Part 1: Are you Eligible?

If you’re in a committed relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident and you're thinking about staying together long-term in Australia, the subclass 820/801 partner visa may be the right pathway. But before you start scanning through checklists or uploading evidence, it’s worth understanding what "eligible" actually means in this context—because it’s not just about love or even living together. It’s about legal definitions, documentary proof, and a little bit of strategy.

At its core, the subclass 820/801 visa is for people who are in a genuine and ongoing relationship with an Australian partner and who are applying from within Australia. The 820 visa is temporary and serves as a stepping stone toward the permanent 801 visa. Both are applied for at the same time—one application, two stages. But the first hurdle is whether you can validly apply at all.

To be eligible, you must either be legally married to your partner, or you must be in a de facto relationship. Now, a de facto relationship under migration law isn’t just what you call each other. It’s defined by living together in a relationship akin to marriage, for at least 12 months immediately before applying. That timeframe is important, and many people trip over it. You can't just be “together” for a year—you need to be living together, and have the evidence to show it.

There’s one exception to the 12-month cohabitation rule, and that’s if your relationship is registered with a state or territory that has a recognised relationship register. Some states—like Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and the ACT—offer this. But Western Australia doesn’t. So, if you’re in Perth, and you haven’t lived together for 12 months, that option is off the table. You’ll need to rely on compelling evidence of shared life and commitments, and in some cases, wait until you reach the 12-month mark.

The next layer of eligibility has less to do with your relationship and more to do with your visa status. You must be in Australia on a visa that allows you to apply for another one. Some people are surprised to learn that their current visa may have a condition that actually prevents further applications—commonly known as condition 8503 (No Further Stay). If this condition is attached to your current visa, you’ll need to apply for a waiver before you can lodge. Likewise, if you’ve ever had a visa refused or cancelled while in Australia, section 48 of the Migration Act might prevent you from applying again unless certain exceptions apply.

This is where things can quietly derail an otherwise valid relationship. People assume that being in love is enough, or that the department will “understand.” But the visa system doesn’t operate on goodwill—it operates on legislation, forms, and timing. It’s possible to have a rock-solid relationship and still lodge an invalid application if you don’t pay attention to the technical stuff.

Another point of confusion is unlawful status. If your visa has expired and you’ve become unlawful—even by a day—you’re still able to apply for a partner visa, but you must also satisfy additional Schedule 3 criteria. These were designed for people who stayed unlawfully for a period of time and now want to remain onshore with a partner. If you’re in this situation, it’s not impossible, but it’s definitely more complex. You’ll need to demonstrate compelling reasons why your application should be considered despite the breach.

Then there’s the sponsor. Your partner must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. They must also be willing and eligible to sponsor you—which means they haven’t already sponsored two previous partners for a visa and they’re not currently subject to a sponsorship bar. It’s rare, but yes, these things come up. If your partner has sponsored someone before, especially recently, it’s worth checking whether enough time has passed between applications or to see if an exemption applies.

Lastly, your relationship must be genuine, exclusive, and ongoing—and that isn’t just assessed at the start. It’s something the Department will continue to evaluate, right through to the permanent stage. They want to see that you’re not just together to get a visa, but that you’re building a life together. That means shared finances, shared responsibilities, future plans, and ideally, recognition from your friends and family.

The partner visa is generous in its pathway—it offers temporary residence, work and study rights, Medicare access, and eventually, permanent residency and citizenship. But it’s also one of the most scrutinised visas in the system. There’s no appeal to emotion here. The case officer won’t be swayed by romance alone. They’ll look at the paper trail. The structure of your lives. The consistency of your story.

And that’s where many people—smart, capable people—find themselves overwhelmed. Not because they’re doing anything wrong, but because they’re trying to navigate a legal system built in checklists and PDFs while managing the emotional complexity of building a life with someone they love.

If you’re in doubt about whether you meet the criteria, or if you’re in a grey area—maybe you haven’t lived together long enough, or you’re holding a Bridging Visa, or your partner has sponsored before—it's worth getting advice before jumping in. Not because you can’t do it yourself, but because the cost of getting it wrong can be high. Lodging an invalid application means losing your application fee, your time, and possibly your ability to stay onshore.

