The period is shorter if the request is made at an interview or by phone (7 days) or if you are in immigration detention (5 days), and an application made outside Australia, such as a 309 or 300, gets the period written in the invitation.
Note the date you were notified, gather exactly what is asked for, and if a document cannot arrive in time, ask for 7 more days through the Partner Processing Enquiry Form before the deadline passes.
Response-period card
The Migration Regulations 1994, regulation 2.15, and Migration Act 1958, section 58, set these periods:
| Request or circumstance | Response period |
|---|---|
| Written request, applicant in Australia and not detained | 28 days after notification — reg 2.15(1)(b)(ii)(C) |
| Request made at an interview, applicant not detained | 7 days after the interview — reg 2.15(1)(b)(i) |
| Request made by phone, applicant not detained | 7 days after the call — reg 2.15(1)(b)(ia) |
| Applicant in immigration detention | 5 days — reg 2.15(1)(a) |
| Application made outside Australia | The reasonable period stated in the invitation — s 58(2) |
| Extension | 7 more days in Australia; 5 in detention; 7 outside Australia, or 28 if the Minister decides. Ask before the deadline — s 58(4), reg 2.15(4) |
Information from third parties about health or public interest criteria (for example health examinations or police certificates) runs to the period in the letter, not these fixed periods (reg 2.15(2)).
What is a s56 request?
A s56 request is an invitation to supply additional information. Section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 applies to every visa application, not just partner visas. Under s 56(1), the Minister may obtain any information considered relevant and must have regard to it; under s 56(2), the applicant may be invited, orally or in writing, to give additional information in a specified way.
Section 58(1) of the Migration Act 1958 allows the invitation to specify a written response, an interview or a telephone response. Read the instructions rather than assuming every request is answered by uploading documents.
Is it positive or negative? Neither is established by the request itself. Section 56 is an information-gathering power: it says nothing about whether the visa will be granted or refused.
You can also provide relevant information without being asked. Section 55 of the Migration Act 1958 permits this until a decision is made and requires the Minister to consider it, but does not require the Minister to wait for information you intend to provide.
How long do you have to respond to a s56 request?
Usually 28 days after notification for a written request to an applicant in Australia who is not detained. Regulation 2.15 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets the shorter interview, telephone and detention periods shown above. For an application made outside Australia, section 58(2) of the Migration Act 1958 requires a reasonable period to be specified in the invitation.
The notification date is not necessarily the day you open the message. Section 494C of the Migration Act 1958 sets deemed receipt rules, referenced by the note to regulation 2.15:
- Email: received at the end of the day it is sent.
- ImmiAccount: received at the end of the day the document is made available.
- Post within Australia: received 7 working days after the date of the document.
- Other post: received 21 days after the date of the document.
Keep the invitation and its delivery details together. Do not restart the response period from the day you happen to read it.
Health and police requests are an important exception. Regulation 2.15(2) excludes from the fixed periods requests for information or comments to be obtained from a third party about health, public interest criteria, English or skills. For partner applicants, this covers health examinations and police certificates: follow the period in the letter rather than assuming you have 28 days.
Can you get more time?
The prescribed further period is 7 days for an applicant in Australia who is not detained. Under section 58(4) of the Migration Act 1958 and regulation 2.15(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994, it is 5 days in detention, and 7 days outside Australia—or 28 days if the Minister decides.
The Home Affairs Partner visa FAQs direct applicants to request an extension through the Partner Processing Enquiry Form. Include evidence of the steps taken to obtain the information, such as a payment receipt for a police certificate or a medical booking confirmation.
Home Affairs’ Partner visa FAQs say an extension request is considered only if submitted before the original deadline. Extra time is not guaranteed, and the Department emails the outcome. Do not treat sending the request as approval.
Explain which item is delayed, what you have already done and why it cannot arrive in time. Keep a copy of the request and supporting evidence.
How to respond to a s56 request on a partner visa
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Read each item and the response instructions. Section 56(2) and section 58(1) of the Migration Act 1958 allow the Department to specify how information must be given. Turn the request into an item-by-item checklist.
