When the Department Asks for More Information on a Partner Visa
A section 56 request asks a partner visa applicant for specific further documents and usually allows 28 days to respond as at 23 September 2026, while a section 57 letter invites comment on adverse information before the decision.
The period runs from the day the letter is taken to have been received, and if it passes without a response the Department may decide the partner visa on the information it already holds. The periods below were checked against the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and reg 2.15 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), as compiled on 1 July 2026, on 23 September 2026.
| Request | Section of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) | What it asks for | Response period (as at 23 September 2026) | If you miss it | Where you respond |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Request for more information or documents | s 56, with s 58 | The documents or answers the letter names | In writing: 28 days after you are notified, for an application made in Australia (reg 2.15(1)(b)). At an interview or by phone: 7 days. Offshore 309: the date in the letter, as none is prescribed | The Department may decide without it (s 62) | ImmiAccount, "Attach documents" |
| Health examination request | s 60 | Attend the examinations | The date in the letter: reg 2.15(2) excludes health information from third parties, so no period is prescribed | The health criterion cannot be shown to be met | The panel clinic, as the letter directs |
| Police certificate request | s 56 | Certificates from the countries named | The date in the letter: reg 2.15(2) also excludes character information from third parties | The Department may decide without it (s 62) | ImmiAccount |
| Invitation to an interview | ss 58 and 59 | Attend and answer questions | Within 28 days of notice for an application made in Australia (reg 2.15(3)(b)); 28 days, or 70 if the Department decides, for an applicant outside Australia | Section 59 requires every reasonable effort to attend | As the letter says |
| Stage-two (801 or 100) documents | Not a request | You submit them yourself once 2 years have passed; any follow-up request is under s 56 | None: you choose when, from the eligibility date | The permanent assessment waits for you | ImmiAccount, Stage 2 form |
| Natural justice letter | s 57 | Your comments on adverse information | In writing: 28 days for an application made in Australia (reg 2.15(1)); 7 days if given at an interview or by phone | The Department may decide without your comments (s 62(2)) | As the letter says |
Where the table says "the date in the letter", the Act prescribes no period. Section 58(2) then requires the letter to set a reasonable one.
What is a section 56 request on a partner visa?
Section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) lets the Department get any information it considers relevant before deciding a visa, and invite you to give more "in a specified way". For a partner visa it usually arrives as a letter in ImmiAccount. The letter names the documents and the date. It says nothing about the outcome, so it is neither good nor bad news on its own. It is a step in assessing the criteria.
How long do you have to respond to a partner visa s56 request?
28 days for a written request on an application made in Australia, such as the subclass 820. Reg 2.15(1)(b)(ii)(C) counts it from the day you are notified. It is 7 days if the request is made at an interview or in a phone call. For an offshore subclass 309, reg 2.15 prescribes no period, so the letter must set a reasonable one under s 58(2). Always go by the date in your letter.
The notification date comes from s 494C. A letter made available in ImmiAccount, or sent by email, is taken to be received at the end of the day it is made available or sent. A letter posted within Australia is taken to arrive 7 working days after its date.
Worked example. The Department makes a request available in your ImmiAccount on 2 October 2026. You are taken to have received it at the end of that day. Twenty-eight days after that is 30 October 2026, the last day to respond. Aim to finish well before it.
Can you ask for more time on a partner visa request?
Yes, but only before the period ends. Under s 58(4) the Department may extend a prescribed period by a prescribed further period. Reg 2.15(4) sets that at 7 days for an applicant in Australia, and 7 or 28 days for an applicant outside Australia. The Partner Visa FAQs say to ask through the Partner processing enquiry form. Include evidence of the steps you have taken, such as a booking or payment receipt. The Department will only consider a request made before the original time runs out, and gives no guarantee.
What does the Department usually ask a partner visa applicant for?
- Relationship evidence for a named period.
- Form 888 supporting statements from people who know you as a couple.
- Police certificates.
- Health examinations.
- Sponsor documents, such as proof of status or police certificates.
- Translations of documents not in English.
- Evidence that the relationship has continued, at the permanent stage.
- Biometrics.
This site's evidence pages cover each of these documents.
