Partner Visa Australia

Who can sponsor you

Your partner must be your sponsor, and must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident who is usually resident in Australia, or an eligible New Zealand citizen. Sponsors must generally be 18 or over. There is no requirement for the sponsor to have lived in Australia for a set time, so a new permanent resident can sponsor.

• a person can generally be approved as a partner sponsor only twice, and a second sponsorship generally needs 5 years to have passed since the first sponsored application, see limitation on partner visa sponsorships;
• a sponsor who was sponsored as a partner themselves generally cannot sponsor a new partner within 5 years of their own application;
• where children under 18 are included, the sponsor must provide police checks, and some convictions mean the sponsorship must be refused, see sponsors with a criminal record;
• the sponsor must agree to the Department telling the applicant about convictions for relevant offences.

Read more in who can sponsor a partner visa.

Married or de facto: the key differences

The 12 month rule only applies to de facto couples. There is no minimum length for a marriage, but a de facto relationship must generally have existed for 12 months before you apply, unless you have registered it with a state or territory relationship register, there are compelling and compassionate circumstances such as a child of the relationship, or a humanitarian exception applies. Registering, or marrying, after you lodge but before the decision can also remove the rule. See married or de facto and relationship registers.

You do not always need to have lived together. A de facto application cannot be refused only because you have never lived together, but your living arrangements are still part of the assessment. See partner visas if you have never lived together.

Including children

You can include your dependent children, and your partner’s children, in the application. Children under 18 must meet custody and consent requirements, and children aged 18 or over must be dependent on you. Every member of your family unit, including children who are not migrating, generally must meet health and character requirements. See adding children to a partner visa.

Applying in Australia without a substantive visa

If you are in Australia on a bridging visa or have no visa, extra rules can apply:

• Schedule 3: if you do not hold a substantive visa when you apply, Schedule 3 criteria usually apply. They can be waived for compelling reasons, but a genuine relationship alone is generally not enough. See Schedule 3 and section 48;
• Section 48: if a visa was refused or cancelled since you last entered Australia, you can still apply for a partner visa, but the sponsorship form and two statutory declarations must be lodged with the application;
• Condition 8503: if your current visa has condition 8503, you generally cannot apply onshore unless it is waived, and a new relationship is usually not enough for a waiver. See condition 8503 and partner visas.

Other requirements

• Health: you and your family members must have health examinations with a panel clinic;
• Character: police certificates are generally needed for each country where you have spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. See character requirements for partner visas;
• Debts: any debts to the Australian Government must be paid or arranged before grant;
• No English test or age limit: partner visas have no English test, no upper age limit and no points test.

The permanent stage

You do not lodge a new application for the permanent 801 or 100. It is usually assessed once 2 years have passed since you lodged the combined application, and your relationship is assessed again at that point. If you were in a long term partner relationship when you applied, meaning together for 3 years, or 2 years with a dependent child of both of you, both stages may be granted together. See from 820 to 801 and together 3 years or 2 with a child.