Subclass 820 lives in two schedules of the Migration Regulations 1994: Schedule 1 item 1214C governs whether an application is valid at all, and Part 820 of Schedule 2 governs whether the visa is granted. The permanent stage has its own pair, item 1124B and Part 801. This page walks through both in the order the clauses appear, from text read on the Federal Register of Legislation on 23 September 2026.
Schedule 1 item 1214C — making a valid application
Item 1214C is headed Partner (Temporary) (Class UK), and subitem (4) lists its only subclass: 820 (Partner).
- Subitem (1) Form — the approved form specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument made under subregulation 2.07(5), not named in the Regulations.
- Subitem (2) Visa application charge — "Nil". The charge sits on the permanent application at item 1124B, because the two are made together. As at 23 September 2026 the base charge in item 1124B(2)(a)(xvii) is A$11,710, with lower amounts for several defined groups; check the current figure with the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator.
- Subitem (3) Other — paragraph (a) requires the application to be made "at the same time and place as an application for a Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa", which is why the 820 and the 801 are never applied for separately; paragraph (c) requires that the "[a]pplicant must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance" — see being in Australia when you apply. Paragraphs (g) and (h) impose holding periods of two or three years on holders and former holders of specified regional skilled visas.
Important
Schedule 1 is about validity, not merit. If an item is not met there is no valid application, so there is nothing to refuse and no decision to have reviewed. The Department warns that an application lodged without the documents it requires from an applicant with no substantive visa "may be deemed invalid".
Part 820, Division 820.21 — criteria at time of application
Clause 820.211(1) requires that the applicant "is not the holder of a Subclass 771 (Transit) visa" and "meets the requirements of subclause (2), (5), (6), (7), (8) or (9)". Those subclauses are alternative routes into the subclass.
Subclause 820.211(2) is the ordinary route. The applicant must be the spouse or de facto partner of a person who is an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen and who is not prohibited by subclause (2B) from being a sponsoring partner, and must be sponsored by that person (or, where the spouse has not turned 18, by a parent or guardian who has). Paragraph (d) then provides:
in the case of an applicant who is not the holder of a substantive visa—either: (i) the applicant: (A) entered Australia as the holder of a Subclass 995 (Diplomatic) visa or as a special purpose visa holder who at the time of entry met the requirements of subclause (2A); and (B) satisfies Schedule 3 criterion 3002; or (ii) the applicant satisfies Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004, unless the Minister is satisfied that there are compelling reasons for not applying those criteria.
Sub-subparagraph (2)(d)(ii) is the whole of the Schedule 3 question for most applicants, and the words "unless the Minister is satisfied that there are compelling reasons for not applying those criteria" are where the argument is made. The criteria are demanding: 3001 requires the application to be validly made within 28 days after the relevant day, and 3004 requires the Minister to be satisfied, among other things, that the applicant is not the holder of a substantive visa "because of factors beyond the applicant's control". See Schedule 3 criteria.
Subclauses (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9) cover people who hold or held a Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa, including where the sponsoring partner has died or the relationship has ceased in circumstances involving family violence or a child.
Part 820, Division 820.22 — criteria at time of decision
Clause 820.221(1) requires an applicant referred to in a subclause of 820.211 either to "continue[] to meet the requirements of the applicable subclause" or to meet subclause (2) or (3). Subclause (2) covers the death of the sponsoring partner; subclause (3) covers a relationship that has ceased where there is family violence committed by that partner, or shared custody, access or a maintenance obligation for a child — the family violence provisions at the temporary stage.
Clause 820.221(4) is the sponsorship criterion. Where paragraph 820.211(2)(c), (5)(f) or (6)(c) requires the applicant to be sponsored:
(a) the sponsorship has been approved by the Minister and is still in force; and (b) the sponsor has consented to the disclosure by the Department, to each applicant included in the sponsorship, of any conviction of the sponsor for a relevant offence (within the meaning of subregulation 1.20KC(2)).
A note records that regulations 1.20J, 1.20KA, 1.20KB and 1.20KC limit the Minister's discretion to approve sponsorships, and clause 820.221A separately requires, for most applicants, that "the sponsorship of the applicant under clause 820.211 has been approved by the Minister". Sponsorship approved and still in force at decision is a criterion in its own right — see who can sponsor an 820 visa.
Clause 820.223 applies to the applicant, subject to subclause (2), "public interest criteria 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007 and 4009", and "if the applicant had turned 18 at the time of application—satisfies public interest criterion 4019". PIC 4001 is the character requirement, PIC 4007 the health requirement, carrying the waiver power in its own subclause (2), and PIC 4019 the values statement.
