, see 820 visa conditions and obligations; for the wait, see 820 visa processing time.
Common questions
What is the legal duty to tell Home Affairs about a change?
Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958 says that if circumstances change so that an answer to a question on your application form is incorrect in the new circumstances, you must as soon as practicable inform an officer in writing of the new circumstances and of the correct answer in them. Section 105 adds a duty to correct an answer you later realise was wrong when you gave it. Section 106 makes clear the duty is not removed by the Department already having the information from somewhere else.
Do I use Form 1022 or Form 929?
Form 1022 is the Notification of changes in circumstances and covers changes to the answers on your application, such as relationship status, a new baby, a change of name or a criminal charge. Form 929 is the Change of address or passport details form and covers a new residential or postal address, a new email or phone number, and new passport details. Where the change is a relationship that has ended, the Department directs partner visa applicants to the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount.
Do I still have to notify changes after the 820 is granted?
Yes, because your permanent subclass 801 application has not been decided. The answers on that application are still live, and section 104 applies despite the grant of any visa. Practically, a change that happens between the 820 grant and the 801 decision is a change to a pending application and should be notified in the same way.
What happens if I do not tell the Department about a change?
It goes to the truthfulness of the application. The Department can give you a notice under section 107 setting out the possible non-compliance and asking you to show cause, then decide under section 108 whether there was non-compliance and cancel the visa under section 109. Section 111 makes clear that this applies whether the non-compliance was deliberate or inadvertent. A pending application can also be refused if the Department is no longer satisfied you meet a criterion.
How do I notify if I cannot get into my ImmiAccount?
Regulation 2.13 of the Migration Regulations 1994 allows a written communication about a visa application. It must include your full name as set out in the application, your date of birth, and one of your client number, the Immigration file number or the number of the receipt issued when the application was made. Regulation 2.14 says it must be sent to or left at the office at which the application was given, unless the Department has notified you of another office.
Sources
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