Partner Visa (Subclass 309)
The subclass 309 partner visa is lodged from outside Australia, costs A$11,710 for the main applicant as at 23 September 2026, and took a median of 21 months to decide in the Department's guide updated on 4 September 2026; it grants travel and work rights on arrival and leads to the permanent subclass 100.
- Stage 1
- Temporary. Live, work and study while the permanent stage waits.
- Eligibility date
- Two years after the day you lodged. The Department then asks for fresh relationship evidence.
- Stage 2
- Permanent. Stay indefinitely and, when eligible, apply for citizenship.
You must be outside Australia when you lodge, you may be in or outside Australia when it is granted, and you hold no Australian visa while you wait unless you get one separately.
| Subclass 309 at a glance | As at 23 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Visa application charge, main applicant | A$11,710 |
| Additional applicant aged 18 or over | A$5,860 |
| Additional applicant under 18 | A$2,935 |
| Second instalment, per person | Nil |
| Where you must be when you apply | Outside Australia |
| Where you may be when it is granted | In or outside Australia, not in immigration clearance |
| Australian status while you wait | None from this application |
| Work rights on arrival | Full work rights |
| Travel rights on the granted visa | In and out of Australia as often as you want |
| 50% of applications decided within | 21 months (guide updated 4 September 2026) |
| 90% of applications decided within | 39 months (guide updated 4 September 2026) |
| Subclass 100 eligibility date | 2 years after the day you lodged |
Who can apply for a subclass 309?
- Be outside Australia on the day you apply, with any family members applying with you (item 1220A of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth)).
- Be the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen (cl 309.211).
- Meet the four relationship factors in regulation 1.09A or 1.15A of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth).
- Be 18 or over, in most cases.
- Meet the health and character requirements and sign the Australian values statement.
- Have no outstanding debt to the Australian Government.
Who can sponsor you?
Your sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen aged 18 or over, and the Department must approve the sponsorship. The same person sponsors you until 2 years after the subclass 309 is granted, or after your next arrival if you were outside Australia at grant. The sponsor requirements page covers the limits on sponsoring more than once.
Does the 12-month de facto rule apply?
Yes. De facto partners usually need to show 12 months as a couple before applying, unless the relationship is registered with an Australian state or territory registry or there are compelling and compassionate circumstances. The requirements page sets out how the 12 months are counted.
How much does a subclass 309 cost?
The charge sits in item 1129 of Schedule 1, and one payment covers the subclass 309 and the subclass 100.
| Charge | Amount, as at 23 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Main applicant | A$11,710 |
| Each additional applicant aged 18 or over | A$5,860 |
| Each additional applicant under 18 | A$2,935 |
| Second instalment, per person | Nil |
| Main applicant with a passport from an eligible Pacific Island country or Timor-Leste (from 1 July 2026) | A$9,600 (A$4,805 and A$2,405 for additional applicants) |
| What the charge does not cover | Health examinations, police certificates, translations, biometrics |
The costs an offshore applicant pays on top are set by the provider in each country, so they are listed here without amounts:
| Other cost | When it arises |
|---|---|
| Health examinations with a panel physician | When the Department asks; results are valid for 12 months |
| Police certificates | From every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16, and from the Australian Federal Police if that includes Australia |
| Translations | For every document not in English |
| Biometrics | If the Department asks you to give them |
A summed example: a main applicant applying with one dependent child aged 10 pays A$11,710 plus A$2,935, a total of A$14,645 in visa application charges as at 23 September 2026, before the costs above. Use the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator for your own figure, and see partner visa cost for how the charge has changed over time.
How long does a subclass 309 take?
A percentile tells you the share of recently decided applications finalised within a time. The 50th percentile (the median) is the time within which half were decided; the 90th percentile, the time within which nine in ten were.
| As at | 25% decided within | 50% decided within | 75% decided within | 90% decided within | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guide updated 4 September 2026 | 15 months | 21 months | 27 months | 39 months | Department of Home Affairs processing times guide |
The Department updates the guide regularly, so check the date on any figure before you rely on it.
Ministerial Direction 117, which replaced Direction 102 on 25 July 2026, sets two tiers. Applications made in Australia for a visa that can be granted in Australia get the highest priority; applications where the applicant was outside Australia at the time of application get lower priority, and the subclass 309 is in that lower tier. Within each tier, partner and dependent child applications come second, after applications subject to ministerial intervention.
