Visiting Australia While Your Offshore Partner Visa Is Processed
A subclass 309 applicant can visit Australia on a separate visitor visa while the offshore partner visa is processed, and the 309 location-at-decision rule as at 23 September 2026, cl 309.412 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), lets the visa be granted whether you are in or outside Australia, so a visit may overlap the decision.
A visit needs its own visa, which the Department assesses on its own merits, and it does not withdraw, pause or replace your partner visa application. The location rule on this page was checked against Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), as compiled on 1 July 2026, and the Department's subclass 309 page on 23 September 2026.
| Question | Answer | Condition | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can you visit Australia while a 309 is pending? | Yes, on a separate visa | The visit visa is decided on its own criteria | Home Affairs, Travel while your visa is being processed |
| Where must you be when the 309 is granted? | In or outside Australia | Not in immigration clearance | Sch 2 cl 309.412, since 25 November 2023 |
| What happens if the 309 is ready while you are here? | It can be granted while you are in Australia | Your visit visa ceases when the 309 comes into effect | Sch 2 cl 309.412; Migration Act s 82(2) |
| Can you work during the visit? | No | Condition 8101, a mandatory condition on visitor visas for tourism and family visits | Sch 2 cll 600.611 and 600.612; Home Affairs |
| Can you study during the visit? | Up to 3 months | Condition 8201 | Sch 8 cond 8201; Home Affairs |
| Can the visit visa carry "no further stay" (8503)? | Yes | It may be imposed, and on a sponsored family visit it must be | Sch 2 cll 600.611 and 600.612 |
| Can you get Medicare during the visit? | Generally no; visitors from a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country get medically necessary care | Depends on your passport | Health Insurance Act 1973 s 3; Services Australia |
| Does a refused visit visa affect the 309? | Not by itself | Anything you told the Department must be accurate (PIC 4020) | Sch 2 Part 309 criteria |
Can you visit Australia while your 309 partner visa is processed?
Yes, on a separate visa. The usual one is the Visitor visa (subclass 600). Some passport holders can use an Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) or eVisitor (subclass 651) instead.
Home Affairs says that if you are waiting on a permanent visa, you may be able to apply for another visa to see family. The visit visa has its own test: under cl 600.211 the Department must be satisfied you genuinely intend to stay temporarily. It looks at your past compliance with visa conditions, whether you intend to comply, and "any other relevant matter". The clause does not name a pending partner visa, and the Regulations do not say how one is weighed.
Where must you be when your 309 partner visa is granted?
In or outside Australia, as at 23 September 2026. The Migration Amendment (Location Requirements for Grant of Visa) Regulations 2023 replaced cl 309.412 from 25 November 2023. It now reads: the applicant "may be in or outside Australia when the visa is granted, but not in immigration clearance". This is the Regulations themselves, not a temporary concession. Home Affairs' subclass 309 page says the same: you can be in or outside Australia when it decides your temporary visa. You must still be outside Australia when you apply.
What happens if your 309 decision is ready while you are in Australia?
It can be granted while you are here. When the subclass 309 comes into effect, s 82(2) of the Migration Act ends the visitor visa you entered on, and the 309 lets you remain in Australia. Your visitor visa's conditions, such as no work, then stop applying. Check VEVO after the grant.
Does the same rule apply to a prospective marriage (subclass 300) applicant?
Yes. Clause 300.412 uses the same words: the applicant may be in or outside Australia at grant, but not in immigration clearance.
What can you do in Australia while visiting during the 309 wait?
- Stay with your partner for the period your visit visa allows.
- You cannot work. Home Affairs says this applies "even if you are awaiting the outcome" of another application, and the visit visa carries condition 8101.
- Study or train for up to 3 months (condition 8201).
- Leave by the date your visit visa sets, unless the 309 has been granted by then.
Time together is relationship evidence. Keep boarding passes, bookings, shared receipts and photographs as they accrue, and add them to your application in ImmiAccount. The relationship evidence pages on this site cover what counts.
Can a visit stop you applying for a partner visa inside Australia?
