Your Partner Visa Relationship Has Ended — What Happens Now

If you are in danger, or the relationship ended because of family violence, start here

The law does not require you to stay in a relationship, abusive or otherwise, to keep your visa pathway. Australia's family violence provisions exist specifically so that a person is not forced to choose between their safety and their visa.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

For confidential counselling and support, day or night, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also text 0458 737 732.

For a service that combines family violence casework with migration-specific help, including MARA-registered migration agents on staff, in more than 20 languages, call inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence on 1800 755 988, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

The family violence provisions can allow the permanent stage of a partner visa (801 or 100) to be granted even though the relationship has ended, if the ending was caused by family violence against you. Evidence does not have to come from a court, and if the Department is not satisfied on the papers alone, it must refer the case to an independent expert whose opinion it has to accept. Our Partner Visa Family Violence Provisions guide, linked in the related reading below, covers who qualifies, the evidence pathways, and how to lodge a claim in full.

One fact worth knowing before you read anything else online: the family violence provisions changed on 1 July 2024. Offshore applicants (subclass 309/100) were brought into line with onshore applicants (820/801), and a gap that used to leave Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa holders unprotected if they hadn't yet married was closed. If you're reading material written before mid-2024, some of it will be out of date.

What "relationship ended" actually means for your application

A partner visa runs in two stages: a temporary visa (820 onshore, or 309 offshore) followed later by a permanent visa (801, or 100). Where your relationship ending sits in that sequence changes what happens next — the same event has a different effect depending on whether you're waiting on the temporary stage, waiting on the permanent stage, or already hold the permanent visa.

Your legal duty to notify the Department

Under the Migration Act, if circumstances change so that an answer you gave in your application is no longer correct, you must tell the Department in writing as soon as practicable. There is no fixed number of days written into the law for a relationship breakdown specifically, but "as soon as practicable" is generally understood to mean promptly, not whenever it becomes convenient.

There is a genuine tension worth naming here: state legal-aid guidance specifically recommends getting advice before notifying the Department, particularly if you may want to rely on the family violence provisions, because the timing and framing of that first notification can affect how your claim is later assessed. This isn't a case where firing off a form the moment things end is obviously the right move — how you frame the notification can matter as much as the notification itself.

Notification is usually done through ImmiAccount, using "Notification of Relationship Cessation," or by lodging Form 1022 (Notification of changes in circumstances).

If your temporary visa (820 or 309) hasn't been decided yet

The relationship generally needs to be genuine and continuing at the time the Department makes its decision. If it has ended and none of the recognised exceptions apply, the application is at risk of not meeting the partner visa criteria. The recognised exceptions include family violence (see above) and, in a different scenario not covered in this article, the death of the sponsoring partner.

If you hold the temporary visa and the permanent stage (801 or 100) hasn't been decided

Same underlying test — genuine and continuing at time of decision — unless an exception applies. This is the stage where the family violence provisions do their most visible work: they let the permanent visa be granted despite the relationship having ended, because the law recognises that requiring an ongoing relationship in this situation would keep someone tied to an abusive partner.

If your permanent visa (801 or 100) has already been granted

Permanent residence stands regardless of what happens to the relationship afterwards. There is generally no obligation to notify the Department once permanent residence has been granted — the visa isn't conditional on the relationship continuing from that point.

Withdrawing your application vs letting it be refused

If the relationship has genuinely ended and no exception applies, you generally have two paths: withdraw the application, or let the Department proceed to a decision, which is likely to be refusal.

These are not the same thing on your record.

- Withdrawal is not a refusal. It doesn't create a formal negative decision, and future visa application forms that ask "have you ever been refused a visa" don't require a "yes" for a withdrawal the way they do for a refusal. Withdrawal is final once actioned — it can't be undone if you change your mind afterward.
- Refusal creates a formal record that every future Australian visa application form will ask about. A single refusal doesn't automatically block future applications, but it invites closer scrutiny, particularly where the refusal touches on the genuineness of a relationship claim.

Which is the better move in a given case is genuinely a judgment call, and it depends on whether there's still a live chance the application could succeed, for example on family violence grounds. It's exactly the kind of binary, irreversible decision worth getting advice on before acting.

