Form 47SP: The Partner Visa Applicant Form

Who completes Form 47SP

Form 47SP is completed by the visa applicant — the partner seeking to come to or remain in Australia — not by the Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is sponsoring them. It applies to all four partner visa subclasses that sit on the standard partner pathway: the temporary 820 and permanent 801 for people applying while in Australia, and the temporary 309 and permanent 100 for people applying from outside Australia.

The sponsor completes a separate, matching form — Form 40SP, covered in our dedicated guide — which is submitted alongside the applicant's 47SP as part of the same combined application. Both are needed; a partner visa application isn't complete with only one of them.

Paper form vs the ImmiAccount reality

Home Affairs still publishes a downloadable Form 47SP PDF on its form-listing page, and it's worth reading through even if you never print it, because it lays out exactly what information the application needs in one place. In practice, the near-universal way to lodge a partner visa application is through ImmiAccount — Home Affairs' online application portal — where the same content is collected across a sequence of online screens rather than as a single form you fill in and attach.

The online application doesn't ask fundamentally different questions to the paper form; it's the same substantive content (personal details, relationship history, immigration history, health and character declarations) presented differently. If you see a migration agent or a checklist referring to 'completing the 47SP', they usually mean working through the ImmiAccount application that covers the same ground, not filling in and mailing a physical PDF.

What the form's content structure covers

Across its sections, Form 47SP (and the equivalent ImmiAccount screens) collects the applicant's personal and identity details, immigration and travel history, and a detailed account of the relationship — how it began, the history of living together or apart, and the current state of the relationship. It also includes standard health and character declarations that apply to every visa application, and asks about any dependent children who may be included in the application.

The relationship-history content is the part worth taking the most care over, because it's the section case officers cross-reference most closely against your sponsor's parallel account on Form 40SP and against any Form 888 supporting witness statements submitted with the application.

Keeping it consistent with your sponsor's 40SP and your Form 888s

Case officers routinely read the applicant's account of the relationship against the sponsor's account on Form 40SP, looking for the two stories to line up — same key dates, same account of how the relationship developed, same description of major events. Genuine discrepancies (different recollections of an anniversary, a different account of when cohabitation started) don't automatically sink an application, but unexplained contradictions on material facts invite follow-up questions and can slow processing.

The same consistency check extends to Form 888 statements from supporting witnesses — see our dedicated Form 888 guide for what those cover. If a witness's account of when the couple moved in together doesn't match what's on the 47SP and 40SP, it's worth understanding why before you submit, not after a case officer asks.

Common mistakes

The most frequent issues aren't dramatic — they're small inconsistencies and gaps that slow a case down rather than sink it outright. Dates that don't match across the applicant's and sponsor's forms; incomplete immigration history (a prior visa refusal or overstay left out, which case officers can and do check independently); and relationship-history answers that are too brief to actually demonstrate the relationship's genuineness, leaving the file to rest entirely on the supporting documents.

Another recurring one: applicants who complete the ImmiAccount application without first reading through the paper form's full question list, and miss a section because the online flow branched past it based on an earlier answer. Working through the PDF once before starting the online application, even if you'll lodge online, is a useful way to see everything the application actually covers in one view.

Where the two pathways diverge after lodgement

Once lodged, the onshore (820/801) and offshore (309/100) pathways are assessed on largely the same substantive criteria, but where you were living when you applied determines which subclass numbers appear on your file and, in some cases, affects bridging visa arrangements while the application is processed. The 47SP form itself doesn't differ in content between the two pathways — what differs is largely which visa subclass the application is assessed against, which follows from where the applicant was at the time of lodgement.

What is Form 47SP used for?

Form 47SP, 'Application for migration to Australia by a partner', is the applicant-side form for the standard partner visa pathway — covering the onshore 820/801 and offshore 309/100 subclasses. It's completed by the person applying for the visa, not the sponsor.

Do I need to fill in a paper Form 47SP if I'm applying through ImmiAccount?

No. Most partner visa applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount, which collects the same information as the paper Form 47SP across a series of screens. The paper PDF is still useful to read through so you can see everything the application covers in one place.

Does Form 47SP need to match my sponsor's Form 40SP?

It needs to be consistent, not identical. Case officers compare the applicant's account of the relationship on the 47SP against the sponsor's account on the 40SP, and unexplained contradictions on material facts (key dates, how the relationship developed) can trigger follow-up questions and slow the case.

Is Form 47SP the same for the 820 and 309 visa?

The form's content is the same across the standard partner pathway — it's used for both the onshore (820/801) and offshore (309/100) subclasses. What differs is which subclass the application is assessed against, based on where the applicant was when they applied.

Where do I get the current Form 47SP?

Free, direct from the Department of Home Affairs form-listing page at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. Always check you're using the current version before referencing its question structure for an ImmiAccount application.