The Department of Home Affairs summarises them as: be in a genuine relationship with a spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, have that partner sponsor you, be in Australia when you apply, and meet the health, character and other public interest requirements. This page sets out each criterion in the order the Department lists it and links to the page that covers it in depth. It deals with the subclass 820 partner visa only.
Genuine and Continuing Relationship: How Home Affairs Assesses It
How Home Affairs decides if a partner visa relationship is genuine and continuing — the four matters in the Migration Regulations and what case officers look for.
Read the guide →
Spouse (Married Partner) Requirements for the 820
What married couples must show for the subclass 820 — the section 5F definition of spouse, a valid marriage, no 12-month rule, and why a certificate is never enough.
Read the guide →
De Facto Partner Visa 820: The 12-Month Rule
How the 12-month de facto rule works for the subclass 820, what counts towards the 12 months, and how time living apart is treated.
Read the guide →
Exemptions from the 12-Month De Facto Requirement
Ways around the 12-month de facto rule for the 820 — a registered relationship, compelling and compassionate circumstances, and subclass 300 holders.
Read the guide →
Registering Your Relationship for a Partner Visa, State by State
Which states and territories have a relationship register that counts for the 820 visa, how registration works, how long it takes, and why it must come first.
Read the guide →
Being in Australia at Lodgement and at Grant
You must be in Australia to lodge a subclass 820 application, and may be in or outside Australia when it is decided. What that means for travel and for the 309.
Read the guide →
Schedule 3 Criteria: Applying Without a Substantive Visa
What Schedule 3 means for an 820 applicant with no substantive visa. Which criteria apply, how the waiver works, and what makes a lodgement invalid.
Read the guide →
Condition 8503 (No Further Stay) and the 820 Visa
How condition 8503 blocks an onshore 820 partner visa application, how to check for it in VEVO, and how a no further stay waiver is requested and decided.
Read the guide →
The Section 48 Bar and Partner Visas
Who the section 48 bar catches, what it stops, why a partner visa is still available under regulation 2.12, and how it differs from Schedule 3 and condition 8503.
Read the guide →
Health Requirement for the 820 Visa
The 820 health requirement is public interest criterion 4007 — who it applies to, what the examinations cover, how long results last, and when a waiver is possible.
Read the guide →
Character Requirement for the 820 Visa
The 820 character requirement explained — the section 501 character test, substantial criminal record, police certificates, the duty to disclose, and criminal history.
Read the guide →
Age Requirements for Applicant and Sponsor
How old you must be to apply for an 820 partner visa or to sponsor one — the 18-year rule for de facto couples, marriageable age, and applicants under 18.
Read the guide →
Australian Values Statement for Partner Visas
Who signs the Australian Values Statement for an 820 partner visa, what the Life in Australia booklet has to do with it, and why it is a criterion, not a formality.
Read the guide →What are the 820 visa requirements?
"Application" means the day the application is validly made; "decision" means when the Department decides.
| # | Criterion | What must be shown | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Relationship | Spouse or de facto partner of the sponsoring partner; genuine and continuing | Both |
| 2 | Sponsor's status | Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen | Both |
| 3 | Sponsorship approved | Approved by the Minister and still in force | Decision |
| 4 | In Australia | In Australia, but not in immigration clearance | Application |
| 5 | Substantive visa | Held; if not, Schedule 3 applies unless there are compelling reasons | Application |
| 6 | No further stay | No condition such as 8503, or a waiver approved first | Application |
| 7 | Section 48 | If it applies: no partner visa refused since you last entered, plus extra lodgement documents | Application |
| 8 | Age | De facto applicants and partners 18; married applicants in most cases 18 or older | Application |
| 9 | Health and character | Health, character and security criteria met by you and family members | Decision |
| 10 | Debt and documents | No Commonwealth debt unless arrangements are made; no bogus documents or false information | Decision |
| 11 | Australian values | Values statement signed, if you are 18 or older | Decision |
| 12 | Child's best interests | No compelling reason the grant is against the interests of an applicant under 18 | Decision |
| 13 | Regional visas | Certain regional provisional visas held for two or three years | Application |
Are you in a spouse or de facto relationship?
