Partner Visa (Subclass 801)
The subclass 801 is the permanent stage of an onshore partner visa, is assessed 2 years after you lodged the subclass 820, and costs nothing further because one A$11,710 charge as at 23 September 2026 covers both stages.
- 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.
It grants permanent residence: you may live, work and study in Australia indefinitely, enrol in Medicare, and travel in and out for 5 years from the grant date.
| What a subclass 801 gives you | What it does not give you |
|---|---|
| The right to live in Australia indefinitely | Australian citizenship |
| Full work rights | An Australian passport |
| The right to study in Australia | The right to enrol and vote, which comes with citizenship |
| Access to Medicare | Re-entry as a permanent resident after the travel facility expires, without a Resident Return visa |
| The chance to sponsor eligible family members | Freedom from the partner sponsorship limits for 5 years after you were sponsored |
| Travel in and out of Australia for 5 years from grant | Protection from cancellation, for example on character grounds |
| The start of your permanent-resident time for citizenship | A guarantee of citizenship |
- Visa application charge at this stage: nil
- Assessed from: the second anniversary of your subclass 820 lodgement
- Travel facility: 5 years from grant (cl 801.511)
- Decided within: 3 months for half of applications and 17 months for 90%, from the eligibility date (guide updated 4 September 2026)
Is the subclass 801 permanent residence?
Yes, the subclass 801 is permanent residence. Clause 801.511 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) makes it a permanent visa, and the Department's page says you become a permanent resident on the day it is granted. It is the second of the two visas you applied for when you lodged the onshore partner application.
Is a partner visa PR?
Only the permanent stage is. The subclass 820 and 309 are temporary; the subclass 801 and 100 are permanent.
Is permanent residence the same as citizenship?
No. Citizenship is a separate application with its own residence requirement: 4 years living in Australia on a valid visa, including the last 12 months as a permanent resident, with no more than 12 months away in total and no more than 90 days in the final year. The citizenship page works through the dates.
Who is eligible for a subclass 801?
- You hold a subclass 820 (or, for a child, a subclass 445).
- At least 2 years have passed since you lodged (cl 801.221(2)(d)).
- You are still the spouse or de facto partner of the same sponsor, who continues to sponsor you.
- You and your family members still meet the health and character requirements and owe no debt to the Australian Government.
- You have submitted the second-stage documents in ImmiAccount.
Can the subclass 801 be granted before two years?
Yes. Clause 801.221(6A) removes the two-year wait if you were in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied: at least 3 years together, or 2 years with a dependent child of you both (regulation 1.03). Clause 801.221(7) also allows an earlier grant where the sponsor has died or the relationship ended with family violence or a child-related tie. The dates and exceptions are worked through on from subclass 820 to subclass 801.
Is the subclass 801 granted automatically?
No. Unless it was granted straight after the subclass 820, you submit documents and the Department re-assesses the relationship before deciding.
When is the subclass 801 decided?
You become eligible for assessment two years after you lodged. If you lodged on 15 September 2024, that date was 15 September 2026. The Department measures subclass 801 processing from that eligibility date, not from lodgement.
| Subclass 801 | Decided within | As at |
|---|---|---|
| 50% of applications | 3 months from the eligibility date | guide updated 4 September 2026 |
| 90% of applications | 17 months from the eligibility date | guide updated 4 September 2026 |
What you submit at that point is set out on from subclass 820 to subclass 801.
What does the subclass 801 cost?
Nothing further. The Department's page says you paid for the subclass 801 when you applied for the temporary and permanent visas together. The "second instalment" some readers ask about does not apply: item 1124B(2)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) sets it at nil for this visa. You may still pay for police certificates or health examinations if the Department asks for them.
What changes on the day the subclass 801 is granted?
- Work: full work rights, as before, now without an end date.
- Study: you can study in Australia; the Department points to StudyAssist for what you may be eligible for.
- Medicare: access to Australia's public health care scheme.
- Travel: in and out as often as you want for 5 years.
- Sponsoring relatives: you may be able to sponsor eligible family members.
- Citizenship: your permanent-resident time starts, on the grant date if you were in Australia, or your first entry after grant if you were not.
How long can you stay outside Australia on a subclass 801?
As long as you like, but the travel facility lasts 5 years from grant. To return as a permanent resident after it expires, you need a Resident Return visa; you get a 5-year facility on that visa if you were in Australia for at least 2 of the last 5 years as a permanent resident or citizen.
