You do not need a lawyer to apply for a subclass 820 visa. The Department of Home Affairs accepts applications lodged by applicants themselves, and using a professional is not a criterion for the grant. The real question is narrower: in your situation, what is the cost of getting it wrong, and how likely is that?
This page sets out what each route involves, the cases where doing it yourself is realistic, and the cases where the odds shift sharply.
What does each route actually involve?
| Applying yourself | Australian migration lawyer | |
|---|---|---|
| Money | The visa application charge, medicals, police certificates and translations only. | The same charges, plus a professional fee set by the lawyer or firm and agreed in writing before the work starts. |
| Time from you | Substantial. Reading the requirements, building the evidence, drafting the statements and completing the forms is usually weeks of work spread over months. | Less, but not none. You still gather documents, write your own account of the relationship and attend any interview. |
| Who decides what counts as evidence | You, from the Department's published material. | Someone who applies the four defined matters to these applications every week. |
| Who answers a request from the Department | You, within the period stated in the letter. | The lawyer, with you, reading what the letter is actually asking for. |
| Who fixes a mistake | You, at your own cost — usually a fresh application and a new charge, or an application for review. | The lawyer, within the scope of the costs agreement; and professional conduct rules and a complaints avenue apply to them. |
| Formal status with the Department | You correspond directly. | Form 956 appoints your lawyer, and the Department deals with them on your behalf. |
| Risk carried | Entirely yours. The charge is not refunded if the application is refused. | Still ultimately yours — no one can promise an outcome — but the common technical errors are far less likely. |
When is doing it yourself realistic?
A couple can reasonably lodge their own application when most of the following are true.
- The applicant holds a substantive visa — a student, visitor, working holiday or skilled visa that is still in effect — so Schedule 3 does not come into it.
- There is no condition 8503 or other no further stay condition on the current or a previous visa.
- No visa has been refused or cancelled for the applicant in Australia, so the section 48 bar is not in play.
- The relationship has been going long enough to have produced ordinary evidence without anyone constructing it: a joint lease or mortgage, joint accounts, shared bills, photographs with both families, travel together.
- You have lived together for a decent period, continuously, at the same address, and can show it.
- Neither of you has a health condition or a criminal history that could put the health requirement or the character requirement in issue.
- The sponsor has not sponsored a partner before, has no relevant criminal record, and is straightforwardly an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
- Nobody is under pressure of a deadline.
If that describes you, the work ahead is careful reading rather than legal judgement. Start with 820 visa requirements, then build the file described in relationship evidence.
When do the odds shift sharply?
In each of the situations below, an application prepared by an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed. These are not close calls.
- No substantive visa. If the applicant's visa has expired or been cancelled, the application must be lodged with the sponsorship form, evidence of the sponsor's status and at least two statutory declarations made within the last six weeks, or the Department says it may be deemed invalid. On top of that, the applicant must demonstrate that compelling reasons exist for the grant. See Schedule 3 criteria.
- A no further stay condition. Condition 8503 has to be waived, and the Department says the waiver must be approved before the partner visa application is made. Get the order wrong and there is no application. See condition 8503 no further stay.
- A previous refusal or cancellation. The Department warns that a person who does not hold a substantive visa and has had a visa cancelled or refused might not be eligible to apply at all. See the section 48 bar.
- A sponsor who has sponsored before, or has a criminal record. Limits apply to how often and how soon a person can sponsor a partner, and sponsors are subject to character checking with disclosure obligations. See sponsorship limitations.
- A relationship under 12 months, or one that is not registered. For de facto applicants the 12-month requirement is a legal test with defined exceptions, not a guideline. See de facto partner requirements.
- Time living apart. Periods apart are not fatal, but they must be explained and evidenced in a particular way. See evidence when you live apart.
- Children from earlier relationships. Custody arrangements, consent to travel and the best interests of a child under 18 all feed into the decision, and children included in the application add criteria of their own. See including children in your application.
- Health or character issues. A health condition with significant cost implications, or a criminal history of any weight, turns a form-filling exercise into a case that has to be argued.
- Any letter from the Department with a deadline. A request for more information, a natural justice letter or a refusal with review rights each start a clock. The time cannot be extended once it has passed, and a refusal that is not challenged in time is final. See natural justice letters and ART deadlines and fees.
Important
the visa application charge is not refunded if the application is refused. A refusal usually means paying again — a new charge for a fresh application, or a fee to apply for review — on top of months of waiting on an uncertain bridging visa.
What a lawyer cannot do
A lawyer cannot make processing faster, promise a grant, or change a criterion you do not meet. No one can manufacture a relationship that does not exist, and nobody should be asked to. If someone quotes you a guaranteed outcome or a priority queue, that is a reason to walk away, not a reason to sign.
A lawyer also cannot fix everything after the fact. Validity is settled at lodgement. The lodgement date fixes the charge and the date from which the permanent stage is counted. An assessment before you lodge is cheaper than representation after a refusal.
How to decide
Work through the list above honestly and count how many of the harder items apply to you. Zero, and you are the couple who can do this yourselves with a few careful months. One or more, and get an assessment before you spend the 820 visa cost on an application that may be invalid or thin.
If you do engage someone, check them first: an Australian legal practitioner appears on their state or territory's register of practitioners. What a migration lawyer does, how to verify one and what a costs agreement should say is set out on working with a migration lawyer.
Unregistered agents
An unregistered agent who gives immigration assistance is acting illegally (Migration Act 1958 s 280). They carry no professional indemnity insurance, so if their mistake costs you a refusal, your fees or your pathway, there is no insurer to claim against. A practising Australian lawyer must hold that insurance.
Next: whichever route you take, the mechanics are the same. Read how to apply for the 820 visa, then decision-ready applications.
Common questions
Do I need a migration lawyer for the 820 visa?
No. The Department of Home Affairs accepts applications lodged by applicants themselves and using a lawyer is not a criterion for the visa. It is a question of risk rather than permission. A couple with a long, well-documented relationship, a substantive visa and no history of refusal can reasonably lodge on their own, while an application involving Schedule 3, a no-further-stay condition, a previous refusal or a sponsor with a relevant record is far harder to get right without help.
Is a DIY partner visa application more likely to be refused?
Not automatically. What raises the risk is not the absence of a lawyer but the absence of the specific things the Department must be satisfied about. Applications lodged without one are more often thin on the financial and household evidence, silent on a criterion that clearly applies, or late in answering a request for information. In the harder situations, an application prepared by an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed.
How much does a migration lawyer charge for a partner visa?
Fees are set by each lawyer or firm and this guide does not publish figures, because there is no standard rate and quoted amounts go out of date quickly. Ask for a written costs agreement before any work starts, and ask specifically whether the quote covers responding to a request for more information, the permanent stage two years later, and review at the tribunal if the application is refused. The lawyer's fee is separate from the visa application charge, medicals, police certificates and translations.
Can I start the application myself and get help later?
You can, but the value of help drops sharply once an application has been lodged. Validity is decided at lodgement, the lodgement date fixes the charge and the eligibility date for the permanent stage, and some problems cannot be undone afterwards. Getting an assessment before you lodge is usually cheaper than getting representation after a refusal, which means a tribunal fee, a long wait and a fresh set of evidence.
Does using a lawyer make the visa process faster?
No. Processing times are set by the Department's workload and priorities, not by who lodged the application, and no one can move an application up the queue. What a complete, well-evidenced application avoids is the delay caused by requests for more information, interviews and refusals, so it can be finalised sooner than an application the Department has to chase.
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 →