This is the criterion most refusals turn on. Under section 5F of the Migration Act 1958, a married couple must be married under a marriage valid for the purposes of the Act, have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others, have a genuine and continuing relationship, and live together or not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. Section 5CB sets the same conditions for de facto partners, adding that they are not married to each other and are not related by family.
Regulations 1.15A and 1.09A then tell the decision maker how to test those conditions: the Minister must consider all of the circumstances, including four prescribed matters — the financial aspects of the relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship, and the nature of the persons' commitment to each other. See genuine and continuing relationship.
Which path you apply on changes one thing. Under regulation 2.03A, de facto applicants must normally have been in the relationship for the 12 months ending immediately before the application, unless it is registered or there are compelling and compassionate circumstances. Married couples have no equivalent wait. See married spouse requirements and de facto partner requirements.
Who can sponsor you, and when is the sponsorship approved?
Your sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and is usually your partner — see who can sponsor an 820 visa. The Department says you and anyone applying with you must have a sponsor when you lodge and while you hold the visa, that it must approve the sponsor, and that the sponsor should apply as soon as possible after you lodge.
Important
The Department says you cannot change your sponsor. The person who sponsors you when you apply must be the same person who sponsors you for two years after the temporary subclass 820 visa is granted.
Approval is a separate decision, and the regulations limit the Minister's discretion to give it — including where the sponsor has sponsored partners before, and where the sponsor has convictions for certain offences, which they may be asked to consent to having disclosed to each applicant.
Do you have to be in Australia when you apply?
Yes. The Department says you must apply online and while in Australia, and family members applying with you must be in Australia too. The regulations add that you must not be in immigration clearance. You can be in or outside Australia when the visa is decided.
What if you do not hold a substantive visa?
Two separate sets of extra requirements bite.
The first is about validity. The Department says an application by someone without a substantive visa must include, at lodgement: the online 'Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia' form completed by the sponsor; evidence of the sponsor's status, such as a passport or birth certificate (a driver's licence or Medicare card is not sufficient); at least two statutory declarations confirming the relationship, each made within the last six weeks by an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen; and evidence that each declarant holds that status. Form 888 is not a statutory declaration, and no version of it is acceptable here. If the information is missing, the application may be deemed invalid.
The second is about the grant. Such an applicant must satisfy the Schedule 3 criteria — in most cases 3001, 3003 and 3004 — unless the Minister is satisfied there are compelling reasons for not applying them. Criterion 3001 requires the application to be made within 28 days of the relevant day. Criteria 3003 and 3004 require the Minister to be satisfied that the applicant is without a substantive visa because of factors beyond their control, that there are compelling reasons for granting the visa, and that earlier conditions were substantially complied with. The Department's own wording is that the applicant must demonstrate compelling reasons exist. See Schedule 3 criteria.
Does condition 8503 stop you applying?
If your current or previous visa carries a no further stay condition, you cannot make a valid partner visa application while it applies. Condition 8503 says the holder will not, after entering Australia, be entitled to be granted a substantive visa other than a protection visa while they remain here. A waiver can be requested in limited circumstances, and it must be approved before you apply. Conditions 8534 and 8535 work similarly. Check your conditions in VEVO rather than relying on memory, and read condition 8503 no further stay first.
Does the section 48 bar apply to you?
Section 48 applies to a person in the migration zone who holds no substantive visa and who, after last entering Australia, was refused a visa or had one cancelled under a listed provision. That person may only apply for prescribed classes of visa. Partner (Temporary) (Class UK), which contains the subclass 820, is one of them, so a partner visa is one of the few applications still open. But Schedule 1 adds a catch: the applicant must not have been refused any partner visa since last entering Australia, and must lodge the sponsorship form and two statutory declarations. See the section 48 bar.
How old do you have to be?
