Health Requirement for the 820 Visa

Clause 820.223 of Schedule 2 requires the applicant to satisfy public interest criteria 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007 and 4009 at the time of decision. Criterion 4005 — the version of the health criterion that contains no waiver of its own — is not applied to this subclass, and neither is 4006A. That distinction matters more than almost anything else on this page, because 4007 is the criterion that lets a decision maker grant a visa to someone who does not meet the cost limb.

This page explains how the health requirement works for the subclass 820 partner visa. For the practical steps — referral letters, HAP IDs and booking — see health examinations.

Who has to meet the health requirement?

Three groups.

• The applicant. Clause 820.223(1)(a) applies criterion 4007 at the time of decision. There is a narrow exception in clause 820.223(2) for an applicant covered by subclause 820.211(5), which deals with a former subclass 300 holder who married the sponsoring partner and then ceased to hold a substantive visa — see moving from a subclass 300 visa.
• Family members who apply with you. Clause 820.224(1) applies criteria 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007 and 4009 to each member of the family unit who is also an applicant for the subclass 820 visa, plus criterion 4020.
• Family members who do not apply and do not come to Australia. Clause 820.224(1A) applies criterion 4007 to each member of the family unit who is not an applicant, unless the Minister is satisfied that it would be unreasonable to require that person to undergo assessment. This is the part that surprises people: a non-migrating spouse, or a child living overseas with a former partner, can be asked to be examined even though they will never hold an Australian visa.

The Department of Home Affairs puts it in plainer words: the health requirement applies to the applicant and family members who apply, and can apply to non-accompanying family members.

What does criterion 4007 actually require?

The criterion has four limbs. In summary, the applicant must:

1. undertake any medical assessment specified by the Minister for a class of persons, and comply with any request by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth to undertake a medical assessment;
2. be free from tuberculosis;
3. be free from a disease or condition that is, or may result in the person being, a threat to public health in Australia or a danger to the Australian community;
4. be free from a disease or condition in relation to which a person who has it would be likely to require health care or community services, or to meet the medical criteria for the provision of a community service, where providing those services would be likely to result in a significant cost to the Australian community in the areas of health care and community services, or to prejudice the access of an Australian citizen or permanent resident to those services.

If a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth requests a signed undertaking to present to a health authority in the state or territory of intended residence for a follow-up assessment, the applicant must give that undertaking.

How is significant cost assessed?

By a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, not by the case officer. Regulation 2.25A requires the Minister to seek the officer's opinion on whether a person meets paragraphs 4007(1)(a), (b) or (c), and subregulation 2.25A(3) says the Minister is to take that opinion to be correct. The medical assessment is therefore settled before the visa decision is made, and the place to contest the outcome is the waiver.

The costs are counted over a period set by subclause 4007(1A): for a permanent visa, the period starting when the application is made; for a temporary visa, the period for which the Minister intends to grant the visa, or, where the subclass is specified in a legislative instrument, the period starting when the application is made. The subclass 820 is temporary but leads to the subclass 801 permanent visa, which applies criterion 4007 again in clause 801.223.

The Migration Regulations do not state a dollar figure for significant cost. The threshold sits in the Department's own policy and moves over time, so confirm the current figure with the Department or a professional rather than relying on an older source.

What do the examinations involve?

The Department decides which examinations each person must have and sets them out in a referral letter carrying a Health Assessment Portal identifier. What is required varies with age, where the person has lived and what is already known about their health, so two applicants in the same family can be given different assessments. Examinations must be done by a provider approved for immigration purposes, and the results go to the Department directly; a report from your own general practitioner is not a substitute.

Timing matters. Health assessment results are valid for 12 months and a health undertaking runs for 6 months. Partner visa processing frequently runs longer than 12 months, so results obtained early can expire before a decision and have to be repeated, at the applicant's expense. The same trap applies to police certificates; check the Department's visa processing times tool before booking.

What happens if someone does not meet it?

The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth gives an opinion that the person does not meet the criterion, and the Department then puts that to the applicant before deciding. That letter is the opportunity to respond — see natural justice letters.

Where the problem is the cost limb, subclause 4007(2) allows the Minister to waive paragraph 4007(1)(c) if the applicant satisfies all other criteria for the visa and the Minister is satisfied that granting it would be unlikely to result in undue cost to the Australian community or undue prejudice to the access of an Australian citizen or permanent resident to health care or community services. Note two limits. The waiver is available only for the cost and access limb: tuberculosis and threats to public health cannot be waived under 4007. And every other criterion must already be met, so a waiver request cannot rescue an application with a weak relationship case.

If the requirement is not met and no waiver is exercised, the visa is refused. A refusal decision by a delegate carries review rights, which the refusal letter will state — see why 820 visas are refused and appealing at the ART.

Why professional help matters here

A health waiver is an argument, not a form. It is built from medical evidence about the actual course of the condition, evidence about the support available within the family, and submissions about why the cost would not be undue for this couple. An application prepared by an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed where the health requirement is in issue, because the waiver is discretionary, it is usually argued once, and applicants who argue with the Medical Officer's opinion instead of addressing undue cost answer the wrong question. No one can promise an outcome.

What to do next

If nobody in the application has a known condition, the health requirement is a scheduling task: read health examinations and time the appointments against the 820 visa document checklist. If a condition is already diagnosed, get advice before the examinations rather than after the opinion arrives. Read the character requirement next; the two are assessed together.

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 →