If you are in Australia with your spouse or de facto partner and want to stay on a pathway to permanent residence, the onshore Partner visa is the one to look at. This guide sets out the 820 visa requirements 2026 applicants have to meet: who can apply, who can sponsor, what the Department of Home Affairs now charges, how long it is taking, and the visitor visa change announced in September 2026 that could close the "come as a visitor, apply onshore" route for future arrivals.

Information in this article is current to 28 October 2026. Fees are those that took effect on 1 July 2026, and processing times are the most recent figures published by Home Affairs.

Key facts: subclass 820 at a glance

• What it is: the temporary stage (820) of a two-stage onshore Partner visa. The permanent stage is the subclass 801, assessed under the same application.
• Where you must be: in Australia when you apply, and generally in Australia when the 820 is granted.
• Relationship: married to, or in a de facto relationship with, an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
• De facto rule: generally 12 months of living together before you apply, unless your relationship is registered in an Australian state or territory.
• Government fee from 1 July 2026: AUD $11,710 for the main applicant, covering both the 820 and 801 stages.
• Processing (820): 50% of applications decided within 22 months, 90% within 30 months.
• Permanent stage (801): you become eligible for assessment two years after lodging. No second application fee.
• Watch out: Home Affairs has announced a No Further Stay condition for all visitor visas, to be rolled out progressively. Start date not yet published.

What the 820 and 801 visas are

The Partner visa (apply in Australia) is lodged once, in ImmiAccount, as a combined 820/801 application. Home Affairs first decides the temporary 820. If it is granted, you live in Australia on that visa until the permanent 801 is decided, which usually happens after the two-year eligibility point.

While your application is being processed, you are usually granted a bridging visa so you stay lawful once your current visa expires. Once the 820 is granted you can work and study in Australia, and you can generally enrol in Medicare after lodging. Check your exact bridging visa conditions in VEVO before you travel or change jobs, because conditions can differ from person to person.

There is one shortcut to permanent residence. If, when you lodge, you have been in the relationship for at least three years, or at least two years and you have a dependent child of the relationship, Home Affairs can consider the 801 at the same time as the 820. Applicants who qualify should make sure their evidence clearly proves the relationship's start date.

820 visa requirements 2026: the applicant

These are the core criteria for the person applying. Each one is assessed at lodgement, and some again at the time of decision.

1. Be in Australia

You must be physically in Australia when you lodge. If you are outside Australia, the offshore equivalent is the subclass 309/100. Leaving Australia on a Bridging visa A can end that bridging visa, so speak to an adviser before you book flights.

2. Hold an eligible visa, or meet Schedule 3

If you hold a substantive visa (any visa other than a bridging visa) when you apply, the extra "Schedule 3" criteria normally do not apply. If you are unlawful, or hold only a bridging visa that followed an expired visa, Schedule 3 criteria apply and you will generally need to show compelling reasons why they should be waived. These are case-specific and are one of the most common places onshore applications go wrong.

3. Check whether your current visa has a "No Further Stay" condition

Some visas carry condition 8503, 8534 or 8535, which stop you applying for most other visas while you are in Australia. If your visa has one of these, you need a No Further Stay waiver before you can lodge an 820. Waivers are granted only in limited circumstances, so this is a threshold issue, not a formality.

4. A genuine, continuing relationship

You must be married to, or in a de facto relationship with, your sponsor, with a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others. If married, your marriage must be valid under Australian law. If de facto, you generally need to have lived together for at least 12 months immediately before you apply. Registering the relationship with an Australian state or territory registry removes that 12-month requirement. Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not offer relationship registration.

Home Affairs looks at four areas of the relationship:

• Financial: joint accounts, shared bills, joint assets or debts, money sent between you.
• Household: shared address, lease or mortgage, how you divide household responsibilities.
• Social: whether friends and family know you as a couple, joint invitations and travel, Form 888 statutory declarations from Australian citizens or PRs who know you.
• Commitment: how long you have been together, your knowledge of each other's lives, contact while apart, and your plans.

Balanced evidence across all four areas is far stronger than a large volume in one. For a full list of documents, see our free 2026 partner visa checklist.

5. Health, character and the Australian Values Statement

You and any family members in the application must meet health and character requirements. Expect to complete health examinations through Bupa Medical Visa Services when requested, and provide police certificates from each country where you lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. You also need to sign the Australian Values Statement and have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government.

Sponsor requirements for the 820 visa

The sponsor is just as important as the applicant. Your sponsor must be your spouse or de facto partner and be:

• an Australian citizen,
• an Australian permanent resident, or
• an eligible New Zealand citizen (generally a protected Special Category visa holder, which in most cases means being in Australia on 26 February 2001 or meeting the related Centrelink criteria).

There is no minimum income test for the sponsor. However, Regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994 limits sponsorship:

• A person can generally be approved as a partner sponsor no more than twice in their lifetime.
• If the sponsor has sponsored a previous partner, five years must have passed since that earlier application was lodged.
• If the sponsor got their own permanent visa as someone's partner, five years must have passed since they lodged that application.
• These limits can be waived only where there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor. The threshold is high and is assessed case by case.

Sponsors also lodge their own sponsorship form in ImmiAccount and may need to provide police certificates, particularly where children under 18 are included in the application. A sponsor with serious convictions, especially offences involving children, may not be approved.

820 visa cost in 2026

Fees rose significantly on 1 July 2026. The table below shows the base application charge and additional applicant charges set by the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026, which amended Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations. You can confirm your exact total with the official Home Affairs visa pricing table.