Why is the 309 slower than the 820?
On the median it was not: 21 months for the subclass 309 against 23 months for the subclass 820 in the guide updated on 4 September 2026. The slow end is where they differ, with 90% of subclass 309 applications decided within 39 months against 29 months onshore, which fits the lower priority under Direction 117.
Does a medical or a police check restart the clock?
The Department does not describe any restart. What it does say is that health results and police certificates are valid for 12 months, and that you may be asked to redo them if they expire before a decision, so time them against the processing times guide.
The cross-subclass comparison is on partner visa processing time.
What happens while you wait outside Australia?
- You hold no Australian visa from this application and get no bridging visa.
- You may not live or work in Australia on the strength of the application.
- The Department asks you not to arrange travel on the visa until it tells you in writing that it is granted.
- You keep your relationship evidence up to date in ImmiAccount, because the wait is long.
Can you visit Australia while a subclass 309 is pending?
Yes, on a separate visitor visa that is assessed on its own criteria. The Department says that if you travel to Australia on a different visa while the application is in progress, you are responsible for holding a valid visa for your whole stay.
What if you move to Australia before the decision?
You can be in Australia when the subclass 309 is granted, as long as you are there lawfully on another visa and not in immigration clearance (cl 309.412). Moving does not change the application into an onshore one.
Can you switch to a subclass 820 by coming to Australia?
No. A subclass 820 is a new application with a new charge, and it depends on the visa you hold here. The two paths are compared on onshore or offshore partner visa.
What documents do you need?
| Document | Required or optional | Which factor it proves | Certified copy or translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport and birth certificate | Required | Identity | Translation if not in English |
| Marriage certificate, or evidence of 12 months as de facto partners | Required | The relationship | Translation if not in English |
| Relationship history in writing | Required | Nature of the commitment | No |
| Two supporting statements (Form 888) | Required | Social aspects | No |
| Joint financial documents | Strongly advised | Financial aspects | Translation if not in English |
| Police certificates from every country of residence | Required when asked | Character | Translation if not in English |
| Translations made outside Australia | Where needed | Any | Translator's name, contact details and qualifications in English |
The Department does not require certified copies. Translators in Australia must be NAATI-accredited; translators outside Australia need not be, but must add their details to each translation.
How do you prove the relationship from overseas?
Finances across two countries
Show money moving between you: regular transfers from one partner to the other, a joint account used for shared costs, and loans or bills either of you pays for the other.
Your household, even while apart
Show where you lived together and how you run your affairs now: a past lease in both names, mail to a shared address, and a statement on who does what.
The social side of the relationship
Show that others know you as a couple: two Form 888 statements from people aged 18 or over, and travel records, photos and invitations from visits together.
Your commitment to each other
Show that you stay in touch and plan a future: call logs and message histories across the time apart, and your relationship history in your own words.
What happens when the subclass 309 is granted?
- Entry: if you were outside Australia at grant, you must first enter by the date in your grant letter.
- Work: full work rights, protected by Australian workplace law.
- Study: allowed, but without government support.
- Medicare: you can enrol in Australia's public health care scheme.
- Travel: in and out of Australia as often as you want.
- English classes: free through the Adult Migrant English Program, if eligible.
- New Zealand passport holders: tell the border officer you do not want a subclass 444, or it will override the subclass 309 and end your path to the subclass 100.
How does the subclass 309 become the subclass 100?
Clause 100.221(2)(c) of Schedule 2 requires at least 2 years to have passed since you lodged. If you lodged on 1 June 2025, you become eligible on 1 June 2027.
- Wait for the second anniversary of lodgement; the Department asks you not to send documents before then.
- In ImmiAccount, select "Stage 2 – Permanent Partner Visa Assessment (100, 801)" and submit new relationship evidence, your sponsor's statutory declaration and any police certificates.
- Pay nothing further: the first charge covered the subclass 100.
The two-year wait does not apply if you were in a long-term partner relationship when you applied (3 years together, or 2 with a dependent child of you both), or if your sponsor holds or held a permanent humanitarian visa and declared your relationship before it was granted (cl 100.221(5) and (6)). The permanent visa is covered on partner visa subclass 100.
