Partner visas · Subclass 820/801 · 309/100
The government charge is now $11,710.
You do not get it back if you are refused.
Partner visa charges rose roughly 25% on 1 July 2026. The application is non-refundable, the wait is close to two years, and refusals almost never turn on whether the relationship is real. They turn on evidence. Here is what it costs, what the Department assesses, and three ways to work with us.
$11,710
Government charge, primary applicant
~17 mths
Median 820 processing time
4 pillars
What a case officer scores
MARN
1466195 · senior-led, no handoffs
What it costs
The real number.
Government charge, third-party costs, and us.
Most partner visa pages quote the government charge and stop. That charge is the biggest line, and it is not the only one. Here is the whole picture.
Non-refundable
$11,710
Base visa application charge, primary applicant, subclass 820/801 and 309/100. One charge covers both the temporary and permanent stages.
If the application is refused, the charge is not returned. If it is withdrawn, the charge is not returned. Lodging again means paying it again, at whatever the rate is by then.
What changed on 1 July 2026
$9,365
→
$11,710
An increase of $2,345 — roughly 25% in a single step.
Adding family members
Additional applicant, 18 and over
$5,860
Additional applicant, under 18
$2,935
Worked example
One couple. No children. Onshore 820/801, applying from within Australia.
Applicant has lived in one country other than Australia for more than twelve months since turning sixteen. Documents need translating. The couple is de facto and registers the relationship before lodging.
Payable to the Department
Visa application charge, primary applicant
$11,710
Card payment surcharge, if paying by credit card
~$165
Payable to third parties — estimates
Health examination, panel physician
$350–$500
Australian Federal Police check
~$60
Overseas police certificate, one country
$50–$200
NAATI translations, per document
$40–$90
Relationship registration, state or territory
$180–$300
Immi Response professional fees — choose one
Evidence checklist — you do everything yourself
Free
Readiness Audit — we review, you lodge
$550
Full Service — we prepare and lodge everything
$6,600
Realistic total, doing it yourself with a Readiness Audit
~$13,200
Realistic total, full service
~$19,300
Government charges current as at 1 July 2026. Third-party figures are estimates and vary by provider, country and state. Charges change, and concessions apply in limited circumstances. Confirm your own figure with the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator immediately before you lodge. Immi Response fees are fixed, quoted in writing, and include GST.
Why the number matters
A refusal costs you $11,710 and about two years.
That is the part couples underestimate. Not the fee itself — people budget for the fee. The part that lands hardest is that a refusal returns none of it, and you rejoin the queue from the beginning, at whatever the charge has risen to by then.
Fourteen years of these applications and the pattern barely changes. The couple is genuine. The relationship is years old. The file arrives thick in one evidence category and thin in three others, with a cohabitation date that quietly disagrees with the lease. Four hundred photographs of the same two people on the same beach will not prove you share a household.
Those gaps are obvious from the outside and invisible from the inside. You lived the relationship, so every document looks like proof to you. That is the entire reason the Readiness Audit exists, and why it costs $550 rather than $6,600.
How we can help
Three ways in.
Pick the one that matches your case, not your nerves.
Every option is fixed fee, quoted in writing before any work begins.
Do it yourself
Free
Evidence Checklist
Six pages covering every core document, every evidence pillar item by item, and how to write the relationship statement. No email required.
Right for you if your case is straightforward, you are organised, and you want to understand what the Department is looking for.
Open the full checklist →We review, you lodge
$550
Partner Visa Readiness Audit
You upload your evidence to a secure portal. We map it across all four pillars, name every gap, flag every inconsistency, and send you a written report in five business days.
Right for you if you intend to lodge yourself but want a registered agent to read the file before you spend $11,710.
Start the Readiness Audit →We handle everything
$6,600
Full Service
Evidence strategy, statement drafting, lodgement, Department liaison to decision, and the Stage 2 permanent transition. Unlimited access to your agent throughout.
