Australian Partner Visa Processing Time Explained (820/801, 309/100)

How Australia's partner visa timeline actually works: the two-stage 820/801 and 309/100 process, the Department's own published percentile processing times for the period to 30 June 2026, and what genuinely slows a case down. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

Watch

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Partner visa processing time:
  2. 0:14 One application, two stages
  3. 0:28 Permanent stage assessed:
  4. 0:41 Not 1 number — 4 percentiles:
  5. 0:54 Subclass 309 (offshore, temporary)
  6. 1:12 Subclass 820 (onshore, temporary)
  7. 1:26 The permanent 801 can be
  8. 1:37 A snapshot, not a promise —
  9. 1:48 What drives delays
  10. 2:00 Evidence, across 4 categories
  11. 2:12 The Bridging Visa A trap
  12. 2:24 One charge, both stages
  13. 2:40 The biggest lever you control:
  14. 2:51 Where to read more

Transcript

How long does an Australian partner visa actually take? There's no fixed number. Home Affairs publishes a moving range, updated every month.

The partner visa is lodged as one application, in two stages. Onshore, that's subclass 820, then subclass 801. Offshore, it's subclass 309, then subclass 100.

Home Affairs assesses the permanent stage about 2 years after you applied. Together 3 years when you applied, or 2 with a dependent child? The permanent visa can sometimes be granted straight away.

Home Affairs reports processing time as 4 percentiles, not one average: how long it took to finish the fastest 25%, 50%, 75% and 90% of decided cases.

For the period ending 30 June 2026, published 4 August 2026, the offshore subclass 309 took 13 months for the fastest 25%, 17 months for the fastest 50%, 24 months for 75%, and 30 months for 90%.

The onshore subclass 820 took 8 months for the fastest 25%, 18 months for 50%, 24 months for 75%, and 32 months for the fastest 90%, in that same period.

Here's the confusing part. The permanent 801 finished in as little as 89 days for the fastest quarter — faster than the 820 that comes before it.

These figures are one monthly snapshot, and already several weeks old by the time you read them. The Department's own page is the only genuinely current number.

What actually pushes a case toward the slower end? Incomplete evidence, expired health checks or police clearances, complex relationship history, and sponsor-side issues.

The Department checks relationship evidence across 4 categories: financial, social, household, and commitment. A gap in any one is the most common cause of delay.

If you're onshore on the 820 and your current visa expires first, you're automatically granted a Bridging Visa A. Leave the country on it, though, and it ceases — you need a Bridging Visa B first.

One charge covers both stages: $11,710 for the main applicant, plus $5,860 for each extra adult and $2,935 per child. Nothing further is charged at the permanent stage.

The single biggest lever you control is completeness at first lodgement. A case that needs a follow-up request for information is, by definition, slower than one that doesn't.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.

Short versions

Talk it through with a registered agent

Every agent on Migratio is on the official OMARA register. Compare agents and their consultation fees.

Related Migratio resources