Permanent partner visa — the second stage for onshore partner applicants
The Partner visa (subclass 801) is the permanent stage of the partner visa. You already applied for it.
When you lodged the temporary Partner visa (subclass 820), you applied for both stages at once on one form and paid one fee that covered both. The 801 is not a separate application.
Two years after that original lodgement date, the department considers the permanent stage automatically.
Unlike the 820, you don't need to be in Australia when the 801 is decided. You just need to still hold the 820, still be in a genuine relationship with your sponsor, and have your documents ready when the department comes to your file.
These are the published requirements for the 801. Check each one applies to your situation.
Processing times published for the 801 are measured from when the 2-year eligibility window opens, not from when you originally lodged.
So if you lodged 2 years ago and processing is currently running at 12 months, you're looking at 3 years total from lodgement.
People often quote the published processing times without accounting for the mandatory 2-year wait that comes first. The two figures add together.
The 820 required police certificates for countries where you lived for 12 or more months in the 10 years before lodgement.
The 801 requires certificates for countries where you spent 12 or more cumulative months since your 820 was granted.
If you visited your home country for extended stays during the long 820 wait, you'll need a fresh certificate from there.
Many people are caught off guard by this because they assume the original certificates still apply.
The 820 required you to be physically in Australia at lodgement. The 801 has no such rule.
You can be anywhere in the world when the department makes its decision on the permanent stage.
If you're overseas when it's granted, your permanent residency still starts from the grant date. Your 5-year travel facility begins running from that day regardless of where you are.
Most applicants wait the full 2 years before the permanent stage is assessed.
But if you were already in a long-term relationship with your sponsor when you lodged the original application, the department may grant the 801 in less than 2 years.
This isn't guaranteed and isn't formally defined in the legislation, but it does happen. Couples who had been together for several years before applying are most likely to benefit.
Nothing prevents you from contacting the department to flag this. It's ultimately their discretion.
While you hold the 820 and are waiting on the 801, one rule is critical. If you're granted any other substantive visa during that wait, you permanently lose the ability to be granted the 801.
The rule is explicit: you have to be holding the 820 at the time of grant.
This catches people when an employer makes an offer and switches them to a sponsored work visa, or when someone tries to move onto a different pathway. The consequences are irreversible and cannot be undone on review.