The Department says married applicants must, in most cases, be 18 or older when they apply, because you usually must be 18 or older to marry under Australian law, and that de facto applicants must be 18 or older. Regulation 2.03A requires both the applicant and the partner to be at least 18 for de facto applications. The regulations do contemplate a married applicant whose spouse is under 18 being sponsored instead by a parent or guardian of that spouse.
Health, character, debt, values and children
These public interest criteria are assessed at the time of decision.
- Health. Applies to you and to family members who apply, and can apply to those who do not. Results are valid for 12 months; a health undertaking runs for six months.
- Character. Applies to you and your family members. Police certificates are valid for 12 months from issue and may have to be provided again if they expire first.
- Debt and documents. No outstanding Commonwealth debt unless arrangements have been made to repay it; no bogus document and no false or misleading information in a material particular.
- Australian values statement. Applicants 18 or older must have read, or had explained to them, the Life in Australia booklet and must sign the statement. See Australian Values Statement.
- Best interests of a child. For an applicant under 18, there must be no compelling reason to believe the grant would be against that child's best interests.
What changes at the 801 stage?
The subclass 801 permanent visa is decided on the same application and the same charge, against different criteria. You must hold the subclass 820 (or a subclass 445 dependent child visa), continue to be sponsored by the same sponsoring partner, still be that person's spouse or de facto partner, and in the usual case at least two years must have passed since the application was made — the Department says you are eligible for consideration two years after you first applied.
There are carve-outs. The two-year wait does not apply where the couple were in a long-term partner relationship when the application was made. The visa can still be granted where the sponsoring partner has died, where the relationship has ceased and the applicant or a child has experienced family violence committed by that partner, or where the applicant has custody, access or a parenting order about a child of that partner. The Department also warns that being granted any other visa ends your eligibility for the 801.
Where these applications go wrong
Most refusals are not about a missing form. They are about a case officer not being satisfied on the relationship, or a criterion nobody addressed: a Schedule 3 argument never made, a de facto period a few weeks short, a sponsorship lodged late.
An application prepared by a migration lawyer is more likely to succeed, because the criteria that sink partner applications are the ones an applicant does not know to look for — whether section 48 or Schedule 3 is engaged, whether a waiver has to come first, and whether the evidence still holds up on the day of decision rather than the day of lodgement. No one can promise an outcome, and the Department does not refund the charge if an application is refused.
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.
What to do next
Note the criteria that are not yet settled in your case. If the relationship is the open question, start with the genuine and continuing relationship page. Otherwise move on to the 820 visa document checklist and gather evidence early — the Department expects you to keep updating it while the application is with them.
Common questions
What are the main requirements for the 820 visa?
You must be the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen; that partner must sponsor you and the Department must approve the sponsorship; you must be in Australia when you apply; and you must meet the health, character, debt and Australian values requirements. If you do not hold a substantive visa when you apply, extra criteria apply.
Can I apply for the 820 if my visa has expired?
It may still be possible, but the Department of Home Affairs says an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa must meet additional criteria and must demonstrate that compelling reasons exist for the grant of a partner visa. Those are the Schedule 3 criteria. There are also extra documents that must be lodged with the application, including two statutory declarations made within the last six weeks, or the application may be deemed invalid.
Do I have to be married to apply for the 820 visa?
No. You can apply as a married spouse or as a de facto partner. De facto applicants must normally have been in the de facto relationship for at least the 12 months ending immediately before the date of the application, unless the relationship is registered under a state or territory scheme or there are compelling and compassionate circumstances. Married applicants have no equivalent 12-month requirement.
Do I need to be in Australia when the 820 visa is decided?
No. The Department says you must be in Australia when you apply, and family members applying with you must be in Australia too, but you can be in or outside Australia when the temporary visa is decided. You must not be in immigration clearance at the time you apply.
Does the relationship have to still exist when the visa is decided?
Yes, in almost all cases. The time of decision criteria require you to continue to meet the relationship and sponsorship requirements you met at the time of application. The limited exceptions cover the death of the sponsoring partner and cases involving family violence or shared responsibility for a child.