The partner visa application charge is an amount written into Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and it changes only when those Regulations are amended. That is why a fee history is recoverable: every past amount is preserved in an earlier compilation of the Regulations, dated and public. This page explains the mechanism, gives the current figures, and shows how to look up the amount that applied on any date you need.
What sets the partner visa fee?
Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 lists, for each class of visa, the approved form, the visa application charge and the other requirements for a valid application. The item for the onshore partner pathway is item 1124B, Partner (Residence) (Class BS) — the class that contains subclass 801. Subitem (2) sets the charge: a first instalment payable at the time the application is made, made up of a base application charge for the main applicant and an additional applicant charge for each person whose application is combined with it, and a second instalment, payable before grant, which for this item is nil.
Item 1124B does not set one amount. It sets a series of base application charges for different categories of applicant, with a catch-all for any other applicant. That is why the Department publishes "from" amounts rather than a single price: the item itself contains several, including a lower charge for an applicant holding a valid passport issued by a Pacific-regional country.
Regulation 2.12C explains those components and confirms that the base application charge and the additional applicant charge are alternatives — nobody pays both for the one application. Above all of it sits the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997, which imposes the charge and sets a visa application charge limit, a ceiling the amounts in the Regulations cannot exceed.
Why is there no separate charge for the 820?
Because the 820 application carries no charge of its own. Schedule 1 item 1214C, Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) — the class containing subclass 820 — sets the visa application charge at nil, and requires the application to be made at the same time and place as an application for a Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa.
So the two applications are lodged together, the money sits on the permanent item, and one payment covers both stages. The Department says the same thing in plainer words on its subclass 801 page: you paid for this visa when you made your applications for the temporary and permanent Partner visas. See 820 visa cost and additional applicant charges.
What is the charge now?
As shown by the Department of Home Affairs on 23 September 2026:
- From A$11,710 for most applicants.
- From A$1,955 for holders of a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300).
- Concessions apply in limited circumstances, and from 1 July 2026 a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application.
Both are "from" figures because children and other dependants add additional applicant charges. The Department directs people to its Visa Pricing Estimator for the figure that applies to their own family, and that is the number to budget from. The change at the start of the current program year is covered on the July 2026 fee change.
Important
Charges move. Check the Department's current visa pricing page immediately before you lodge, not weeks earlier. The amount that applies is the one in force on the day your valid application is made, because item 1124B makes the first instalment payable at that time.
When do partner visa fees change?
They change when an amending regulation changes them. Amendments to visa application charges are made as separate instruments — the Migration Amendment (Visa Application Charges) Regulations of a given year, for example — and those amendments have commonly commenced at the start of the program year on 1 July. The compilation of the Migration Regulations 1994 that shows the figures above is the one in force from 1 July 2026. There is no rule that a charge must rise, or that it can change only once a year, so treat 1 July as the date to watch rather than a guarantee.
How to find a historical partner visa fee
Every past amount is on the Federal Register of Legislation, in the compilation of the Migration Regulations 1994 that was in force on the date you care about. The method:
- Open the Migration Regulations 1994 on the Federal Register of Legislation.
- Go to the list of versions or compilations for that title. Each compilation shows the period it was in force — a start date and an end date.
- Choose the compilation whose period covers your date.
- Open that compilation's text. The Regulations are long and are published in volumes; Schedule 1 is in the first volume.
- Find item 1124B, Partner (Residence) (Class BS), and read subitem (2). Match the applicant's circumstances to the right subparagraph, then read the base application charge from the table.
The amending instruments are also listed against the title, each with an explanatory statement describing what it changed — the fastest way to see when a change happened rather than what the amount was.
Why the fee history matters
The charge is not refunded: the Department says it will not refund the application fee if it refuses the application, so the money is spent whichever way the decision goes, a point made in full on paying and refunding the charge. And because the amount is fixed at lodgement, anyone putting off the decision to lodge is also deciding which year's charge they pay.
An application prepared by an immigration lawyer is more likely to succeed, and on the money side the reason is specific: the charge buys one consideration of one application, and a refusal means paying again, a fresh charge or a review fee, on top of what has already gone. Someone who prepares these applications routinely will also tell you whether a reduced charge category applies to you before you pay. No one can promise an outcome.
What to do next
Work out what your own application will cost, including the parts not paid to the Department, on 820 visa cost and the other costs of applying. If you hold a subclass 300 visa, see moving from a subclass 300 visa. For the wider statutory picture, start at the law behind the partner visa, or check a term in the partner visa glossary.
Common questions
How much has the partner visa fee gone up over the years?
This page does not list past amounts, because historical charges cannot be quoted reliably from memory and a wrong figure is worse than none. The exact amount that applied on any past date is recoverable from the Federal Register of Legislation by opening the compilation of the Migration Regulations 1994 that was in force on that date and reading Schedule 1, item 1124B. That is the authoritative record and it takes a few minutes to check.
What is the partner visa charge now?
As shown by the Department of Home Affairs on 23 September 2026, the charge is from A$11,710 for most applicants and from A$1,955 for holders of a Prospective Marriage visa subclass 300, with concessions in limited circumstances. From 1 July 2026 a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. Both figures are quoted as from amounts, so use the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator for your own case.
When do partner visa fees change?
Visa application charges are amounts written into Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994, so they change when an amending regulation changes them. Those amendments have commonly commenced at the start of the program year on 1 July. The charge that applies to you is the one in force on the day your valid application is made, because the first instalment is payable at the time the application is made.
Do I pay the charge twice, once for the 820 and once for the 801?
No. Schedule 1 item 1214C, which covers the temporary Partner Class UK application that produces the subclass 820, sets the visa application charge at nil, and requires that application to be made at the same time and place as the Partner Residence Class BS application that produces the subclass 801. The charge sits on the Class BS item, and one payment covers both stages.
Is the charge refunded if the visa is refused?
No. The Department of Home Affairs says it will not refund the application fee if it refuses your application. The charge is for having the application considered, not for a successful outcome, and that is the reason a thin application is expensive as well as risky.
Sources
Keep reading
Spouse and De Facto Partner: The Legal Definitions
The exact wording of section 5F and section 5CB of the Migration Act 1958, regulations 1.15A and 1.09A and their four matters, and regulation 2.03A on the 12-month rule.
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The Migration Regulations for Subclass 820, Explained
A clause-by-clause guide to subclass 820 in the Migration Regulations 1994 — Schedule 1 item 1214C, Part 820 of Schedule 2, and Part 801 in brief.
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How Home Affairs Policy (PAM3) Guides Partner Visa Decisions
What the Procedures Advice Manual is, why it is not law, how a delegate must still apply the Migration Act and Regulations, and how the Tribunal treats departmental policy.
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