Applicant	Charge from 1 July 2026 (AUD)
Main applicant (820 and 801 combined)	$11,710
Additional applicant aged 18 or over	$5,860
Additional applicant under 18	$2,935
Main applicant who holds a Prospective Marriage (300) visa and married the sponsor	$1,955

The previous main applicant charge was $9,365, so couples who planned their budget in early 2026 should recheck their figures. The charge is generally not refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn. Card payment surcharges, health exams, police certificates, translations and professional fees are extra. For a full breakdown with family totals, read our partner visa cost guide for 2026.

820 and 801 processing times

Stage	50% decided within	90% decided within
Subclass 820 (temporary)	22 months	30 months
Subclass 801 (permanent, counted from eligibility)	8 months	19 months

These figures come from the Home Affairs global visa processing times data and reflect past decisions, not a guarantee. Under Ministerial Direction 117, Partner visa applications are processed ahead of most other family visas, and applications lodged while the applicant is in Australia receive the highest priority within the family program (see family visa processing priorities). In practice, applications that are complete and "decision-ready" at lodgement move faster than ones that need follow-up requests.

The visitor visa "No Further Stay" change: what it means for onshore partner applicants

On 17 September 2026, Home Affairs announced it will introduce a No Further Stay condition on all visitor visas, "to ensure they are only used by genuine visitors and not as a pathway to extending a stay in Australia". The Department says its migration changes will be "progressively rolled out over the next 12 months" (Home Affairs migration policy changes).

What we know as at 28 October 2026:

• No commencement date has been published, and the regulation change has not yet been made.
• The Minister said the change is about the issuing of future visas, and will not affect people who are already in Australia.
• Once it applies, a person who arrives on a visitor visa carrying the condition will generally not be able to lodge an 820 onshore without first getting a waiver. The practical alternative will be applying offshore for a 309/100.

If you are currently in Australia on a visitor visa without condition 8503 and you already meet the 820 requirements, it is worth getting advice now rather than waiting. If you are planning to visit your partner in Australia, plan on the assumption that the onshore route may not be available to you on your next visitor visa. Our summary of Australia's September 2026 migration rule changes covers the wider package.

How to apply for the 820 visa: step by step

1. Confirm eligibility first. Check your current visa conditions in VEVO for 8503, 8534 or 8535, confirm you hold a substantive visa, and confirm your sponsor is not caught by the sponsorship limits.
2. Register your relationship if needed. If you are de facto and have lived together for less than 12 months, consider registering with your state or territory registry. Allow for processing time at the registry.
3. Collect identity and relationship evidence. Passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate or relationship registration, evidence under all four relationship areas, and two Form 888 statutory declarations.
4. Arrange police certificates. Get them from every country you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since age 16.
5. Lodge in ImmiAccount and pay the charge. The application is not valid until the charge is paid. Paper applications are not accepted.
6. Send the sponsor link. Your sponsor completes the sponsorship in ImmiAccount using your application details.
7. Do health exams when asked. Use the HAP ID issued for your application.
8. Respond to requests quickly. Answer any request for information within the deadline given, and tell Home Affairs about any change of address, passport or relationship status.
9. Prepare for the 801 stage. About two years after lodging, submit updated evidence through ImmiAccount using "Stage 2 - Permanent Partner Visa Assessment (100, 801)".

Common mistakes that delay or sink 820 applications

• Not checking visa conditions. Lodging while subject to a No Further Stay condition makes the application invalid, and the charge may be lost.
• Applying the day you hit 12 months. Couples who lodge at the bare minimum often have thin evidence in the financial and household areas.
• Inconsistent stories. Dates of meeting, moving in and engagement must match across both partners' statements, forms and supporting documents.
• Ignoring the sponsor's history. A previous partner sponsorship, or the sponsor's own partner visa within the last five years, can block the application.
• Letting your substantive visa expire first. Lodging after your visa expires brings in Schedule 3 criteria that are hard to meet.
• Travelling on a Bridging visa A. Leaving without a Bridging visa B can leave you outside Australia without a visa to return on.
• Uncertified or untranslated documents. Non-English documents need accredited English translations.

Tips for Indian and Malaysian applicants

Many of our onshore partner clients are Indian or Malaysian nationals already in Australia on a student, graduate, working or visitor visa. A few points come up again and again:

• Marriage evidence from India: a religious or community ceremony alone can leave questions. A marriage registration certificate from the relevant state authority is far stronger evidence that the marriage is valid. Wedding photos, invitations and evidence of both families' involvement still help with the social and commitment areas.
• Indian police certificates: if you lived in India for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since age 16, you will need a Police Clearance Certificate from Indian authorities. Start early, because service disruptions in Australia have caused delays this year. EazyViza offers PCC assistance if you are stuck.
• Malaysian applicants: Malaysians often visit Australia on an ETA (subclass 601). Under the announced change, future visitor visas including ETAs are expected to carry a No Further Stay condition. If you plan to live with your partner and apply onshore, get advice before your next trip.
• Student visa holders: moving from a student visa to an 820 is common, but you must keep complying with your student visa conditions until your bridging visa is in effect.
• Translations: documents in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malay or other languages need English translations by an accredited translator.

How EazyViza can help

EazyViza is backed by Collins Quarters, a migration and commercial law firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Chennai and Kuala Lumpur. Our team prepares onshore Partner visa applications every week and handles the parts that cause refusals: visa condition checks, Schedule 3 issues, sponsorship limits and evidence gaps.

• Full application support through our onshore Partner visa (820/801) service.
• A relationship evidence review if you are preparing the application yourself.
• A quick start with our free eligibility checker.

If you are on a visitor visa now, or unsure whether a No Further Stay condition affects you, send us an enquiry and we will tell you where you stand.

Disclaimer

This article is general information only and is not legal or migration advice. Visa requirements, fees and processing times change, sometimes with little notice. Information is current to 28 October 2026. Check the Home Affairs Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801) page or speak to a registered migration agent or lawyer about your circumstances before you apply.