You can apply for the subclass 820 while holding a subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa (or its predecessor, the 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa, or a subclass 457) without resigning, telling your employer, or giving anything up. The two systems run in parallel. The questions worth thinking about are what happens at the end, and in what order.
Applying without disturbing the work visa
Lodging a partner visa application has no effect on the visa you already hold. The 482 stays in force until its own end date, and its conditions continue to apply in full until then.
Under Schedule 2, clause 482.611 requires condition 8607 on a subclass 482 visa granted to a primary applicant, and clause 482.612 requires condition 8501. Condition 8303 may also be imposed. In outline, condition 8607 requires the holder to:
- work only in the nominated occupation identified in the nomination for the most recent 482 visa granted to them;
- work only for the nominating person or, depending on the stream and whether the nominator was an overseas business sponsor, only in a position in that person's business or an associated entity's business;
- commence work within 90 days of arrival or of grant, as applicable; and
- hold and keep any licence, registration or membership that is mandatory for the occupation.
Condition 8607 also allows the holder to stop working in accordance with those requirements for a period, provided no single period exceeds 180 consecutive days and the total does not exceed 365 days during the visa period. Condition 8501 requires adequate health insurance arrangements while in Australia.
None of that changes because you lodged an 820. If you were thinking of resigning, the constraint is condition 8607, not the partner application. Check the conditions on your own visa in the Department's check visa details and conditions (VEVO) service.
What happens to the 482 when the 820 is granted
The 482 ceases, by operation of law. Section 82(2) of the Migration Act 1958 provides that a substantive visa held by a non-citizen ceases to be in effect if another substantive visa, other than a special purpose visa, comes into effect for that person. The subclass 820 is a substantive visa. On grant it replaces the 482.
What that means in practice:
- condition 8607 stops applying. It was a condition of the 482, and the 482 no longer exists. Clause 820.611 imposes no conditions on the subclass 820 at all;
- work rights become general. The Department says that on the temporary Partner visa "you will have full work rights and are protected by Australian workplace law". You are no longer tied to an occupation or an employer. See work rights;
- condition 8501 stops applying as a visa condition, and the Department says subclass 820 holders can apply for Medicare;
- the employer sponsorship no longer supports your stay. Your right to remain comes from the partner visa and, through it, from a relationship that the Department must continue to be satisfied about until the subclass 801 is decided.
Important
the sponsor for the partner visa is your partner, not your employer, and the Department says "You cannot change your sponsor. The person who sponsors you when you apply for the visa must be the same person who sponsors you for 2 years after we grant your temporary Partner visa (subclass 820)." A work visa can be transferred to a new employer. A partner visa cannot be transferred to a new partner.
If the 482 expires before the 820 is decided
If you lodged the 820 while you still held the 482 and applied for a bridging visa, a Bridging visa A is normally granted. Under clause 010.511 it comes into effect on grant or when the substantive visa ceases, and lets you remain until the partner application is decided. See Bridging visa A.
The detail that matters to sponsored workers is inheritance. Clause 010.611 provides that, in the ordinary case, the Bridging visa A carries whichever of a listed set of conditions applied to the visa you held at the time of application — and condition 8607 is on that list. Condition 8501 is not. So the restriction to the nominated occupation and the nominating business can follow you onto the bridging visa and remain there for as long as the partner application takes.
Do not assume either way. Read the conditions recorded against the bridging visa itself in VEVO once it is granted, and if a work condition is causing real difficulty, clause 010.211(4) allows a further Bridging visa A where the Minister is satisfied the applicant has a compelling need to work, which regulation 1.08 defines as including financial hardship.
Should you keep the employer nomination running?
There is no rule against having an employer-sponsored application and a partner application on foot at the same time, and many people do. The real question is what you want to be holding at the end.
Arguments for keeping both alive. They fail for unrelated reasons. A partner application depends on a relationship the Department must be satisfied is genuine and continuing; an employer-sponsored application depends on a business, a nomination and an occupation. Keeping a second route open is a hedge against a single point of failure.
