Partner Visa Subclass 801

The subclass 801 partner visa grants you permanent residency in Australia. It is the second part of the temporary 820 partner visa.

You might be granted a permanent 801 Partner visa immediately after your temporary 820 visa is granted.

If this doesn’t happen, you will need to provide more documents to obtain the permanent 801 permanent visa.

How to apply for the permanent partner visa subclass 801

Step 1. The immigration department starts assessing your permanent visa application 2 years later. You can submit the required documents up to a month before the 2 years are up. The immigration department will not start processing your application before.

When you submit your visa application, it will need to be sent with documents that detail the following:

Relationship

Since receiving your subclass 820 partner visa, you need to show that you and your partner have continued to:

be married or de fact partners;

have a genuine and continuing relationship;

live together – or are not living separately or a part on a permanent basis;

demonstrate you are committed to a shared life excluding other partners;

and complete a statutory declaration about your relationship.

The immigration department assesses this based on your:

Finances

Here you will need to provide evidence of how you and your partner share financial matters. This could be a joint mortgage, lease, loan, bank account statements or household bills in both names.

Household

Provide proof of how you and your partner share domestic matters. This could be a statement about how you share housework, have household bills in both names, emails addressed to both of you, documents that show joint responsibility for children and/or living arrangements.

Commitment

Show how you are committed to a long term relationship. You can do this by showing proof that you have knowledge of each other’s background, family situation or personal details, proof you have combined personal matters, the terms of your will, proof you stay in touch when you’re apart.

Social Matters

Present proof that other people in your social network know about your relationship. This could be in the form of joint invitations or proof you go out together (such as concert ticket receipts), proof you have friends in common, government, public or commercial bodies know about your relationship, proof you travel together. Photographs, bookings in both your names are just some valid means of proof.

You will also need to provide 2 statutory declarations from people who know about your relationship, such as your parents, relatives or friends.

Changes to your situation

If since being granted the subclass 820 partner visa your circumstances have changed, you will need to provide information confirming this. Depending on your situation this could include:

Your marriage certificate

Birth certificates of your child or children

Adoption papers

A court decision on child custody

The death certificate of your partner

A final divorce decree or legal separation document

Proof of name change (such as a marriage certificate, deed poll)

Passport

Provide the personal details page of your most recent passport that includes your signature and photograph. If your passport details have changed, you will need to complete an additional form called ‘Form 929 – Change of address and/or passport details.

Character documents

You may need to submit another police certificate issued by the Australian Federal Police. You will also need to provide police clearances from any countries you have lived in since you were granted the subclass 820 visa.

Dependent Children

If you have dependent children who also hold a subclass 820 visa, you’ll need to provide their passport, police certificates if the children are over 16 years old, and documents detailing any changes to their situation.

Your Partner

You will also need to include your partner’s personal details page that includes their signature, or their Australian driver’s licence.

Your partner also needs to provide a signed statutory declaration using a special form, the Statutory Declaration – Partner Visa (Sponsor).

Step 2. Lodge your subclass 801 visa application with all the supporting documents.

Its important that your supporting documents are accurate and up to date when you submit them. If they are not, it could delay the processing of your visa or result in it being refused. Please contact our reliable migration agent for guidance on how to prepare these documents for lodgement.

Can I add dependent children after I have lodged by 801 visa application?

Yes, you can add a dependent child to your application after you have lodged your 801 application and before the immigration department makes a decision. To do so, the child must be in Australia and hold a subclass 445 Dependent Child visa.

Your children will also need to meet Australia’s health requirements and meet character requirements if they over 16 years old. Character requirements involve obtaining police clearances.

Step 3. The subclass 801 partner visa is granted.

And you now have permanent residency in Australia.