That is the Department of Home Affairs' own summary of the visa, and it is close to what permanent residence allows — with some real limits, and a short list of ways to lose the permanent stage without meaning to.
Work Rights on the 820 and Bridging Visa A
A granted 820 carries full work rights. Before grant, your bridging visa copies the work conditions from your old visa. How to check and how to lift them.
Read the guide →
Medicare on the 820 Visa
An 820 holder can apply for Medicare. How enrolment works, where bridging visa holders stand, and how to cover yourself for health care while you wait.
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Studying on the 820 Visa
You can study on an 820 visa, but the Department says there is no government support and costs are at your own expense. How fee status is decided.
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Travelling on a Granted 820 Visa
A granted 820 lets you travel in and out of Australia as often as you want. Before grant you need a Bridging visa B, and New Zealand passports face a trap.
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Centrelink and Government Support on the 820
What an 820 holder can expect from Centrelink: why most payments turn on permanent residence, how waiting periods work, and why Services Australia decides.
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Free English Classes (AMEP) for 820 Holders
The Department says 820 holders can attend free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible. What the program is and how to check.
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820 Visa Conditions and Your Obligations
What conditions the subclass 820 carries, what you must keep doing to stay eligible for the 801, the subclass 444 trap, and when a visa can be cancelled.
Read the guide →How long the 820 lasts
The 820 is a temporary visa, but it has no expiry date in the usual sense. The Department says it lets you stay until the permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) application is finalised, or until you withdraw the application. You will be eligible for consideration of the permanent visa two years after you first applied for the temporary and permanent Partner visas — the application date is visible in ImmiAccount. See when the 801 is assessed.
There is no visa label. Australian visas are digital, and you prove the visa and its conditions through VEVO, the Department's online checking service.
Work
You have full work rights. The Department's wording is that on this visa "you will have full work rights and are protected by Australian workplace law". There is no hour limit, no restriction to a nominated employer and no restriction by occupation.
This is worth stating plainly because many 820 holders have just come off a visa that did restrict work, and because a bridging visa held before grant may have carried a restriction that the 820 does not. See work rights.
Study
You can study. The Department is equally plain about the catch: "you will not receive any government support and any study costs will be at your own expense."
In practice that means 820 holders are usually treated as full-fee students rather than domestic students, and government loan schemes and subsidies are generally not available on a temporary visa. Institutions set their own fee categories, so the position has to be checked with the provider before you enrol. See studying on the 820 visa.
Travel
You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the permanent visa is processed. Once the 820 is granted there is no bridging visa to worry about and no travel facility to renew.
Two cautions. Travel during a long wait can create evidence questions if you and your sponsor are apart for extended periods, because the Department must still be satisfied about the relationship at the permanent stage. And you must keep the Department informed of changes while you are away. See travelling on a granted 820.
Free English classes
If you are eligible, you can attend free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program. Eligibility is set by the program rather than by the visa alone, and classes are delivered by contracted providers around the country. See free English classes.
Medicare
You can apply for access to Medicare. Applying is a separate step from the visa: Medicare is administered by Services Australia, not by Home Affairs, and enrolment has its own process and its own evidence requirements. A visa grant does not enrol you automatically. See Medicare on the 820 visa.
Government payments
The Department warns that you "might have to wait to access certain Australian Government payments and benefits". Newly arrived residents' waiting periods apply to a number of payments, and the rules differ from payment to payment. Services Australia is the authority on which waiting period applies to which payment and how it is counted. Do not assume a visa grant opens access to income support. See Centrelink payments.
The warnings that cost people the 801
Important
Three of the mistakes below are silent. Nothing goes wrong on the day; the problem appears two years later when the permanent visa is assessed.
New Zealand passport holders and the subclass 444
If you hold a New Zealand passport and an 820, you must tell the border officer when you arrive in Australia that you hold a temporary Partner visa and do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). The Department's warning is unambiguous: grant of a subclass 444 visa will override your temporary Partner visa, which means you will not be eligible for the permanent Partner visa (subclass 801).
A subclass 444 is normally granted to New Zealand citizens on arrival without anyone thinking about it. That is exactly the risk. Say it at the counter, every time you enter.
Do not get another visa
To be granted the 801, you must hold the 820 (or a subclass 445 Dependent child visa). The Department says that if you are granted any other visa, you will no longer be eligible for the grant of the permanent Partner visa. That includes visas that look like an upgrade. If another application is on foot — a skilled visa, an employer-sponsored visa, anything — the interaction needs to be worked through before a grant happens, not after.
Family members cannot be added later
Family members cannot be added to your application after the 820 is granted. A dependent child must first be granted a Dependent child visa (subclass 445), and can then be included in the subclass 801 application while in Australia, using Form 1002, with the Department notified through the Partner Processing Enquiry Form. If a baby is born after grant, tell the Department. Planning for children is far simpler at lodgement — see including children in your application.
Tell the Department when things change
You must tell the Department if your circumstances change: relationship status, the birth of a child, contact details, a new passport, or anything else relevant to the application. If the relationship ends, a Notification of Relationship Cessation form may need to be lodged through ImmiAccount. These are obligations, not courtesies, and the permanent stage is assessed against the facts as they actually are. See telling Home Affairs about changes and 820 visa conditions and obligations.
Where professional help matters here
Most of this page is about entitlements, and entitlements do not usually need advice. The exceptions do. An 820 holder who is about to be granted another visa, a New Zealand passport holder who has already been through immigration clearance without saying anything, or a couple with a child who was not included at lodgement are all in situations where an application prepared by a migration lawyer is more likely to succeed — because the fix, if there is one, usually has to happen before the permanent stage is assessed rather than after. No one can promise an outcome.
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
If you have just been granted the 820, deal with Medicare first and read Medicare on the 820 visa. Then look at the practical side of living here at settling in Australia, and at what the permanent stage will ask of you at subclass 801 permanent visa.
Common questions
Can I work full time on an 820 visa?
Yes. The Department of Home Affairs says that on a temporary Partner visa you have full work rights and are protected by Australian workplace law. That is different from a bridging visa, which may carry a work restriction inherited from your previous visa.
Can I travel overseas on an 820 visa?
Yes. The Department says the subclass 820 lets you travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the permanent visa is processed. You do not need a bridging visa B once the 820 has been granted, and there is no travel facility to renew.
Why should a New Zealand passport holder refuse a subclass 444 visa at the border?
Because a subclass 444 Special Category visa overrides a temporary Partner visa. The Department says that if a subclass 444 is granted, you will no longer be eligible for the permanent Partner visa. A New Zealand passport holder who holds an 820 must tell the border officer that they hold a temporary Partner visa and do not want a subclass 444.
Can I add my child to my application after the 820 is granted?
No. Family members cannot be added to the application after the temporary visa is granted. A dependent child must first be granted a Dependent child visa (subclass 445), and can then be included in the subclass 801 application while in Australia using Form 1002. Tell the Department if a child is born after grant.
Does the 820 come with a visa label in my passport?
No. Australian visas are digital and there is no label. You prove your visa and its conditions through VEVO, the Department's online checking service, which you can also use to give evidence of your status to an employer or landlord.