Clause 820.224 applies criteria to each member of the family unit, clause 820.225 applies PIC 4015 and 4016 to additional applicants under 18, and clause 820.226 requires PIC 4020 and 4021, the bogus-document and identity criteria. Division 820.3 repeats the structure for family members on the secondary criteria, with clause 820.312 imposing the same Schedule 3 requirement.
Divisions 820.4, 820.5 and 820.6
Clause 820.411, the circumstance applicable to grant, provides: "The applicant may be in or outside Australia when the visa is granted, but not in immigration clearance." That is why you must be onshore to apply but may be anywhere when the temporary visa is decided.
Clause 820.511 provides that the 820 is a "[t]emporary visa permitting the holder to travel to and enter Australia until: (a) the holder is notified that his or her application for a Subclass 801 (Partner) visa has been decided; or (b) that application is withdrawn." Division 820.6 reads "Conditions: Nil" — no mandatory conditions attach to the visa, which is why it carries full work and travel rights.
Part 801 in brief
Part 801 is built the same way, with one structural difference: division 801.21 is headed "[No criteria to be satisfied at time of application.]" — everything is tested at decision.
Clause 801.221(1) requires the applicant to meet the requirements of subclause (2), (2A), (3), (4), (5), (6), (6AA), (6AB) or (8). Subclause (2) is the ordinary route: the applicant holds a Subclass 820 visa, continues to be sponsored by the sponsoring partner, is the spouse or de facto partner of that person, and "subject to subclauses (6A) and (7), at least 2 years have passed since the application was made". Subclause (6A) removes the two-year wait for an applicant who was in a long-term partner relationship at the time of application — the long-term relationship exemption. Subclause (6) is the family violence and child route, and subclause (8) covers an applicant whose 820 ceased when the 801 was refused and whose case the Tribunal has remitted or determined.
Clauses 801.223 to 801.226 apply the public interest criteria in the same pattern as their 820 equivalents. Clause 801.511 grants a "[p]ermanent visa permitting the holder to travel to and enter Australia for 5 years from date of grant" — the travel facility, not the residence, expires after five years. See subclass 801 permanent visa.
Matching your circumstances to the right subclause is what goes wrong without help. An application prepared by a migration lawyer is more likely to succeed, because the criterion in dispute is usually a single subclause and rarely the one an applicant expects. No one can promise an outcome.
What to do next
For the statutory definitions these clauses rely on, read the legal definitions of spouse and de facto. If you did not hold a substantive visa when you applied, clause 820.211(2)(d)(ii) is the clause to work through. For how criteria, directions and policy fit together, see the law behind the partner visa.
Common questions
Where is the subclass 820 in the Migration Regulations?
In two places. Item 1214C of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994 sets the requirements for making a valid application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, of which subclass 820 is the only subclass. Part 820 of Schedule 2 sets the criteria for grant. The permanent stage sits in item 1124B of Schedule 1 and Part 801 of Schedule 2.
What does clause 820.211 require?
Clause 820.211(1) requires the applicant not to hold a Subclass 771 Transit visa and to meet the requirements of one of subclauses (2), (5), (6), (7), (8) or (9). Subclause (2) is the ordinary route: the applicant is the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, is sponsored by that person, and, if not the holder of a substantive visa, meets the Schedule 3 requirement in paragraph (2)(d).
Which public interest criteria apply to an 820 applicant?
Clause 820.223 requires the applicant to satisfy public interest criteria 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007 and 4009, and criterion 4019 if the applicant had turned 18 at the time of application. Clause 820.226 requires public interest criteria 4020 and 4021. Clause 820.224 applies criteria to members of the family unit, whether or not they are applicants.
Does the 820 visa have conditions attached?
Division 820.6 of Schedule 2 states "Conditions: Nil". The subclass 820 is granted without mandatory conditions, which is why it carries full work rights and unrestricted travel. Conditions attached to an earlier visa, such as condition 8503, affect whether you can apply, not what the 820 permits.
When does the subclass 820 visa end?
Clause 820.511 provides that it is a temporary visa permitting the holder to travel to and enter Australia until the holder is notified that the application for a Subclass 801 visa has been decided, or that application is withdrawn.
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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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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Partner Visa Statistics and Program Planning Levels
Where partner visa statistics and Migration Program planning levels are published, what lodged, granted and on hand mean, and why a backlog is not a processing time.
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