The thing to be careful about. The Department states plainly that, to get the permanent subclass 801, you must hold the subclass 820 (or a subclass 445), and that "If you are granted any other visa, you will no longer be eligible for the grant of the permanent Partner visa (subclass 801)." Read that with section 82(2): a later substantive visa causes the 820 to cease. So if an employer-sponsored visa is granted after the 820, the 820 goes and the 801 pathway goes with it. If the visa granted is permanent residence, that may not matter to you. If it is another temporary work visa, it very much does — you would have traded a pathway to permanent residence for a job-dependent stay.
So sequencing is a decision, not an accident. You cannot control which application is decided first, but you can control which ones are still on foot at the time. The Department's visa processing times tool shows recently decided applications and says it is a guide only and not specific to your application; treat it as background, not a plan. See 820 visa processing time for how to read it, and partner visa or skilled visa for the wider comparison.
The criteria you still have to meet
Holding a skilled visa does not shorten the partner application. You still have to satisfy the Department about the relationship itself under regulations 1.09A and 1.15A, and if you are not married, regulation 2.03A requires at least 12 months of de facto relationship ending immediately before the date of application, unless an exemption applies. See de facto partner requirements and the full list of 820 visa requirements.
One warning specific to this group: people on skilled visas often have strong financial and household evidence and thin social and commitment evidence, because the relationship has been organised around work and relocation. The four matters in the Regulations are weighed together. See relationship evidence.
Where professional help matters here
An application prepared by an immigration lawyer is more likely to succeed on this pathway, because the hard part is not the partner application in isolation. It is the interaction between two live applications, a set of work conditions that can follow you onto a bridging visa, and a rule that a later visa grant extinguishes the permanent partner stage. Those consequences arrive automatically, by operation of section 82 and the Department's own eligibility rule, and no one flags them for you on the form. Nobody can promise an outcome, but the sequencing decisions here are cheap to get right in advance and impossible to undo afterwards.
What to do next
Write down the end date of your 482 and the conditions recorded against it in VEVO, then decide, with advice, what you want to be holding in two years. Read how the 820 and 801 work together before you let two applications run side by side, and how to apply for the 820 visa when you are ready to lodge. What the charge covers is at 820 visa cost.
Common questions
Do I have to leave my employer to apply for a partner visa on a 482?
No. Lodging a subclass 820 application does not affect the subclass 482 visa you hold or the conditions on it. The 482 continues in force, condition 8607 continues to require you to work in the nominated occupation for the sponsoring business, and nothing is reported to your employer as a result of the partner application.
What happens to my 482 visa when the 820 is granted?
It ceases. Section 82(2) of the Migration Act 1958 provides that a substantive visa held by a non-citizen ceases to be in effect if another substantive visa, other than a special purpose visa, comes into effect for that person. The subclass 820 is a substantive visa, so on grant it replaces the 482 and the 482's conditions, including condition 8607, stop applying.
Can I run an employer nomination and a partner visa application at the same time?
Yes, there is no rule against having both applications on foot. The point to take advice on is what happens if the employer-sponsored visa is granted after the 820, because the Department of Home Affairs says that if you are granted any other visa you will no longer be eligible for the grant of the permanent subclass 801.
Which one is usually decided first?
You cannot control that, and no one should promise you a timeframe. The Department publishes a visa processing time guide tool that shows recently decided applications and says it is a guide only and not specific to your application. What you can control is the order in which you lodge and, if necessary, whether you withdraw an application before it is decided.
What are my work rights if the 482 expires before the 820 is decided?
You would normally be on a Bridging visa A, and clause 010.611 of the Migration Regulations 1994 carries across whichever of a listed set of conditions applied to the visa you held at the time of application. Condition 8607 is on that list, so the restriction to the nominated occupation and employer can follow you onto the bridging visa. Check the conditions on the bridging visa itself in VEVO.
Sources
Keep reading
Lodging in ImmiAccount: Screen-by-Screen
How the 820 partner visa is lodged in ImmiAccount - who should own the account, what the form asks, attaching documents, the TRN, paying, and what happens next.
Read the guide →
The Sponsor's Part of the Application
What the 820 visa sponsor has to lodge - the Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia form, when to lodge it, what it asks, and what happens if it is refused.
Read the guide →
Including Dependent Children in Your 820 Application
How to include children in an 820 partner visa application: who counts as a dependent child, what each child needs, consent and custody, and adding a child later.
Read the guide →