What happens if a subclass 309 is refused?
- Read the refusal letter for the reasons and whether you can seek review.
- Apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal, which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024, within 28 days of notification (s 347 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth)).
- Pay the fee set by regulation 4.13, a base of A$3,496 indexed every 1 July.
The offshore difference: under regulation 4.02(4)(saa) and (5)(raa), a subclass 309 refusal is reviewed on the applicant's application, and you do not need to be in Australia to lodge it, whereas an onshore subclass 820 applicant must be in Australia to seek review. For a refused subclass 300, it is the sponsor who applies. The visa application charge is not refunded.
Applying these rules to your own circumstances is immigration assistance, which ss 276 and 280 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) restrict to registered migration agents and Australian legal practitioners.
Subclass 309 compared with subclass 820 and subclass 300
| Subclass 309 | Subclass 820 | Subclass 300 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you lodge | Outside Australia | In Australia | Outside Australia |
| Relationship when you lodge | Married or de facto | Married or de facto | Engaged |
| Visa while you wait | None | Bridging visa A | None |
| 50% / 90% decided within (4 September 2026) | 21 / 39 months | 23 / 29 months | 14 / 26 months |
| Leads to | Subclass 100 | Subclass 801 | Subclass 820, then 801 |
The full matrix is on onshore or offshore partner visa.
Questions people ask about the subclass 309
Is a subclass 309 permanent residence?
No. It is a provisional visa; permanent residence comes with the subclass 100.
Can a subclass 309 holder get Medicare?
Yes. The Department says subclass 309 holders can enrol in Medicare once the visa is granted.
Can a subclass 309 holder work in Australia?
Yes, with full work rights once the visa is granted. Before the grant, the application gives you no right to work in Australia.
How long can you stay on a subclass 309?
Until the subclass 100 application is decided or withdrawn (cl 309.511). There is no fixed expiry date.
Can a subclass 309 be rejected, and how often?
Yes, if any criterion is not met, and the charge is not refunded. The Department's subclass 309 page does not publish a refusal rate, so none is quoted here.
Can you withdraw a subclass 309 application?
Yes, online in ImmiAccount. You withdraw the subclass 309 and 100 together, with a signed statement from each applicant aged 18 or over.
The offshore partner visa pathway
- The permanent stage is partner visa subclass 100.
- If you are still deciding where to lodge, compare an onshore or offshore partner visa.
- The full charge history is on partner visa cost, and the cross-subclass wait on partner visa processing time.
- Planning a trip while you wait? See visiting Australia during a 309 partner visa wait.
- Every subclass and step is on the Australian partner visa page.
An offshore application is decided on paper, often across two countries, and one missing police certificate, an untranslated document or thin evidence of time together can lead to refusal after a wait of years. An application prepared by a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner is more likely to succeed, because they check each document and each of the four factors before you lodge. No one can guarantee a grant, but a well-prepared application removes the avoidable reasons for refusal.
Questions people ask
How much does a 309 visa cost?
As at 23 September 2026 the visa application charge is A$11,710 for the main applicant, A$5,860 for each additional applicant aged 18 or over and A$2,935 for each additional applicant under 18. The charge covers both the subclass 309 and the subclass 100. Eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste passport holders pay A$9,600 for the main applicant.
How long does a 309 partner visa take?
In the Department of Home Affairs guide updated on 4 September 2026, half of recently decided subclass 309 applications were finalised within 21 months and 90% within 39 months. The figures change regularly, so check the official processing times guide.
Can the 309 visa lead to permanent residency?
Yes. The subclass 309 is a provisional visa, and you can be assessed for the permanent subclass 100 two years after you lodged the combined application. The subclass 100 is permanent residence.
Do you have to be outside Australia when the 309 is granted?
No longer. You must be outside Australia when you apply, but clause 309.412 of the Migration Regulations 1994 allows the subclass 309 to be granted while you are in or outside Australia, as long as you are not in immigration clearance.
Can a 309 visa holder get Medicare?
Yes. The Department of Home Affairs says subclass 309 holders can enrol in Medicare, Australia's public health care scheme, once the visa is granted.
Sources
Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs, Partner visa (subclass 309) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Global visa processing times guide immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Family visa processing priorities immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Visa Pricing Estimator immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
- Migration Act 1958 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au