Married applicants must in most cases be 18 or older for the same practical reason the Department of Home Affairs gives: usually you must be 18 or older to be married under Australian law. There is no maximum age on either side, and no rule about the gap between partners.
This page covers the age rules that form part of the 820 visa requirements.
The 18-year rule for de facto applicants
Regulation 2.03A(2) of the Migration Regulations 1994 prescribes two criteria where a person claims to be in a de facto relationship for the purposes of a visa application:
- the applicant is at least 18; and
- the person with whom the applicant claims to be in a de facto relationship is at least 18.
Both limbs are tested. It is not enough for the applicant to be 18 if the Australian partner is not, and there is no waiver or exemption for these subclauses. The rule is separate from the better-known requirement in regulation 2.03A(3) that the de facto relationship have existed for at least the 12 months ending immediately before the date of the application. The two are often confused because they sit in the same regulation. See de facto partner requirements and exemptions from the 12-month rule.
Married applicants and marriageable age
There is no separate age clause for married applicants in Part 820 of Schedule 2. The age floor comes from the marriage itself. Section 11 of the Marriage Act 1961 provides that, subject to section 12, a person is of marriageable age if they have attained the age of 18 years. Section 12 allows a person who has turned 16 but not 18 to apply to a Judge or magistrate for an order authorising them to marry a particular person who is of marriageable age, and the order may be made only where the circumstances of the case are so exceptional and unusual as to justify it. The order lapses if the marriage does not take place within three months.
That is why the Department's wording is "in most cases". A marriage that is valid for the purposes of the Migration Act can involve a person under 18, but only through that narrow route, and the marriage must still be one the Act recognises. See married spouse requirements, and getting married in Australia if the marriage has not happened yet.
How old must the sponsor be?
In the ordinary case, the sponsoring partner must have turned 18. Clause 820.211(2)(c) of Schedule 2 requires the applicant to be sponsored by their spouse or de facto partner where that person has turned 18. Where the applicant's spouse has not turned 18, the applicant must instead be sponsored by a parent or guardian of that spouse who has turned 18 and is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. The same structure appears in the subclauses dealing with former and current subclass 300 visa holders.
For de facto applicants the position is simpler, because regulation 2.03A(2)(b) already requires the partner to be at least 18. There is no under-18 sponsorship route for a de facto application. Other limits on who may sponsor, and how often, are covered in who can sponsor an 820 visa and sponsorship limitations.
Applicants under 18 and the best interests of the child
Where an applicant has not turned 18, two further public interest criteria apply, and they are about the child rather than the relationship.
- Consent and removal. The Minister must be satisfied of one of the following: the law of the applicant's home country permits their removal; each person who can lawfully determine where the applicant is to live consents to the grant of the visa; or the grant would be consistent with any Australian child order in force for that applicant. This is criterion 4017 for a person applying in their own right under the secondary criteria, and criterion 4015 for an additional applicant under 18 who made a combined application.
- Best interests. The Minister must be satisfied that there is no compelling reason to believe that the grant of the visa would not be in the best interests of that person. This is criterion 4018, and criterion 4016 for an additional applicant. The Department puts it the same way: the visa might not be granted if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18.
The consent limb is the one that stalls applications in practice, because it usually requires the agreement of a parent who is not part of the application, or a court order that deals with where the child may live.
Dependent children included in the application
A dependent child included in a partner visa application is assessed against the secondary criteria in Part 820, not the primary ones, so the relationship and 18-year rules do not apply to them. There is no minimum age. Age still changes three things for a child in the application:
| If the child | Then |
|---|---|
| Had turned 18 at the time of application | Must satisfy public interest criterion 4019 and sign the Australian Values Statement |
| Has not turned 18 | Criteria 4015 and 4016, or 4017 and 4018, apply — consent to removal and best interests |
| Any age | Attracts an additional applicant charge, and must meet health and character criteria |
Children cannot be added after the subclass 820 is granted. The Department says a dependent child must first obtain a Dependent child visa (subclass 445) and then be included in the subclass 801 application while in Australia. Plan for that before lodging, not afterwards — see including children in your application and additional applicant charges.
A difference in age is not an age requirement
Nothing in the regulations sets a limit on the difference in age between partners. A large gap is not a criterion and cannot be a reason for refusal on its own, though it can attract closer attention to whether the relationship is genuine and continuing. That is an evidence question, covered in age-gap relationships.
Why professional help matters here
Age is the rare criterion with a clear answer, which is exactly why it is worth checking early: if a de facto applicant or their partner was not 18 on the day the application was made, no amount of later evidence fixes it, and the charge is not refunded. Where an applicant or a child is under 18, an application prepared by an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed, because the consent and best-interests criteria need documents from people outside the relationship and often a family law order, and those take time to obtain. No one can promise an outcome.
What to do next
Confirm the dates. If you are applying as a de facto couple, check both birth dates against the date you intend to lodge, then move on to de facto partner requirements. If children are coming with you, read including children in your application before you start the form.
Common questions
How old do you have to be to apply for an 820 partner visa?
If you apply as a de facto partner, regulation 2.03A of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires both you and the person you claim to be in a de facto relationship with to be at least 18 when you apply. If you apply as a married spouse, the Department of Home Affairs says married applicants must in most cases be 18 or older when they apply, because usually you must be 18 or older to be married under Australian law.
Can someone under 18 be sponsored for a partner visa?
The regulations contemplate it in limited circumstances. Clause 820.211 of Schedule 2 provides that where the applicant's spouse has not turned 18, the applicant must be sponsored by a parent or guardian of that spouse who has turned 18 and is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Separate public interest criteria about the best interests of the child and consent to the child's removal also apply.
Is there a maximum age for a partner visa applicant or sponsor?
No. The Migration Regulations set a minimum age for de facto applicants and their partners and require the sponsor to have turned 18 in the ordinary case, but there is no upper age limit for either the applicant or the sponsor, and no rule about the difference in age between partners.
Do children included in the application have to meet an age requirement?
There is no minimum age for a dependent child included in a partner visa application. Different criteria apply to them instead. A child who has not turned 18 is assessed against public interest criteria about consent to their removal from their home country and whether the grant would be in their best interests, and the Australian values statement only has to be signed by applicants who had turned 18 at the time of application.
Sources
Keep reading
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 →