Partner Visa Processing Enquiry Form
You use the Partner Processing Enquiry Form only once your partner visa application is lodged and only for the situations the Department lists, and Home Affairs asks you not to contact it about progress while the application is within the published processing time.
An enquiry made while an application is within the processing time is answered, if at all, with the published processing time, and it changes nothing about your place in the queue. The form's official name is the Partner Processing Enquiry Form. It is a web form with no form number, last updated on 3 August 2026, and it was checked with the Partner Visa FAQs on 23 September 2026.
| Label | Detail |
|---|---|
| Your subclass | 820 and 801, or 309 and 100, or 300 |
| The published processing time | Check the Department's processing times guide on the day, as the figure changes (see partner visa processing time) |
| The date you lodged | Shown in ImmiAccount and on your acknowledgement letter |
| When you can ask about progress | Once the application is outside the published processing time |
| What the enquiry can do | Deal with a listed situation, such as more time, adding a child or withdrawing a sponsorship |
| What it cannot do | Report progress on an application within the processing time, or move it up the queue |
| Where to lodge it | On the Home Affairs website, not in ImmiAccount |
| What to include | Application ID or file number, your details, a description, and any required form |
| How long the reply takes | No timeframe published |
When can you enquire about a partner visa application?
You can enquire about a partner visa application once it is lodged, and ask about progress once it is outside the published processing time. Home Affairs says: "Do not contact us if your application is still within the standard processing time." It also says it will not answer an enquiry if the answer is on its website or in the FAQs.
To work out the date:
- Find your lodgement date in ImmiAccount.
- Open the processing times guide, choose your visa and stream, and note the figure shown on the day you check.
- Add that figure to your lodgement date.
An illustration with a made-up figure (not the current one): if the guide showed 24 months for a subclass 820 application lodged on 10 March 2025, the earliest date to ask about progress would be 10 March 2027. For a subclass 309 application lodged on 5 June 2025, you would use the offshore figure the guide shows for subclass 309 in the same way. Check the real figure, because it changes, as explained on the partner visa processing time page.
How do you lodge a partner visa processing enquiry?
- Open the Partner Processing Enquiry Form on the Home Affairs website.
- Confirm you have read the privacy and security statements.
- Choose your situation from the list:
- withdrawing a sponsorship
- asking how to withdraw a sponsorship
- notifying that the relationship has ended or changed
- advising that you have reconciled
- being unable to provide documents in time
- having no access to ImmiAccount
- adding a dependent child
- exceeding the upload limit
- requesting priority processing
- none of these.
- Say who is completing the form, then give the applicant's details, the Application ID or file number, and your contact details.
- Attach any required document, such as Form 1022, Form 956, Form 1446 or a signed statement, and submit.
What do you need before you lodge a partner visa processing enquiry?
- Your Application ID or file number, which is on the acknowledgement letter or in the email subject line.
- The date you lodged and your subclass.
- The processing time figure shown on the day you checked.
- Any form the chosen situation needs. If you give an email address the Department has not had before, you may be asked for Form 1022 or Form 1193.
- Photo identification, such as your passport or driver's licence, which the Department may ask you to attach.
What does the Department's reply to a partner visa enquiry say?
Expect a short written reply, if any. The FAQs say the Department "cannot provide any further updates" on an application within the standard processing time, and the enquiry form says it is "unable to report on the progress of individual applications". A reply may confirm what you notified or point you to the processing times guide. An enquiry does not move the application forward.
What is the difference between a partner visa status enquiry, processing enquiry and priority request?
| Status check | Processing enquiry | Priority request | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Reading the status in ImmiAccount | The Partner Processing Enquiry Form | The "request priority processing" option in the same form |
| When you can use it | Any time | After lodgement, for a listed situation | For 820 or 309 holders, only once two years have passed since applying |
| What it does | Shows the current stage | Deals with the situation you chose | Asks the Department to depart from the order in Ministerial Direction 117 on compassionate grounds |
| Where to lodge it | ImmiAccount | Home Affairs website | Home Affairs website, with evidence attached in ImmiAccount |
Does a partner visa processing enquiry get you priority?