Right for you if there is a health or character issue, a previous refusal, Schedule 3, a long separation, or you simply want it off your plate.
Book a free call →If the audit shows your matter needs full representation, the $550 is credited against the full-service fee when you engage us within 30 days of the report.
Which pathway
Where you are when you lodge
decides which visa you apply for.
Married and de facto couples use the same pathways. What separates them is the applicant's location at lodgement, not the label you put on the relationship.
Applicant is in Australia
Subclass 820 → 801
You lodge onshore and receive a Bridging Visa A, which generally lets you stay and work while the application is decided. The 820 is the temporary stage. The 801 permanent stage is assessed around two years after lodgement.
- One charge covers both stages
- BVA does not permit travel — that needs a BVB
- Schedule 3 may apply if you have no substantive visa
Applicant is outside Australia
Subclass 309 → 100
You lodge offshore and must be outside Australia when the 309 is granted. No bridging visa applies, so most applicants continue on whatever visa arrangements they already have while they wait.
- Same charge as the onshore pathway
- Evidence of the relationship across distance matters more
- Visiting Australia while it is pending needs care
Engaged and planning to marry in Australia? The Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) is a separate pathway with its own application charge and its own conditions. It is not always the faster route — we will tell you honestly which one fits.
What is actually assessed
A case officer never meets you.
They only meet your file.
Regulation 1.15A(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets out four categories. A strong file carries real weight in each. A mountain in one and a molehill in three others is the shape of a file that draws hard questions.
REG 1.15A(3)(A)
Financial aspects
That you share money and financial responsibility. A joint account showing eighteen months of genuine two-way use carries weight. One opened three weeks ago with a single deposit does not.
REG 1.15A(3)(B)
Nature of the household
That you live together and share the running of a home. A lease in both names, utilities in both names, and mail spanning two years at that address. The picture has to hold together.
REG 1.15A(3)(C)
Social aspects
That the world around you treats you as a couple. Two Form 888s telling specific stories beat a stack that all say the same pleasant nothing. Statutory declarations alone are rarely enough.
REG 1.15A(3)(D)
Nature of the commitment
That this is mutual, ongoing and long term. Two statements telling the same story in different voices, with dates that match your forms. One contradiction can undo a strong file.
How long it takes
Two years, give or take.
The preparation is the only part you control.
Once it is lodged, the timeline belongs to the Department. Everything that determines the outcome happens before that.
Gathering and preparing evidence
Yours to set. Rushing this is the most expensive decision in the whole process.
1–3 months
Readiness Audit, if you use one
Written report identifying gaps while they are still fixable at no cost.
5 business days
Lodgement, then health and police checks
Onshore applicants receive a Bridging Visa A automatically. Health examinations are arranged after lodgement, not before.
Weeks
Temporary stage decision — 820 or 309
Median around 17 months onshore. Most applications are decided within about two years.
~17 months
Permanent stage — 801 or 100
Assessed roughly two years after lodgement. You provide fresh evidence that the relationship continued. No further application charge.
~2 years in
Processing times are Department medians and move constantly. Check the current figures on the Home Affairs visa processing times tool before relying on them.
Before you go further
Four things that change everything.
Tell us early if any apply.
Each one can decide whether you can lodge at all, or lodge onshore. Some have fixes if you act before you apply. None of them improves by being left until the end.
De facto and together under twelve months?
A de facto relationship generally has to have run for twelve months immediately before you apply. Registering your relationship with your state or territory removes that requirement, and compelling or compassionate circumstances can too. Registration is often the cleanest fix, but it has to happen before you lodge.
s 5CB Migration Act 1958 · Reg 2.03A
Onshore without a substantive visa?
Schedule 3 criteria may apply to an onshore 820 application. This is assessable and sometimes waivable, and it needs handling deliberately rather than hopefully. Read our Schedule 3 guide →
Schedule 3 · Migration Regulations 1994
Has your sponsor sponsored a partner before?
