Australian Partner Visa 820 & 801: Complete Guide 2026

#What are the chances of 820 partner visa approval with only 7 months of evidence?

The Migration Regulations do not specify a minimum period of cohabitation before you can lodge a partner visa. What the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) assesses is whether the relationship is genuine and continuing at the time of decision. With only seven months of shared history, your evidentiary bundle must work harder to demonstrate all four pillars: financial, household, social, and commitment aspects of the relationship.

Seven months is enough for some couples — particularly those who can show joint leases, shared bank accounts, named insurance policies, and statutory declarations from people who have witnessed the relationship. It becomes problematic when the only evidence is a handful of photos and a few text messages.

#How long does a DIY 820 801 double grant partner visa take in Australia?

The 820 and 801 are lodged as a single combined application. The 820 (temporary stage) is assessed first, and once granted it provides the applicant with a bridging status or substantive temporary visa while DOHA continues assessing the 801 (permanent stage). The 801 cannot be granted until the applicant has been in a married or de facto relationship with an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible NZ citizen for at least two years from the date of the original application lodgement.

For DIY applicants specifically, processing tends to run longer for several reasons: incomplete initial submissions trigger RFIs that can add three to six months; sponsor applications lodged separately and late cause delays; and incorrect document formats lead to additional back-and-forth with DOHA. A MARA-registered agent manages these risks proactively.

#Can I apply for an 820 partner visa if I have only lived with my partner for 4 months?

However, there is an important nuance. For de facto relationships, DOHA generally expects evidence that the relationship has existed for at least 12 months prior to lodgement, unless you qualify for an exemption. Exemptions include being registered under a state or territory relationship register, or having a child together. If neither exemption applies and you have only four months of shared history, your application will be lodged but is highly likely to receive scrutiny or an RFI requesting further evidence of the relationship's genuineness and duration.

It is worth clarifying: you can have been in a de facto relationship for longer than you have lived together. DOHA accepts that couples may not immediately cohabit. What matters is the total length of the de facto relationship and the evidence supporting it — messaging history, travel together, social recognition, and financial entanglement all count towards establishing the relationship existed before you moved in.

#Does registering a relationship help with a partner visa application if you haven't lived together long?

Australia has relationship registers in every state and territory. Registering your relationship provides DOHA with a formal, government-issued document confirming the existence of the relationship, which removes the evidentiary burden of proving 12 months of de facto cohabitation. This is one of the most effective strategies for couples who have been together for a shorter period.

States like Victoria (Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria) allow couples to register within a few weeks. The registration certificate then becomes a cornerstone document in your partner visa application. At VJ Consulting and Education, we regularly advise clients in short-relationship situations to pursue registration before lodgement where the timeline permits.

#Does incorrectly filing your tax return as single affect your partner visa application?

DOHA assesses the consistency of evidence across all government agencies. If your ATO records show you filed as single during a period you are claiming to have been in a committed de facto relationship, a case officer may question the genuineness of that relationship. This is not an automatic refusal ground, but it creates a credibility issue that you will need to address — either in a statutory declaration explaining the error or through a formal tax return amendment lodged with the ATO before or after your visa application.

The correct tax status for a person in a de facto relationship is "de facto" for ATO purposes. Many applicants are unaware of this distinction and file incorrectly for years. If this applies to you, the recommended approach is to amend the relevant tax returns through myGov and include a statutory declaration explaining the oversight in your partner visa application. Proactive disclosure is always better than waiting for DOHA to raise it via an RFI or Natural Justice letter.

#Does a medical examination expire while waiting for an 820 partner visa decision?

All partner visa applicants are required to undergo a health examination through an approved panel physician. The results are uploaded directly to DOHA's electronic system (eMedical). DOHA's policy is that health examination results are considered "current" for the purposes of visa processing, but if the decision is not made within 12 months of the examination date, the department may request an updated medical.

Given that 820 processing times routinely exceed 12 months in 2025–2026, it is not uncommon for applicants to receive a health re-examination request before their 820 is even granted. Do not be alarmed by this — it is a standard administrative step and does not indicate that your application is in difficulty. Complete the updated examination promptly through an approved panel physician to avoid processing delays.

#After being granted the 820 visa, when do I apply for the 801 permanent partner visa?

This is one of the most common misconceptions among DIY applicants. When you lodge a partner visa onshore, you are lodging a single application that covers both the Subclass 820 (temporary) and the Subclass 801 (permanent) stages. There is no second application form, no second lodgement fee, and no new lodgement date. What you must do is provide updated evidence of your ongoing relationship once you have been in the relationship for two years from your original application date.

Approximately two years after your original lodgement, DOHA will typically prompt you (or your migration agent) to submit updated evidence confirming the relationship is still genuine and continuing. This is your 801 assessment stage. If you lodged your application less than two years ago and have already received your 820 grant, simply continue building your relationship evidence and wait for DOHA to request updated information.

#What are the next steps after the 820 subclass partner visa is granted?

Once the 820 is granted, you hold a substantive temporary visa that allows you to live and work in Australia. The 801 permanent stage is already in queue. Here is what you should be doing during this interim period:

#What evidence do I need for the household, financial, social and commitment aspects of an 801 partner visa?

The four aspects framework is set out in Policy Advice Manual 3 (PAM3) and applies equally to the 820 and 801 stages. For the 801, the evidence must be current (typically from the last 12 months) and must show meaningful progression of the relationship since the original 820 lodgement. Below is a summary of what DOHA expects under each pillar:

The team at VJCE consistently advises clients that statutory declarations from third parties — particularly those who can speak to the day-to-day reality of the relationship — carry significant weight at the 801 stage. Family members are acceptable declarants, but independent witnesses such as friends, employers, or community members are generally viewed as more persuasive.

#Why are subclass 801 partner visa grants delayed in 2025?