No. An enquiry only asks where things stand. Whether priority can be requested, and on what grounds, is set out on the partner visa processing time page linked at the end of this page.
How do you check a partner visa application's status without an enquiry?
- Log in to ImmiAccount and find the application in "My applications summary".
- Read the status: Received, Initial assessment, Further assessment or Finalised.
- Open Messages for any request, and check "Actions required".
What if your circumstances have changed since you lodged the partner visa?
Use Form 1022 or "Notification of changes in circumstances" under Update details in ImmiAccount, not a processing enquiry. The enquiry form is the channel only if you have no ImmiAccount access, when you attach a signed Form 1022 to it.
What if the Department has already asked you for something on your partner visa?
Answer the request. An unanswered request for more information under s 56 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) can leave an application waiting on you rather than on the Department. If you cannot meet the deadline, use the enquiry form's "cannot provide documents" option before the deadline passes, with evidence of the steps you have taken. This site's page on waiting for a decision covers requests in more detail.
What can you do if the reply does not help your partner visa application?
- Complain to the Department. Its complaints form aims to acknowledge feedback within two working days and respond within 15 working days after that. You can then ask its Global Feedback Unit for an internal review.
- Contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman. Home Affairs gives the number as 1300 362 072 if you are not satisfied with the outcome of a complaint.
- Contact your federal member of parliament. Section 280(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) allows a parliamentarian to give immigration assistance.
None of these changes your place in the queue under Ministerial Direction 117, which replaced Direction 102 on 25 July 2026.
Questions about chasing a partner visa
Does enquiring slow your partner visa application down?
Home Affairs does not say it does. It does say that extra requests, calls and emails will not speed it up.
How often can you enquire about a partner visa?
There is no set limit. The Department asks you not to send repeat priority requests unless your circumstances have changed and you have new evidence.
Can the sponsor enquire?
Yes. "Sponsor" is one of the options for who is completing the form.
Can an agent enquire on your behalf?
Yes. A registered migration agent, legal practitioner, exempt person or authorised recipient can complete the form.
Does a longer wait mean a refusal is coming?
Home Affairs gives no sign that it does. Processing times vary, and offshore applications have lower priority under Ministerial Direction 117.
Getting a stalled application moving
A partner visa that seems stuck is often waiting on something only the applicant can supply. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner checks what is outstanding, answers s 56 requests in time, and knows when a priority request has real grounds. That makes an application they prepare more likely to succeed, though no one can promise a grant.
Partner visa processing times and what happens while you wait
- The partner visa processing time page explains the published figures, the queue and when priority can be asked for.
- The page on waiting for a partner visa decision covers bridging visas, requests and life during the wait.
- The partner visa forms page lists this form with every other form in the application.
Questions people ask
When can I use the Partner Processing Enquiry Form?
After you have lodged a partner visa application. Home Affairs asks you not to contact it about progress while the application is within the standard processing time, and says it will not reply if the answer is already on its website or in the Partner Visa FAQs. The form is mainly for specific situations such as asking for more time, adding a child or withdrawing a sponsorship.
How long does the Department take to reply to a partner visa enquiry?
Home Affairs does not publish a reply timeframe for the Partner Processing Enquiry Form as at 23 September 2026. For priority processing requests it says it cannot give a timeframe and will email you if a request is not accepted.
Does a processing enquiry speed up a partner visa?
No. Home Affairs says it cannot report on the progress of individual applications, and that repeated requests, calls or emails will not speed up processing. Applications are decided in the order set by Ministerial Direction 117.
Can the sponsor use the Partner Processing Enquiry Form?
Yes. The form asks who is completing it, and the options are the primary applicant, the sponsor, a dependent child, a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, an exempt person, an authorised recipient or someone else.
How do I check my partner visa status without an enquiry?
Log in to ImmiAccount and look at the status next to the application, which moves from Received to Initial assessment, Further assessment and Finalised. A partner sponsorship always shows Submitted.
Sources
Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.
- Home Affairs, Partner Processing Enquiry Form immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Home Affairs, Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Home Affairs, Visa processing times guide immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Home Affairs, Family visa processing priorities immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Home Affairs, Complaints, compliments and suggestions www.homeaffairs.gov.au