There are hard limits on how often, and how recently, a person can sponsor a partner. Previous sponsorships, or ones that ended recently, can bar or delay a new one. If your sponsor has ever sponsored a partner, prospective marriage or interdependency visa, tell us the dates. This is a knock-out issue.
Reg 1.20J
Visa refused or cancelled since you last arrived?
If a visa has been refused or cancelled since you last entered Australia, it can affect whether you can apply onshore at all. Do not assume it blocks you and do not assume it does not. Tell us what happened and when, and we will work out where you stand.
s 48 Migration Act 1958
None of these are dead ends. Most of the hardest partner visa files we have taken involved at least one of them. They need advice on the law rather than a checklist, and they need it before you spend $11,710.
Common questions
Partner visas, answered.
How much does a partner visa cost in Australia in 2026?+
The government application charge is $11,710 for the primary applicant on both the onshore 820/801 and offshore 309/100 pathways, from 1 July 2026. That single charge covers the temporary and permanent stages. Additional applicants aged 18 and over are $5,860, and under 18 are $2,935. On top of that, budget for health examinations, police certificates, translations and possibly relationship registration. Professional fees are separate: our Readiness Audit is $550 and full-service representation is $6,600.
Do I get the fee back if my partner visa is refused?+
No. The visa application charge is not refunded if your application is refused, and it is not refunded if you withdraw. Lodging a fresh application means paying the charge again at whatever rate applies then. This is the main reason preparing the evidence properly the first time is worth the effort.
How long does a partner visa take?+
On the Department's own figures, the onshore 820 temporary stage has a median of around 17 months, with most applications decided within roughly two years. The permanent 801 stage is assessed about two years after lodgement. Offshore 309 timeframes are broadly similar. These medians move, so check the Department's processing times tool for current figures.
Can I work while my partner visa is being processed?+
If you lodge onshore while holding a substantive visa, a Bridging Visa A is granted automatically. It stays inactive while your current visa runs and activates when that visa expires. The BVA generally permits work and study, though conditions can carry over from your previous visa. It does not permit travel — leaving and returning requires a Bridging Visa B, which is a separate application with its own fee. Check your conditions on VEVO.
Do I need a migration agent for a partner visa?+
Legally, no. Plenty of couples lodge successfully on their own, and if your case is straightforward the free evidence checklist may be all you need. Where an agent earns their fee is in the cases that look simple and are not: a de facto relationship close to the twelve-month line, a gap in cohabitation, a previous refusal, Schedule 3, or a health or character issue. If you are unsure which category you are in, the Readiness Audit at $550 will tell you.
What is the most common reason partner visas are refused?+
Evidence that is thick in one of the four regulatory categories and thin in the others, and internal contradictions between the statements, the forms and the documents. A cohabitation date in a statement that disagrees with the lease start date will draw a question that a well-prepared file never has to answer. Genuineness of the relationship is rarely the actual issue.
Married or de facto — does it change the visa?+
Both use the same subclasses and pay the same charge. What differs is what you must prove. Married couples provide a marriage certificate recognised under Australian law. De facto couples generally have to show the relationship existed for twelve months immediately before applying, unless the relationship is registered or compelling circumstances apply. In practice, de facto files carry a heavier evidentiary burden on cohabitation.
You get one first impression with a case officer.
And $11,710 riding on it.
Start with the free checklist. If you want a registered agent to read the file before you lodge, the Readiness Audit is $550. If your case has complications, book a free ten-minute call and we will tell you honestly what you are dealing with.
Written by Ieva Vaityte, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 1466195 · OMARA registered · Level 2, 50 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Registered agents are bound by a Code of Conduct that protects your rights as a client. This page is general information, not legal advice on your individual circumstances. Government charges and processing times change — confirm both with the Department of Home Affairs before lodging. Legislative references are to the Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994 as in force at the time of writing.