When can you apply for citizenship?
Take the grant date and add 12 months, then check that you have lived in Australia on a valid visa for the 4 years before that date and stayed within the absence limits. For example, a grant on 1 March 2027 while you are in Australia gives an earliest possible date of 1 March 2028, if the 4-year and absence tests are met by then. The citizenship page covers the other criteria.
Can a subclass 801 be cancelled or refused?
- Refused at the second stage: if the Department is not satisfied the relationship with the same sponsor is still genuine and continuing, and no exception applies. The Partner Visa FAQs note that when the subclass 801 is refused, you no longer hold the subclass 820.
- Review: the refusal letter says whether you can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal, which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024. You have 28 days and must be in Australia when you apply (ss 347 and 347A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth)).
- Cancelled after grant: a permanent visa can still be cancelled, for example on character grounds under s 501 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).
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.
What happens if the relationship ends after the subclass 801 is granted?
Nothing, as far as the relationship goes. Clause 801.6 attaches no conditions to the visa, and nothing in it depends on the relationship continuing after grant.
What happens if the relationship ends before it is granted?
The application is refused unless an exception applies: the sponsor has died, or you or a dependent child experienced family violence committed by the sponsor, or you share care or maintenance of a child with the sponsor (cl 801.221(5) and (6)). Tell the Department promptly. 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 801 and subclass 100 compared
| Subclass 801 | Subclass 100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage-one visa before it | Subclass 820 | Subclass 309 |
| Where you may be at grant | In or outside Australia | In or outside Australia |
| What triggers it | 2 years after lodging the subclass 820 | 2 years after lodging the subclass 309 |
| What it grants | Permanent residence, 5-year travel facility | Permanent residence, 5-year travel facility |
The two visas give the same status. Which one you hold depends only on whether you lodged the first stage inside or outside Australia.
Questions people ask about the subclass 801
Do you have to be in Australia when the subclass 801 is granted?
No. Clause 801.411 allows you to be in Australia (not in immigration clearance) or outside Australia at grant.
Can you sponsor a new partner after holding a subclass 801?
The Department may refuse a partner sponsorship by someone who was sponsored as a partner in the last 5 years, or who has sponsored two partners before. Exceptions include a dependent child of the new couple and a long-standing relationship.
Does a subclass 801 holder get Centrelink payments?
Possibly, but the Department warns you might have to wait: Services Australia applies a newly arrived resident's waiting period to certain payments and benefits.
Do you get a new visa label or grant number?
You get a grant letter with a visa grant number, and no label; the visa is linked to your passport and you prove it through VEVO.
After the subclass 801
- Plan the next steps with after your partner visa is granted.
- Work out the dates for Australian citizenship after a partner visa.
- Keep travelling after 5 years with a Resident Return visa after a partner visa.
- Look back at the second stage in from subclass 820 to subclass 801, or at the first stage on partner visa subclass 820.
- See every subclass, charge and step on the Australian partner visa page.
The subclass 801 is decided on evidence that the relationship has continued, and a thin second-stage submission can be refused, ending your subclass 820 with it. An application prepared by a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner is more likely to succeed, because they check the evidence against each of the four factors and flag gaps before the Department does. No one can guarantee a grant, but professional preparation makes a refusal on avoidable grounds less likely.
Questions people ask
Is partner visa 801 the same as PR?
Yes. The subclass 801 is a permanent visa, and the Department of Home Affairs says you become a permanent resident on the day it is granted. The subclass 820 you hold before it is a temporary visa.
Can the 801 be granted before 2 years?
Yes, if you were in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied, meaning at least 3 years together, or at least 2 years with a dependent child of you both. The Department can also grant it early where the sponsor has died or the relationship ended with family violence or a child-related tie.
What happens if the relationship ends after the 801 is granted?
The subclass 801 is a permanent visa with no conditions attached under the Migration Regulations 1994, and it does not depend on the relationship continuing after grant. It can still be cancelled on other grounds, such as character under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958.
How long can you stay outside Australia on a subclass 801?
The visa lets you travel in and out of Australia as often as you want for 5 years from the grant date. After that travel facility expires, you need a Resident Return visa to return as a permanent resident, although your permanent residence continues while you remain in Australia.
Sources
Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs, Partner visa (subclass 801) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Global visa processing times guide immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Resident Return visa (subclass 155 and 157) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Citizenship by conferral for permanent residents immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au