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Fix the due date. Use regulation 2.15 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and the notification rules in section 494C of the Migration Act 1958. Record both the notification date and the deadline, including any approved extension.
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Gather each requested document. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 page and Partner visa FAQs state that police certificates and health results are each valid for 12 months. The Department may request them again if they expire before a decision.
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Give complete and true information. Public Interest Criterion 4020 in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 addresses bogus documents and materially false or misleading information. It can lead to refusal and a three-year exclusion affecting later applications, subject to the criterion’s exceptions and waiver provisions. Check names, dates and explanations against the existing application.
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Attach the response in ImmiAccount where instructed. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 page and Partner visa FAQs direct applicants to keep evidence updated there; the attachment limit is 100 per person. Use clear filenames and make it easy to identify which document answers each item.
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Request extra time before the deadline if anything will be late. Follow the Partner visa FAQs’ extension procedure and include evidence of your efforts to obtain the missing item. Keep the Department’s emailed decision with your response records.
If you do not respond
The Department may decide the application without the missing information. Section 55(2) of the Migration Act 1958 does not require the Minister to delay a decision; sections 58, 59 and 62 govern invitations, attendance and decisions where requested information is not supplied in time.
Missing the deadline does not itself determine the outcome. Under section 65 of the Migration Act 1958, the Minister grants the visa if satisfied the relevant requirements are met and refuses it if not. Missing evidence may leave a requirement unestablished.
Section 66(2) of the Migration Act 1958 requires a refusal notice to identify the unmet criterion, give reasons and explain review rights where available. For a reviewable migration decision, section 347(3) generally allows 28 days after notification, or 14 days if the applicant is in immigration detention on that day. Check the refusal notice immediately.
s56 request or s57 letter?
A s56 request gathers information; a section 57 natural justice letter puts certain adverse information to you for comment. Sections 56–58 of the Migration Act 1958 distinguish their purposes.
| s 56 request | s 57 letter | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Obtain relevant information | Put adverse information that would be a reason, or part of a reason, for refusal |
| What it is about | Anything relevant to the application | Information specifically about you or another person, not supplied by you |
| What it signals | Nothing about the outcome | Information on file could support refusal; you are invited to comment |
| How to respond | Give the requested information in the specified way | Address the particulars and explain the information |
| Response period | Under s 58 and reg 2.15: ordinarily 28, 7 or 5 days; offshore, the stated period | Same framework, including the third-party exception |
| Extension | Further periods under reg 2.15(4) | Same extension framework |
FAQ
What does S56 request mean?
It means an invitation under section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 to give more information about your application in a specified way, within the applicable response period.
How many days after S56 is a visa granted? How long does an S56 request take?
Section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 sets no response-to-decision timetable. Home Affairs’ processing-time guide is not a countdown after an RFI: as at 3 October 2026, 50% of recently decided subclass 820 applications took 22 months overall. Its Partner visa FAQs ask applicants not to chase within standard processing times.
What is the difference between S56 and S57 request?
Under the Migration Act 1958, section 56 gathers additional information; section 57 requires certain adverse information to be put to you for comment before a possible refusal.
Is there a s56 form?
No. Section 56(2) of the Migration Act 1958 provides for an invitation specifying how to respond, not a universal “s56 form”. For partner applications, Home Affairs directs applicants to attach documents in ImmiAccount where instructed.
What if the s56 request is for a medical or police check?
Regulation 2.15(2) of the Migration Regulations 1994 means the period in the letter applies to these third-party requests, rather than the fixed 28 days. Home Affairs’ partner visa pages state that health results and police certificates are each valid for 12 months.
When a s56 request needs a lawyer
Consider legal help if the request is unclear, your new evidence conflicts with earlier answers, or it raises a relationship, health, character or document-integrity issue. An Australian migration lawyer can match each requested item to the relevant criterion, check evidence consistency and identify missing documents before the response is lodged.
Section 58 of the Migration Act 1958 also permits information requests at an interview; see partner visa interview questions. If a refusal follows, visa refused Australia explains what to check next.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to identify each item requested under section 56, answer against the relevant criterion within the regulation 2.15 period and request any available extension before it expires.