From a Visitor Visa to an Onshore Partner Visa: Current Law and the 2026 Announcement

Status as at 12 October 2026

- Current law: unchanged by any instrument. A person holding a visitor visa without condition 8503 is not prevented by the regulations from lodging an onshore partner visa application, subject to all the partner visa criteria.
- Announced: a No Further Stay condition on all visitor visas, for future grants only. Announced 17 September 2026. No instrument, no start date.
- Partner visas themselves: the announcement does not change any partner visa criterion, fee or processing rule. The Minister said in the question and answer session that "We're pretty much at the limit, I've gotta say, on family migration at the moment, in terms of the delays."
- Existing visitor visa holders: the Minister said the change will have no impact on anybody who is already here.

See our page on the No Further Stay condition for the detail of the condition and the waiver.

The onshore and offshore partner visa routes

The Migration Regulations set the place of application differently for the two partner visa pathways.

- The offshore route (subclass 309 provisional, then subclass 100): the application is made with the applicant outside Australia. Item 1220A of Schedule 1 says "Applicant must be outside Australia."
- The onshore route (subclass 820 temporary, then subclass 801 permanent): item 1214C says the applicant "must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance", and the application is made at the same time and place as the permanent partner application.

Our guides to the 309 visa, the 820 visa and the choice between onshore and offshore cover each route. This page deals only with the visitor visa link.

Current law: applying onshore while on a visitor visa

Clause 820.211 sets the criteria that must be met at the time of application for the 820. Among them, for an applicant who is not the holder of a substantive visa, the applicant must either fit a narrow special case or satisfy Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004, unless the Minister is satisfied there are compelling reasons for not applying those criteria.

A visitor visa is a substantive visa. Home Affairs defines a substantive visa as any visa that allows the holder to remain temporarily in Australia, other than a bridging visa or a criminal justice or enforcement visa. So a person who still holds a current visitor visa when they lodge is not in the group that has to satisfy the Schedule 3 criteria. A person whose visitor visa has expired is in a different position, which our Schedule 3 waiver page covers.

The restriction that matters for visitor visa holders is condition 8503. It provides that the holder "will not, after entering Australia, be entitled to be granted a substantive visa, other than a protection visa, while the holder remains in Australia." If the visitor visa carries it, an onshore partner visa cannot be granted while the person remains in Australia, unless the condition is waived.

Two points about the waiver:

- The general test in regulation 2.05(4) requires compelling and compassionate circumstances that developed after the visa was granted, over which the person had no control, and that resulted in a major change to their circumstances.
- The separate ground in regulation 2.05(4AA) is for a genuine intention to apply for certain skilled and employer-sponsored visas. Under regulation 2.07AG, a person waived on that ground can validly apply only for those visas. It does not open the partner visa.

Whether 8503 is on a particular visa depends on the stream and the decision at grant. Today it must be imposed on Sponsored Family stream visas and may be imposed on unsponsored Tourist stream visas. The visa grant notice and VEVO show a visa's conditions.

Our bridging visa page covers what happens to an onshore applicant when the visitor visa ends. The Minister's speech described the move from a visitor visa to a bridging visa as the thing the change is meant to stop.

What the announcement says about partners

The speech linked the new condition to partner visas directly. The Minister said it would mean "while someone is waiting for a spouse visa to come through, their partner will be able to visit Australia on a regular basis". In the question and answer session he said: "Fortunately, now what I announced with respect to visitor visas, make it easier for partners to spend extended time in Australia together, even though the visa isn't there, because there's no longer an automatic switch to a bridging visa."

The stated purpose, as the speech puts it, is that visitor visas should be for genuine visitors, and that more visitor visas can then be granted to genuine visitors. The release says the condition is to ensure visitor visas "are only used by genuine visitors and not as a pathway to extending a stay in Australia."

What the sources do not state is any exception for a partner of an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or any change to the waiver. The Minister said a no further stay condition cannot be applied to a protection application.

Commentary from migration firms describes the change as ending the route from a new visitor visa to an onshore 820. That description is consistent with how 8503 works, but it is firm commentary and not a government statement, and it depends on the condition being imposed on the visa.