It can. A visitor visa may carry condition 8503. Schedule 8 says its holder cannot be granted a substantive visa, other than a protection visa, while in Australia. Section 41 of the Migration Act lets it be waived only in the circumstances reg 2.05 prescribes. Home Affairs says a waiver must be approved before you can lodge a subclass 820. Whether to switch from a 309 to an onshore application is a separate decision, covered on this site's condition 8503 page and its onshore-or-offshore guide.
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.
Does visiting Australia put your 309 partner visa at risk?
- Visit granted. The 309 application continues. Priority under Ministerial Direction 117 is set by where you were when you applied, so a visit does not move you into the onshore queue.
- Visit refused. A refusal is not one of the subclass 309 criteria. The 309 does include public interest criterion 4020, which looks at false or misleading information given to the Department. Keep what you say in a visitor application consistent with your partner application, and disclose the refusal truthfully wherever a later form asks.
- Overstaying the visit. This is the real risk. Staying past your visa makes you an unlawful non-citizen. Leaving more than 28 days after your visa ended can trigger the 3-year exclusion in public interest criterion 4014, which applies to later visitor visa applications. The 309 does not list 4014 among its criteria, but an overstay puts your ability to visit again at risk.
Should your Australian sponsor visit you instead during the 309 wait?
It is often simpler. An Australian citizen sponsor needs no visa to leave and return. A permanent-resident sponsor needs a valid travel facility; the subclass 801 page, for example, gives 5 years of travel from grant, then a Resident Return visa. Visits in either direction count equally as time together, so keep the same records.
Questions about visiting during a 309 partner visa wait
Do you need health insurance for the visit?
Usually, in practice. The visit visa may carry condition 8501, which requires health insurance, and a visitor generally has no Medicare. Home Affairs recommends insurance if you are not eligible for Medicare.
Can your children visit with you?
Each child needs their own visa. Section 42 of the Migration Act requires every non-citizen travelling to Australia to hold a visa in effect.
Can you marry in Australia during the visit?
None of the visitor visa conditions discussed here restricts marrying. If you do, tell the Department: s 104 requires you to report a change that makes an answer on your partner application incorrect, and this site's page on marrying an Australian citizen covers the rest.
How long is the 309 wait?
In the guide updated on 4 September 2026, half of subclass 309 applications were decided within 21 months and 90% within 39 months. More on the visa itself is on the partner visa subclass 309 page.
Travel, the wait and the subclass 309
- The full wait, step by step: waiting for a partner visa decision.
- The onshore reverse of your situation, leaving Australia on a Bridging visa B: how to travel overseas while your partner visa is undecided.
- The visa you are waiting on: the partner visa subclass 309, with its criteria and processing time.
A visit during the 309 wait is usually straightforward, but the conditions on the visit visa, especially 8503, and what you say in that application can matter later. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner checks the visit plan against your partner application, so an application they manage is more likely to succeed. No one can promise a grant.
Questions people ask
Can you enter Australia while waiting for a 309 visa?
Yes, on a separate visa such as a visitor visa, which the Department decides on its own merits. The pending 309 application does not itself let you enter or stay in Australia.
Do you have to be outside Australia when the 309 is granted?
No, not as at 23 September 2026. Since 25 November 2023, clause 309.412 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 has allowed a subclass 309 to be granted while you are in or outside Australia, as long as you are not in immigration clearance. Home Affairs states the same on its subclass 309 page.
Can you work in Australia on a visitor visa while your 309 is processed?
No. Home Affairs says you cannot work on a visitor visa even while awaiting the outcome of another visa application, and a visitor visa for tourism or a family visit carries condition 8101, no work. You can study or train for up to 3 months.
Can a 309 visa be rejected because you visited Australia?
A visit is not itself one of the subclass 309 criteria. A 309 can be refused on its criteria, and those include public interest criterion 4020 on false or misleading information, so what you tell the Department in a visitor application must be accurate and consistent.
How long does it take for a 309 visa to be approved?
In the Department's processing times guide updated on 4 September 2026, half of subclass 309 applications were decided within 21 months and 90% within 39 months. The guide changes monthly.
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, Travel while your visa is being processed immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Migration Amendment (Location Requirements for Grant of Visa) Regulations 2023 www.legislation.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