The good news? If you’ve made it this far—if you’re asking the right questions, reading the fine print, and being proactive about your future together—you’re already doing better than most.

Part 2: Lodging the Application

Once you’ve confirmed you’re eligible and pulled together your relationship evidence, the next step is lodging your application. This is the point where everything becomes real. You’re formally asking the Australian government to assess your relationship, your personal history, and your intentions to stay in the country long-term. And while it all happens online, don’t be fooled—this isn’t just a digital form. It’s a legal application, and the way you lodge it will shape the outcome.

The application is submitted through the Department’s ImmiAccount platform. It’s not hard to find, but it can be surprisingly easy to misunderstand. Most people go in expecting a clean, intuitive process. What they get instead is a detailed legal declaration filled with layered questions, uploading portals, and very little real guidance. It's up to you to know what should go where, how to frame your answers, and whether you’re even applying under the right circumstances.

You’re applying for the subclass 820, which is the temporary visa, but you’re also applying for the subclass 801 permanent visa at the same time. So everything you submit at this first stage—every bank statement, photo, lease, or email—isn’t just for now. It’s forming the backbone of the permanent residency application you’ll rely on later, sometimes years down the line. The Department won’t reintroduce you to the process in two years. They’ll go back to what you wrote and uploaded here and ask: is this relationship still what you said it was?

As you go through the application, you’ll need to answer detailed questions about your relationship—how it began, how it’s developed, whether you live together, how you share your finances and responsibilities, and how your friends and family perceive you. You’ll also be asked about your visa history, health, character, and any previous relationships. These aren’t throwaway questions. It’s not a dating profile. You’re making legal declarations, and anything inconsistent or incomplete could raise red flags that delay your application—or worse, lead to refusal.

Then there’s the sponsorship component. After you lodge, your partner must submit their own form through ImmiAccount. This is not just a formality. Your sponsor is agreeing to financially support you and declare their role in your relationship under penalty of law. They’ll also be assessed for any prior sponsorships, past immigration history, and character concerns. If they’ve sponsored someone in the past—or if they don’t meet the character criteria—that can trigger mandatory delays or even ineligibility. Most people don’t know this until after they’ve submitted.

Part 3: The Waiting Game

Once both parts are lodged, you’ll receive a bridging visa, usually a Bridging Visa A. This lets you stay in Australia after your current visa expires while the Department processes your application. In many cases, it comes with work and study rights, but not always—especially if you applied from a Bridging Visa C. If you’ve made any missteps in how or when you lodged, you may find yourself stuck without the ability to work while waiting months (or longer) for a decision.

And here’s where it gets a little uncomfortable. The Department often won’t look at your application for months. During that time, you won’t hear anything. There are no reminders. No nudges. If something’s missing, they may not even ask—they’ll just assess your application as-is and make a decision. That means if you’ve misunderstood a question, uploaded the wrong documents, or left something out, you may not realise until it’s too late.

A refused partner visa can be devastating. It doesn’t just mean you lose your $9,000+ application fee. It can mean losing your right to stay in Australia, triggering mandatory bars that prevent you from applying again onshore, and complicating your immigration future for years. You may still love each other, still be committed—but if the paperwork doesn’t reflect the legal criteria, it doesn’t matter. The Department won’t ring you for clarification. They’ll issue a decision.

Of course, some people manage the whole process themselves, and they do just fine. But that tends to be the exception, not the rule. Because when you lodge on your own, you're also taking on every risk that comes with it—and let’s be honest, most of us don’t have time to become part-time immigration lawyers while working, studying, or raising a family.

If your relationship is straightforward, your evidence is rock-solid, and you’ve done your research, you might be able to go it alone. But if there’s anything uncertain—less than 12 months of living together, previous visa complications, sponsorship history, or even just the feeling of “this looks more complicated than I expected”—that’s your sign to get help before you lodge, not after.

When people come to me after a refusal, it’s rarely because their relationship wasn’t real. It’s because something small—avoidable—was missed or misunderstood. And it’s always the same comment: "I wish we’d just spoken to you first."

So if you're serious about getting it right the first time, take the time to talk to someone who knows the process. A single consultation now can prevent months of stress, delays, or thousands lost in appeals later.