Australia has three partner pathways for the spouse, de facto partner or fiancé of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and they are not alternatives you pick on preference. Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994 decides most of it for you.
820 vs 309: Onshore vs Offshore Partner Visa
The onshore 820 against the offshore 309 — where you must be, the bridging visa, work rights, travel, Medicare, and what happens if you leave Australia.
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820 vs 300 Prospective Marriage Visa
The prospective marriage visa (subclass 300) compared with applying for the 820 — who it is for, what it requires, and the reduced charge at the 820 stage.
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Married or De Facto: Which Should You Apply As?
What actually changes if you apply as a married spouse instead of a de facto partner — the 12-month rule, its exemptions, and the four matters that stay the same.
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Partner Visa vs Skilled Visa for Couples
Partner visa or skilled visa when the applicant could qualify either way - what each test actually depends on, how the costs are structured, and where each one ends.
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Partner Visa vs the NZ Family (461) Visa
The 820 partner visa against the subclass 461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa - who each is for, and why one definition usually decides it.
Read the guide →The three pathways side by side
| Onshore: 820 then 801 | Offshore: 309 then 100 | Prospective marriage: 300 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you must be when you apply | In Australia, and not in immigration clearance (Schedule 1 item 1214C) | Outside Australia (Schedule 1 item 1220A) | Outside Australia (Schedule 1 item 1215) |
| Where you may be when it is decided | In or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance (clause 820.411) | In or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance (clause 309.412) | In or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance (clause 300.412) |
| What relationship it requires | Spouse or de facto partner of the sponsor (clause 820.211) | Spouse or de facto partner of the sponsor (clause 309.211) | An intention to marry the sponsor, having met in person since you each turned 18 (clauses 300.211 to 300.216) |
| What it leads to | The permanent subclass 801 | The permanent subclass 100 | Entry to Australia, marriage to the sponsor, then an onshore 820 and 801 application |
| What you can do while you wait | Normally a Bridging visa A keeps you lawful in Australia until the application is decided | Nothing follows from the application itself — it gives no right to enter or remain in Australia | Nothing follows from the application; once granted, the visa allows a stay of at least 9 and not more than 15 months from grant (clause 300.511) |
The two-stage structure is the same on the onshore and offshore tracks. You lodge one combined application, the temporary visa is decided first, and the permanent visa is decided later — at least two years after the application was made, unless an exemption applies (clauses 801.221 and 100.221). The prospective marriage visa is different: it is not a stage of a partner visa at all. It is a separate temporary visa that puts you in Australia so you can marry and then start the onshore process.
Decision point 1: where is the applicant right now?
This is the first question because it is the only one you cannot argue your way around. Schedule 1 item 1214C requires an applicant for the Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa — the class that contains the subclass 820 — to be in Australia and not in immigration clearance. Schedule 1 item 1220A requires an applicant for the Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, which contains the subclass 309, to be outside Australia. Item 1215 says the same for the Prospective Marriage (Temporary) (Class TO) visa.
An application lodged from the wrong side of the border is not a weaker application. It is not a valid application. For the detail of what "in Australia" means at each point, see being in Australia when you apply.
Key facts
location is tested at lodgement, not at grant. All three visas allow the applicant to be in or outside Australia when the decision is made. That asymmetry is why so much turns on the single day you press submit.
Decision point 2: married, de facto, or neither yet?
If you are married to your sponsor, or you are in a de facto relationship with them, the 820 and the 309 are both open to you on relationship grounds — the location question decides which. If you are engaged but not yet married and cannot show a de facto relationship, the subclass 300 exists for that gap.
The married and de facto tests are set out in sections 5F and 5CB of the Migration Act 1958, and they differ in one practical respect. Regulation 2.03A of the Migration Regulations requires a person who claims to be in a de facto relationship, and who applies for a Class UF or Class UK visa, to have been in that relationship for at least the 12 months ending immediately before the date of the application — unless the relationship is a registered relationship, or the applicant can establish compelling and compassionate circumstances. Married applicants face no equivalent waiting period.
That is the whole of the legal difference. The four matters the Minister must consider — the financial aspects of the relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects, and the nature of the couple's commitment to each other — are prescribed in identical terms for married couples (regulation 1.15A) and de facto couples (regulation 1.09A). Married or de facto works through what that means if you could go either way, and legal definitions of spouse and de facto sets out the statutory wording.
Decision point 3: does your current visa block an onshore application?
Two rules close the onshore door for people who would otherwise be well placed to use it.
Condition 8503. Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations says the holder of a visa subject to condition 8503 will not, after entering Australia, be entitled to be granted a substantive visa other than a protection visa while they remain in Australia. The Department of Home Affairs says a waiver must be approved before you can apply for the partner visa — not alongside it, and not afterwards. See condition 8503 no further stay.