What the announcement would change, and what it wouldn't

If a No Further Stay condition were imposed on a person's visitor visa at grant, then on the current text of the regulations:

- they would not be entitled to be granted an onshore partner visa while remaining in Australia, unless the condition was waived
- they could still apply for a partner visa from outside Australia, including the offshore 309 and 100 route
- they could still, on the Minister's description, visit Australia on further visitor visas

It would not, on the sources:

- change who can apply for a partner visa offshore
- change the partner visa criteria, such as the relationship requirements
- apply to a visitor visa granted before the change starts
- apply to people on student, work, bridging or other visas, since the announcement concerns visitor visas

What we do not know is which visitor visas the condition would actually be attached to, from what date, and how the waiver would be applied to new visitor visas. The regulations provide for 8503 on the Tourist and Business Visitor streams as a discretion, and have no provision for it on the subclass 601 ETA or subclass 651 eVisitor.

Is it already being applied?

On 11 October 2026 the Minister said in a Sky News interview: "The 'no further stay' rule takes those bridging visas out of the equation," and "We've stopped that with the no further stay condition." Those remarks can be read as saying the condition is already being used on new grants.

We have not found a Home Affairs page, instrument or start date that confirms this. The Tourist stream pages were last updated on 1 July 2026 and still say a person can apply for a new visa if their current visa "does not have a condition that prevents further stay, such as condition 8503". The only way to know whether a given visitor visa has 8503 is to look at that visa's grant notice or VEVO.

So for the question "does my visitor visa carry 8503?" the published sources do not give an answer. The grant document does.

Family violence and partner visas

If a relationship ends because of family violence, the Migration Regulations contain provisions, in Division 1.5 (regulations 1.21 to 1.27), that allow certain partner visa applicants to continue to be considered. Clause 820.221 refers to them. Our page on the family violence provisions sets out the framework.

Those provisions sit within the partner visa criteria. How condition 8503, a visitor visa or a bridging visa interacts with a person's circumstances is an individual question.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000. For confidential counselling and support, 1800RESPECT is available at all hours on 1800 737 732. Legal centres and registered migration agents can advise on visa questions arising from family violence.

ABC reported on 12 October 2026 that family violence advocates had raised concerns about the Government's wider changes, including compliance measures for people without valid visas. Home Affairs was reported as saying family and domestic violence is "not acceptable under any circumstance". That reporting concerned compliance measures rather than visitor visas. Our page on overstayers and detention covers it.

What to watch

As at 12 October 2026, points not yet decided or confirmed are:

- whether and from when the Department is imposing 8503 on all new visitor visa grants
- whether the ETA and eVisitor are covered, which would need a regulation
- whether any waiver approach or exception applies to partners of Australian citizens and permanent residents
- any change to Home Affairs' visitor visa and partner visa pages
- any change to bridging visa arrangements for partner visa applicants

This page will be updated when a primary source confirms any of these. Anyone with a relationship, a visitor visa and a decision to make should have their documents looked at by a MARA-registered migration agent, who can read the conditions on the visa and apply the current rules to the facts.

Can I apply for an onshore partner visa while on a visitor visa?

On the current regulations, a visitor visa is a substantive visa and the 820 can be lodged by someone in Australia. The block is condition 8503: if the visa carries it, a substantive visa cannot be granted while the person remains in Australia, unless the condition is waived. All partner visa criteria still apply. This page does not assess any case.

What does the 2026 announcement change?

It announces a No Further Stay condition (8503) on all visitor visas for future grants. As at 12 October 2026 no instrument or start date has been published, and the Minister has spoken of it as done.

Will my current visitor visa be affected?

The Minister said the change has no impact on anybody who is already here, because it concerns future visas.

Can my partner still visit Australia while my offshore partner visa is processed?

The Minister said that while someone is waiting for a spouse visa, their partner will be able to visit Australia regularly. No instrument sets this out.

Does a skilled-visa 8503 waiver let me apply for a partner visa?

No. A waiver under regulation 2.05(4AA) lets the person validly apply only for the skilled and employer-sponsored visas listed in regulation 2.07AG.

Does this change the offshore 309 partner visa?

Nothing announced changes the offshore partner visa criteria. Condition 8503 does not stop an application made from outside Australia.

What if my relationship has broken down because of violence?

The Migration Regulations have family violence provisions for certain partner visa applicants (Division 1.5). If you are in danger call 000; 1800RESPECT is on 1800 737 732. A legal centre or registered migration agent can advise on your individual position.