Partner & family visas
Subclass 820/801, 309/100 and 300 — applications decided on the quality of the evidence, not the length of the statement.
Four aspects, and all of them need evidence
A partner application is assessed against four statutory aspects of the relationship. A file that is strong on two and thin on the others is a file that attracts questions:
- Financial aspects — pooling of resources, shared liabilities, joint ownership, and how money actually moves between you.
- Nature of the household — living arrangements, division of responsibilities, and evidence tying both of you to the same address over time.
- Social context — that the relationship is represented to others: family, friends, employers, government and institutions.
- Nature of the commitment — the history of the relationship, the intentions of each party, and the extent of companionship and support.
Most applications we take over have plenty of photographs and very little of the first two. The remedy is rarely more narrative — it is documents that already exist and have not been collected.
Pathways
| Subclass | Where you apply | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 820 / 801 | Onshore (in Australia) | Two stages: temporary then permanent. Bridging rights usually attach on lodgement. Schedule 3 issues arise where the applicant is unlawful or holds certain visas. |
| 309 / 100 | Offshore | Two stages, applicant must be outside Australia at lodgement and grant of the provisional visa. |
| 300 | Offshore | Prospective Marriage. Requires marriage within the visa validity period, then an onshore partner application. |
| Parent / child | Varies | Long queues and balance-of-family considerations for parent categories; child visas turn on dependency and custody evidence. |
Situations that need advice before lodgement
- The applicant is unlawful, on a bridging visa, or holds a visa with condition 8503 — Schedule 3 or waiver arguments may be required.
- A previous partner application has been refused, or the sponsor has sponsored before — sponsorship limitations apply.
- There is a history of family violence, or the relationship ends after the temporary visa is granted — provisions exist, and the evidentiary requirements are specific.
- Any earlier application involved incorrect information — PIC 4020 must be addressed head on.
- The relationship has been conducted largely at a distance, or the couple have not lived together — this is not fatal, but it must be explained rather than left for the delegate to infer.
Common questions
There is no fixed quantity. What matters is coverage — that each of the four aspects is supported independently, and that the evidence spans the whole relationship rather than clustering around the month before lodgement. A hundred photographs and no joint financial records is a weaker file than a dozen photographs with joint accounts, a joint lease, shared insurance and consistent correspondence to both parties at one address.
No. A de facto relationship can support a partner visa, generally where the parties have been in the relationship for at least twelve months before lodgement, subject to exceptions including registration of the relationship in a state or territory that allows it. Whether registration helps in your circumstances is worth checking early — it can remove a requirement rather than merely add a document.
The permanent visa is assessed on whether the relationship continues to be genuine at that point. Evidence has to keep accumulating in the meantime. We tell clients at grant of the temporary visa what to keep, so the second stage is a collation exercise rather than a scramble.
Onshore applicants are generally granted a bridging visa with work rights, but this depends on your status at lodgement and on the conditions of any visa you currently hold. It should be confirmed for your circumstances before you lodge, not assumed.
There are provisions covering the death of a sponsor, family violence, and shared parental responsibility for children. They are specific and evidentiary. Get advice quickly — withdrawing or doing nothing can foreclose options that remain open.
Have your evidence looked at before you lodge.
We will audit what you have against the four aspects and tell you what is missing while there is still time to obtain it.