No substantive visa. If you do not hold a substantive visa when you lodge the 820, clause 820.211(2)(d) requires you to satisfy Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 unless the Minister is satisfied there are compelling reasons not to apply them. The Department also requires the sponsorship form, evidence of the sponsor's status and at least two statutory declarations made within the last six weeks to be included at lodgement, and warns that an application without them may be deemed invalid.
Neither rule touches an offshore application. For someone facing either of them, the offshore 309 can be the realistic route even where the couple lives in Australia — at the cost of the applicant having to depart. 820 vs 309 sets out what that trade actually costs.
Decision point 4: can you afford to be apart?
This is the question that decides it for most couples, and it comes down to what each track gives you while the application sits in the queue.
An onshore applicant who held a substantive visa when they lodged is normally granted a Bridging visa A, which keeps them lawfully in Australia until the application is decided. The bridging visa carries across the work-related conditions that applied to the visa held at lodgement — so a person who applied while holding a visa subject to condition 8101 (no work) starts on a bridging visa with the same restriction. A further bridging visa can be granted where the Minister is satisfied there is a compelling need to work. See Bridging visa A.
An offshore applicant gets none of that. Lodging a 309 creates no entitlement to enter or remain in Australia. The applicant stays where they are, or visits on whatever separate visa they can obtain, and the couple is apart for however long the decision takes.
The prospective marriage visa sits between the two. It is granted offshore, and once granted it lets the holder enter Australia and stay for a period the Minister specifies — at least 9 months and not more than 15 months from grant. The holder must marry the sponsoring partner within that period (condition 8519) and must not marry or enter a de facto relationship before entering Australia (condition 8515). Then they apply onshore for the 820 and 801. See 820 vs the prospective marriage visa.
What this comparison does not cover
Partner visas are not the only route for a couple. A skilled visa may suit a couple where one person has an occupation in demand, and the family member of a New Zealand citizen may have a separate option. Those sit on their own pages, linked above.
Costs also differ, and every figure moves. As at 23 September 2026 the Department showed the onshore partner visa from A$11,710 for most applicants, and from A$1,955 for holders of a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300). Schedule 1 shows the same A$11,710 base charge for the offshore Partner (Migrant) (Class BC) application and for the prospective marriage application. Check your own figure with the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator before you commit to anything.
Where professional advice changes the odds
Choosing the wrong pathway is the most expensive mistake available on this topic, because the application charge is not refunded if an application is refused, and because a refusal in Australia can trigger the section 48 bar on further onshore applications. An application prepared by a migration lawyer is more likely to succeed, and the value here is in the choice itself: reading your current visa conditions correctly, working out whether a de facto relationship can be established as at a particular date, and deciding whether a departure to lodge offshore is worth what it costs. 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
Start with your own visa. Check its conditions and expiry in VEVO, because condition 8503 and the loss of a substantive visa are the two facts that most often remove the onshore option. Then read the comparison that matches your situation, using the cards above. If the onshore route is open to you, subclass 820 partner visa is the full guide, and working with a migration lawyer explains how to check a lawyer before you pay them.
Common questions
What is the difference between the 820, the 309 and the 300 partner visas?
All three are for the partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and the difference is where you must be and what relationship you have. The subclass 820 is lodged in Australia and leads to the permanent subclass 801. The subclass 309 is lodged outside Australia and leads to the permanent subclass 100. The subclass 300 prospective marriage visa is for couples who intend to marry, is lodged outside Australia, and lets the holder come to Australia, marry the sponsor and then apply for the 820 and 801.
Can I choose between the onshore 820 and the offshore 309?
Only if you can be in the right place on the day you lodge. Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994 requires an applicant for the Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, which contains the subclass 820, to be in Australia and not in immigration clearance. It requires an applicant for the Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, which contains the subclass 309, to be outside Australia. There is no version of either application that can be made from the wrong side of the border.
Does it matter whether we are married or de facto?
It matters for one rule. Regulation 2.03A of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires a person who claims to be in a de facto relationship to have been in that relationship for at least the 12 months ending immediately before the application, unless the relationship is registered or the applicant can establish compelling and compassionate circumstances. Married applicants are not subject to that rule. Everything else the Department assesses is the same for both.
What if my visa has a no further stay condition?
Then you cannot lodge an onshore partner visa application until a waiver has been approved. Condition 8503 in Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994 says the holder will not, after entering Australia, be entitled to be granted a substantive visa other than a protection visa while the holder remains in Australia. The Department of Home Affairs says a waiver must be approved before you can apply, and the waiver is requested through its own online form or Form 1447.
Which partner visa is quicker?
No figure should be relied on for that. The Department publishes a visa processing time guide tool that shows how long recently decided applications took, and says it is a guide only and not specific to any individual application. Applications are also processed according to Ministerial Direction 117. The practical difference between onshore and offshore is not speed but what you can do while you wait, because an onshore applicant normally holds a bridging visa and an offshore applicant has no right to be in Australia at all.