The visa application charge for a subclass 820 application is paid in ImmiAccount at the moment the application is submitted, and the Department of Home Affairs does not refund it if the application is refused. Those two facts belong in one sentence: the charge buys a decision, not an outcome. The amount is on 820 visa cost.
When is the charge payable?
At lodgement. Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 makes the first instalment payable at the time the application is made. For the partner visa the charge sits on item 1124B, Partner (Residence) (Class BS) — the permanent half — while item 1214C, the Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) item containing the subclass 820, sets a charge of nil. That is the mechanism behind the Department's statement that you paid for the permanent visa when you made your applications for the temporary and permanent Partner visas. Item 1124B also sets the second instalment, payable before grant, at nil, so nothing further falls due before the subclass 801 permanent visa is decided.
The application must be made online while in Australia, and payment is part of submitting it. Until the charge is paid there is no lodgement date — and for anyone whose current visa is close to expiry, the lodgement date is the whole point. See lodging in ImmiAccount.
How is it paid?
Regulation 2.12JA of the Migration Regulations 1994 governs payment for an application made over the internet: the charge must be paid by credit card, by funds transfer, or through the PayPal system, in accordance with the instructions given to the applicant as part of making the application. Those instructions appear in ImmiAccount, and they are the ones to follow — not bank details found anywhere else.
The same regulation says when the charge counts as received: for a credit card, not until the payment is confirmed by the card issuer; for a funds transfer, not until it is electronically matched to the applicant's internet application form; for PayPal, not until the operator confirms it. A transfer that has not been matched is not a paid charge, and that gap is where applicants who leave payment to the last day get into trouble.
Watch out
Paying is part of lodging. If the payment has not been confirmed, the application has not been made. Do not leave payment until the final day of a bridging visa or a financial year, and tell your bank first if a large international transaction is likely to be declined.
What does the surcharge add?
Some payment methods attract a surcharge. It is charged on top of the visa application charge, is not part of the charge itself, and is not refundable either. The rate depends on the payment method, and the Department publishes current surcharge information with its payment instructions. No figure is quoted here, because surcharge rates change independently of the visa charge — read the current rate before choosing how to pay.
Who is treated as having paid?
This is a technicality until someone wants the money back. Regulation 2.12K identifies the payer: where payment is made by an agent on behalf of the applicant, the applicant is the payer; otherwise it is the person named on the card, the drawer of the cheque, or the holder of the PayPal account used. Only the payer — or, in defined circumstances, their legal personal representative or the trustee of their bankrupt estate — can request a refund.
When can a visa application charge be refunded?
Rarely, and on grounds set by regulation 2.12F of the Migration Regulations 1994, which deals with refunds of the first instalment. As in force on 23 September 2026, the Minister must refund it where one of the circumstances listed in subregulation (2) exists and either the Department receives a written request from the payer, or it considers it reasonable to refund without a request. The circumstances that can arise for a partner applicant are narrow:
- the application is unnecessary at the time that it is made;
- the application is made because of a mistake made by Immigration;
- the applicant dies before a decision is made on the application.
The rest of the list in subregulation (2) is tied to other visa classes. The regulation also lets the Minister specify further circumstances in a legislative instrument, so the list is not permanently closed.
Separately, the Minister may — a discretion, not an obligation — refund the first instalment where the application was made because of a mistake by the applicant, the applicant withdraws it in writing, and the Department then receives a written request from the payer. A refund is paid to the person who made the request, in Australian dollars or in the currency the instalment was paid in. Nothing in regulation 2.12F provides a refund because an application failed, took too long, or was no longer wanted.
What happens if the application is refused or withdrawn?
On a refusal, the charge is not returned. The Department says it will not refund the application fee if it refuses your application. That is the most expensive fact about partner visa costs, because the routes forward cost money again — a fresh application attracts a fresh charge, and applying for review attracts a separate fee with a short deadline. See why 820 visas are refused and ART deadlines and fees.
Withdrawing does not get the money back either. The mandatory refund on withdrawal applies to the second instalment, and for the Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa that is nil, so there is nothing to return. Regulation 2.12G says an applicant is not liable to pay the second instalment if the application is withdrawn before it is paid or is refused, which for partner applicants changes nothing. The only route back to the first instalment is the discretion described above. Withdrawal also has consequences beyond money, including for a bridging visa — read withdrawing an application.
Getting this part right
An application prepared by an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed, and money is the plainest reason. The charge is payable at lodgement, is not refunded on refusal, and is not refunded because the applicant changed their mind. An application lodged without a required document can be deemed invalid; one lodged while a condition 8503 waiver is still pending cannot be made at all. Those are unrecoverable errors, and they are what professional preparation is for.
Next: before you pay, check what a child adds on additional applicant charges, and what you will spend outside the Department on the other costs of applying.
Common questions
Can I get a refund of the 820 visa application charge if my visa is refused?
No. The Department of Home Affairs says it will not refund the application fee if it refuses your application. The charge pays for the application to be considered, not for a grant, and the Department keeps it whichever way the decision goes. The refund grounds in regulation 2.12F of the Migration Regulations 1994 do not include refusal.
When do I pay the 820 visa application charge?
When you lodge. Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 makes the first instalment payable at the time the application is made, and it is paid through ImmiAccount as part of submitting the application. For the partner visa the second instalment, payable before grant, is nil, so there is nothing further to pay the Department later.
Is there a surcharge for paying the visa charge by card?
Some payment methods attract a surcharge, which is added to what you pay and is not part of the visa application charge itself. The rate depends on the payment method used. The Department publishes the current surcharge information with its payment instructions, so check it before choosing how to pay, and remember the surcharge is not refundable either.
Do I get my money back if I withdraw the 820 application?
Usually not. Withdrawing does not by itself create a right to a refund of the first instalment. Regulation 2.12F of the Migration Regulations 1994 gives the Minister a discretion to refund where the application was made because of a mistake by the applicant, the applicant withdraws in writing, and a written request for a refund is then received. The mandatory refund on withdrawal applies to the second instalment, which for the partner visa is nil.
Who can ask for a refund of a visa application charge?
The person who paid it. Regulation 2.12F requires a written request from the payer, or from the payer's legal personal representative if the payer has died or has a serious physical or mental incapacity, or from the trustee of the estate if the payer is bankrupt. Regulation 2.12K says that where a payment was made by an agent on behalf of the applicant, the applicant is the payer.
Sources
Keep reading
Additional Applicant Charges for Dependent Children
What it costs to include a child in an 820 partner visa application: the additional applicant charge, the different rate for under-18s, and adding a child later.
Read the guide →
The Hidden Costs: Medicals, Police Checks and Translations
The 820 partner visa costs that are not the visa application charge: medicals, police certificates, translations, certificates, registration and travel.
Read the guide →
Migration Lawyer Fees for Partner Visas
What a migration lawyer charges for an 820 partner visa, what the fee covers, what it does not, and how to check a lawyer before you pay.
Read the guide →