Can you apply for a partner visa again?

A refusal of most onshore visa applications triggers a bar under section 48 of the Migration Act on making further onshore applications. Partner visas are on the list of visa types exempted from that bar, so a refused onshore (820) application does not, by itself, stop you lodging another onshore partner application.

The catch: if you don't hold a substantive visa at the time you lodge that second application, for example you're on a bridging visa, a different set of criteria (Schedule 3) applies to the new application instead. Schedule 3 broadly requires you to show you applied within a certain period of losing your substantive visa, or that there are compelling reasons why it shouldn't apply. Making out a Schedule 3 case is a technical, evidence-heavy exercise, not a form-filling one.

The alternative some people consider is leaving Australia and lodging an offshore application (309/100) instead, since both the section 48 bar and Schedule 3 only apply to onshore applications. That's a significant decision — leaving the country, cost, time, and family separation are all real — not a quick administrative fix.

When a registered migration agent genuinely helps

This is one of the situations where a wrong first move can be close to irreversible — notifying the Department in a way that undercuts a family violence claim, or notifying too late, or withdrawing when a family violence pathway might have succeeded. An agent adds real value on: sequencing the notification correctly, assessing whether a family violence or other exception genuinely applies to your facts, building the evidence for it, and working out whether withdrawal, waiting for a decision, or reapplying is the more sensible path given the actual strength of your case.

What an agent can't do: tell you in advance what decision the Department will reach, or guarantee that any particular pathway will succeed. Nobody can. What they can do is make sure you're not accidentally closing off an option you didn't know you had.

What to do right now

1. If you're in danger, contact 000, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, or inTouch on 1800 755 988 before anything else.
2. Work out which stage your application is at — temporary pending, permanent pending, or permanent already granted — since that changes what actually happens next.
3. Get advice before notifying the Department if family violence is any part of the picture, so the claim is framed correctly from the first contact.
4. If no exception applies and the relationship has genuinely ended, get advice on whether withdrawing or waiting for a decision better fits your circumstances before deciding either way.

Do I have to tell the Department if my relationship ends?

Generally, yes — the Migration Act requires you to notify the Department in writing as soon as practicable once an answer in your application is no longer correct, which includes a relationship ending. There's no fixed day-count for this specific scenario in the law, but delay is not advisable. Get advice first if family violence may be relevant, since the timing and framing of the notification can matter.

Will I lose my visa if my relationship ends?

It depends on which stage you're at. If your permanent visa (801/100) has already been granted, it stands regardless. If a temporary or permanent-stage decision is still pending, the relationship generally needs to be genuine and continuing at time of decision — unless an exception applies, most notably the family violence provisions.

Can I still get my visa if I leave an abusive partner?

Possibly, yes — the family violence provisions exist for exactly this situation and can allow the permanent visa to be granted despite the relationship ending. Evidence doesn't have to come from a court. See our dedicated family violence provisions guide, and if you're in danger, contact 000, 1800RESPECT, or inTouch first.

Is it better to withdraw my application or wait to be refused?

They have different consequences. Withdrawal isn't a refusal and doesn't require disclosure on future "have you ever been refused a visa" questions, but it's final once actioned. A refusal creates a formal record every future visa application will ask about. Which is the better fit depends on the specific facts of your case — this is worth getting advice on rather than deciding alone.

Can I apply for another partner visa after a refusal?

Partner visas are exempt from the general section 48 bar on further onshore applications after a refusal. But if you don't hold a substantive visa when you lodge the new application, Schedule 3 criteria apply instead, and making out a case under Schedule 3 is technical. Applying from offshore is an alternative some people consider, since it sidesteps both issues.

Does the 1 July 2024 change to the family violence provisions affect me?

If your relationship involved an offshore application (309/100) or a Prospective Marriage visa (300) where you hadn't yet married, it may. From 1 July 2024, offshore applicants were brought into line with onshore applicants, and Prospective Marriage visa holders who never married gained access to the family violence provisions for the first time. Older online material may not reflect this.