How long does a partner visa take in Australia? What drives processing times, the timeline from lodgement to grant, and how to avoid delays. Book a call.
A partner visa in Australia usually takes many months, and often more than a year, from lodgement to the grant of the temporary visa, and the permanent stage comes later on top of that. The partner visa is a two-stage visa, so the temporary stage (onshore subclass 820, offshore subclass 309) is decided first, and the permanent stage (subclass 801 or 100) is usually considered around two years after you lodged. The Department of Home Affairs publishes indicative processing times for each stage, and those figures move with demand and with how complete your application is. The single biggest thing that keeps your wait as short as possible is lodging a decision-ready application, one with strong relationship evidence and every check done, so the case officer doesn’t have to keep coming back to you. So the honest answer is that it takes many months, it depends heavily on your evidence and circumstances, and a well-prepared application is the fastest one.
Here’s the full timeline, what affects it, and the delays you can avoid.
Understanding the timeline means understanding the structure. You lodge one combined application and pay one main charge, then the visa is granted in two stages:
So when people ask how long the partner visa takes, they usually mean the temporary stage, because that’s the one that lets you live and work in Australia with certainty. The permanent stage follows on a longer clock.
Two couples who lodge on the same day can wait very different amounts of time. The main variables:
Rather than a single number, plan the partner visa as a sequence:
Use the department’s current published processing times for the 820, 801, 309 and 100 rather than older figures from forums, and treat them as indicative, because your own case can be faster or slower.
A common question is whether the medical means a grant is close. Not necessarily. Health examinations are one of the final checks, so being asked for them is a good sign your case is progressing, but a grant still depends on everything else being in order, including relationship evidence, police clearances and character. Some people are granted soon after their medicals clear; others wait longer because another part of the case is still being assessed. Keep your police checks and medicals valid, because if they expire before the decision they may need to be redone, which adds time.
From an agent’s point of view, these are the self-inflicted delays:
Some couples with a long, well-documented relationship and a simple history manage the partner visa themselves. Get advice if your relationship is short or hard to evidence, if either of you has a visa refusal, character or health issue, if you’re applying onshore and need to understand your bridging visa, or if a previous application was refused. A registered migration agent can prepare a decision-ready application that avoids the requests that stretch timelines out.
We’re a registered migration practice in Brisbane, led by a registered migration agent (MARN 1794201). We prepare your partner visa so it’s decision-ready, with relationship evidence organised the way case officers expect, and every medical, police check and form done in the right order. That’s the single most effective way to keep your processing time short, because it removes the reasons the department would otherwise pause and ask for more. For onshore couples we make sure you’re covered by a bridging visa while you wait, and if you’ve had a refusal we can advise on an appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
The temporary stage (820 or 309) commonly takes many months, and often more than a year, from lodgement to grant, with the permanent stage assessed later. Your evidence, your circumstances and the current queue all affect it. We give you a realistic read for your case.
It’s an evidence-heavy visa, the department verifies the relationship, health and character carefully, and the queue is busy. Applications with thin evidence take longest because they generate requests for more information.
Not a fixed period. Medicals are a late-stage check, so being asked for them is a good sign, but the grant still depends on every other part of the case being in order. Some grants follow soon after; others take longer.
They sit in different queues, offshore versus onshore, and published times differ between them. Which is faster changes with demand, so check the current indicative times for each.
Usually around two years after you first lodged, when you provide updated relationship evidence for the permanent stage. In some cases, such as long relationships at lodgement, the stages can be decided closer together.
There’s no official fast-track, but you control a lot. Lodge complete, with strong relationship evidence and all checks done, respond to any request quickly, and keep your medicals and police checks valid so nothing has to be redone.
If you apply onshore while holding a substantive visa, you’re generally granted a bridging visa that keeps you lawful until the partner visa is decided. Lodging before your current visa expires matters.
Yes, significantly. Weak evidence leads the case officer to ask for more, and each request pauses your case. Strong, well-organised evidence at lodgement is the most reliable way to avoid delay.
The Department of Home Affairs publishes indicative processing times for the 820, 801, 309 and 100 that update regularly. Use the current figure rather than older numbers from forums, and we’ll interpret it for your situation.
A refusal can often be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal, which has its own timeline and fee. Careful preparation reduces the risk. See our Visa Refusal & Appeal page.
Because the partner visa runs in stages and depends so much on your evidence, a plan built around your situation beats any single number. If you want your application prepared to move as fast as it can, talk to a registered migration agent at BYD. See our Partner Visa service page, or call 0434 893 901 to book a consultation.