Does the sponsor get s56 requests too?
The sponsor's documents can be named in a request. The Partner Visa FAQs say sponsors must provide police certificates with the sponsorship form or as soon as possible afterwards. Your sponsor should be ready to supply their own documents within the same period.
How do you respond to a partner visa s56 request?
- Read the letter and list each item it names.
- In ImmiAccount, select "Attach documents" and attach each item under the matching document type. Use "Other documents" if no type fits.
- Where an item cannot be supplied, say so in writing and explain why.
- Check "Actions required" next to your application, which shows what is still outstanding.
- Keep a copy of everything you attached and the date you did it.
Tailoring a response 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 you miss the partner visa s56 deadline?
The application is not refused automatically. Under s 62, once the time has passed the Department may decide without taking any further action to get the information. It does not have to wait or ask again. If the missing item goes to a criterion, the decision on the file as it stands can be a refusal. Section 63(2) stops the Department refusing before the earliest of three things: you give the information, you say you will not or cannot, or the time ends.
What is a section 57 letter on a partner visa?
It is a letter under s 57 giving you particulars of "relevant information". That is information the Department considers would be the reason, or part of the reason, for refusing the visa. It must be specifically about you or another person, and it must be information you did not give for the application. The Department must explain why it is relevant and invite you to comment. Since the 2024 amendments, s 57 contains no limit tied to review rights. For a written letter on an application made in Australia, reg 2.15(1) gives 28 days.
Responding to adverse information about your own case is immigration assistance, which ss 276 and 280 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) restrict to registered migration agents and Australian legal practitioners.
How long after a s56 request is a partner visa decided?
The Department publishes no figure for time after a request. Its guide measures whole applications. In the version updated on 4 September 2026, half of subclass 820 applications were decided within 23 months and 90% within 29 months. Those figures, by subclass, are on the partner visa processing time page. Chase only once your application is outside the published time, using the partner visa processing enquiry form.
Questions about partner visa s56 requests
Can a partner visa be refused after an s56 request?
Yes or no, on the criteria. The request itself is neutral.
Is there an s56 form?
No. It is a letter, and your response goes into ImmiAccount.
Does answering early speed up the partner visa?
There is no published evidence either way. Answering early does remove the risk of missing the date.
Is an s56 health request different?
A health request is made under s 60, which requires you to attend an examination. No period is prescribed for it, so go by the date in the letter.
Will you get more than one request?
You can. Nothing in s 56 limits the number, and each written request made in Australia carries its own period under reg 2.15.
After you respond: the rest of your partner visa wait
- The full sequence from lodgement to decision: waiting for a partner visa decision.
- When, and how, to chase: the partner visa processing enquiry form.
- How long the whole application takes: partner visa processing time.
A request letter is the point where a partner visa is most often won or lost on paper. The period is short, the letter is precise, and a missing item can decide the outcome. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner reads the letter against the criteria and answers every item in time, so a response they prepare is more likely to succeed. No one can guarantee the decision.
Questions people ask
How long do you have to respond to a partner visa s56 request?
For an application made in Australia, such as the subclass 820, regulation 2.15 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets 28 days after you are notified for a written request, and 7 days if the request is made at an interview or by telephone. For an offshore subclass 309, no period is prescribed, so the letter sets a reasonable period. Always go by the date in your letter.
What does an s56 request mean?
It means the Department wants more information before it decides. Section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 lets it invite you to give additional information. The request says nothing about the likely outcome on its own.
Can a partner visa be refused after an s56 request?
Yes, but on the visa criteria, not because a request was made. If the time to respond passes without the information, section 62 of the Migration Act lets the Department decide on what it already holds, which can mean refusal if the missing item goes to a criterion.
Is there an s56 form?
No. An s56 request is a letter, usually made available in ImmiAccount, and you respond by attaching the documents it names to your application in ImmiAccount.
How long does it take to grant a partner visa after an s56 request?
The Department publishes no figure for the time after a request. Its processing times guide covers whole applications; in the version updated on 4 September 2026, 90% of subclass 820 applications were decided within 29 months.
Sources
Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.
- Migration Act 1958 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, After you apply (ImmiAccount) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au