This visa lets the de facto partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen live in Australia permanently. It is usually only for people who currently hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820).

You must

– Hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820)

– In most cases, continue to be in a married or de facto relationship with your sponsor

With this visa

You can

– Stay in Australia indefinitely

– Work in Australia

– Study in Australia

– Enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare

– Sponsor your family members to come to Australia

– Travel to and from Australia for 5 years

– If eligible, attend free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program

– If eligible, apply for Australian citizenship

Travel to and from Australia for 5 years

You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date the Home Affairs grant this visa. This is as long as the travel facility on this visa remains valid.

If you want to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

– You will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) so that you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident

– You might also want to consider Australian citizenship. If you become an Australian citizen, you don’t require a visa to enter Australia. You will need to apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter Australia. See more about eligibility requirements and current processing times for Australian citizenship

To see when your travel facility ends, use VEVO.

How long you can stay

This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely.

You become a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts:

– On the day the visa is granted if you are in Australia

– On the day you enter Australia on this visa if you are outside Australia.

Include family

You can include your dependent child in your application when you apply for the combined temporary and permanent visas.

If you did not include your dependent child in your temporary visa application, you can still add them to your application before the Home Affairs make a decision on your permanent visa application. The child must:

– Usually hold a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) and

– Be in Australia

Complete Form 1002  Application by a subclass 445 dependent child for a permanent partner visa (280KB PDF) and attach it to your ImmiAccount.

Your children must meet the health requirement. If they are 16 years or older they must also meet the character requirement.

Cost

You paid for this visa when you applied for the combined temporary and permanent partner visas.

You might have to pay other costs such as those for health checks or police certificates.

Processing times

– 75% of applications: 11 months

– 90% of applications: 20 months

The assessment will take longer to process if:

– You don’t include all the documents the Home Affairs need

– The Home Affairs needs more information from you

– Its takes us time to verify your information

Your obligations

You and your children must obey all Australian laws.

Visa label

The Home Affairs will digitally link your visa to your passport and create a digital visa record for you. You will not get a label in your passport.

Meet relationship requirements

You must still be in a relationship with your spouse or de facto partner.

See the subclass 820 visa for more information on married and de facto applicants.

You must usually continue to be sponsored. 

You might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship breaks down or if your sponsor dies after the Home Affairs haved granted the temporary visa but while the Home Affairs are still considering the permanent visa.

Pay your debts to the Australian Government

If you or any family members (including those who don’t apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.

Best interests of the child

The Home Affairs might not grant this visa if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18.