Complete timeline guide
Australian partner visa timeline: two stages, one big fee, and the waits nobody explains
Updated Jul 18, 2026
Australia's partner visa is really two visas in one application: a temporary stage (subclass 820 onshore or 309 offshore) and a permanent stage (801 or 100) assessed later. Home Affairs publishes processing as percentiles by subclass, the application fee is one of the highest in the world at over 9,000 Australian dollars, and the full journey to permanent residence commonly spans several years.
This guide walks both stages, the bridging visa life that onshore applicants live in the middle, and the relationship evidence framework that actually decides these cases.
The live number right now
OfficialAustralian partner visas: Home Affairs publishes percentile times by subclass and stage; many grants take a year or more
Reader timelines are being collected for this service. The tracker page keeps the current official figure and what people who applied in your month are reporting.
The partner visa journey, stage by stage
Percentile times published by Home Affairs mean half of applicants wait longer than the median. Onshore (820/801) and offshore (309/100) queues move differently; compare only within your own subclass.
1. Prepare the evidence and lodge
Typically 2 to 3 months of preparation
The application is evidence-heavy from day one: identity, health, character, and relationship material across all four aspects the law names. Lodging a thin application to start the clock is a false economy that invites requests and delays later.
2. Bridging visa begins (onshore applicants)
Automatic on lodgement
Onshore applicants who held a valid visa receive a bridging visa that activates when the old visa ends, normally with full work rights. Offshore applicants wait in their country instead; there is no bridging abroad.
3. Health and character checks
Weeks, done early
Medical examination with an approved panel provider and police certificates for every country lived in long enough to need one. Certificates expire, so sequence them sensibly rather than all on day one.
4. Temporary stage decision (820 or 309)
Commonly many months to a year or more
The published percentiles for your subclass are the only honest external number. Complete applications with strong four-pillar evidence sit in the routine queue; requests for more evidence add months.
5. Life on the temporary stage
Until the permanent stage decides
The 820/309 carries work and Medicare access. The relationship must continue; a genuinely ended relationship has specific rules, including family-violence provisions that protect applicants.
6. Permanent stage eligibility (801 or 100)
Assessed from 2 years after the original application
Two years after you first applied, you become eligible for permanent assessment and submit updated evidence that the relationship continues. Long-standing relationships and couples with children can be granted the permanent stage faster, sometimes together with the first stage.
7. Permanent grant
Additional months after eligibility
The permanent stage has its own queue and percentiles. After the grant, citizenship eligibility follows Australia's residence rules, typically four years of lawful residence including one as a permanent resident.
The fee, and why you pay it once
The partner visa fee is over 9,000 Australian dollars and covers both stages; the permanent stage assessment does not charge again. Add health examinations, police certificates, and translations, and the realistic all-in cost sits well above the headline fee. Check the current amount on the Home Affairs page before budgeting, because it moves most years.
The size of the fee is exactly why rushed, thin applications are a bad idea: a refusal forfeits the fee, and review applications add their own costs and long waits. One strong application is the cheap option.
The four pillars of relationship evidence
Australian law assesses partner relationships across four aspects: financial (joint accounts, shared bills, property), household (living arrangements, shared responsibilities), social (how friends and family see you, joint invitations, travel together), and commitment (knowledge of each other's lives, plans, communication during separations). Statutory declarations from Australian witnesses support the file.
Strong files show a spread across all four pillars over time, not a mountain in one. Couples who keep finances separate, or lived apart for a period, should explain the pattern plainly rather than hope it goes unnoticed; officers read explanations better than gaps.
Bridging visa life, honestly described
Onshore applicants commonly spend a year or more on a bridging visa. It usually carries full work rights and Medicare, but it ties you to Australia: travelling abroad requires a Bridging Visa B with a travel window, and leaving without one can strand you outside with the application in limbo.
Plan international travel deliberately: apply for the BVB before booking, keep trips within the granted window, and keep evidence of the ongoing relationship flowing during any separation.
De facto couples and the registered relationship shortcut
De facto applicants normally show 12 months of the relationship before applying, evidenced like a marriage without the certificate. In most states and territories, registering the relationship removes the 12-month duration requirement, which is a legitimate and commonly used path for newer couples.
Registration does not replace evidence of a genuine relationship; it replaces the duration rule only. The four pillars still decide the case.
When the partner visa stalls: the common problems
A request for more evidence arrives
Respond by the deadline with organized, labeled material that answers the specific request. This is routine, not a rejection signal, but a weak response converts a routine case into a doubtful one.
The wait passes the published percentiles
Percentiles move monthly and complex checks extend individual files. Confirm nothing is waiting on you in ImmiAccount, then use the official channels for status. There is no queue-jumping mechanism for impatience alone.
You need to travel while onshore
Apply for a Bridging Visa B with your travel dates before booking anything. Returning after your BVA-only departure is not a paperwork fix; it can mean applying for something else entirely from offshore.
The relationship ends during processing
Tell Home Affairs; concealing it is the serious mistake. Specific provisions protect applicants where there are children of the relationship or where family violence occurred, and those provisions only work when the change is declared.
A refusal lands
Most partner refusals can be reviewed at the Administrative Review Tribunal within strict deadlines. Review takes a long time and has its own fee, so get advice quickly on whether review or a fresh, stronger application is the better road.
Your dates make this page better
Official numbers cannot show what applicants actually experience month by month. Sharing your application and decision dates helps the next reader see the real pace. Under a minute, dates only, nothing personal.
Share my Australian partner visa datesQuestions people actually ask
How long does the Australian partner visa take right now?
Home Affairs publishes percentile times by subclass, and recent temporary-stage grants commonly take many months to more than a year, with the permanent stage assessed from two years after the original application. Long-established relationships can receive both stages together.
Can I work while waiting onshore?
Almost always yes: the bridging visa that follows a valid onshore lodgement normally carries unrestricted work rights once active, and the temporary partner visa itself carries full work rights and Medicare access.
Is the fee really over 9,000 dollars?
Yes, the combined application costs over 9,000 Australian dollars and covers both the temporary and permanent stages. Check the current figure on the Home Affairs fee pages before applying, and remember refusal forfeits it, which is the strongest argument for applying once, properly.
We have been together under 12 months. Can we still apply?
Married couples are not subject to the 12-month rule. De facto couples usually are, but registering the relationship where your state or territory allows removes the duration requirement. The relationship still has to be shown as genuine either way.
Offshore 309: can I visit Australia during processing?
You can apply for and travel on a visitor visa while a 309 is pending if you qualify, and many couples do. You need to be outside Australia when key decisions are made under the offshore route's rules, so keep travel plans flexible around the decision window.