How long does a partner visa take?
| Subclass | 25% decided within | 50% | 75% | 90% | Counted from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 820 (onshore, temporary) | 19 months | 22 months | 26 months | 30 months | the combined 820/801 application |
| 801 (onshore, permanent) | 72 days | 8 months | 11 months | 19 months | the eligibility date, two years after the combined application |
| 309 (offshore, provisional) | 18 months | 21 months | 27 months | 32 months | the combined 309/100 application |
| 100 (offshore, permanent) | 8 months | 9 months | 13 months | 21 months | the eligibility date, two years after the combined application |
| 300 (Prospective Marriage) | 9 months | 14 months | 20 months | 26 months | the application |
Processing times for recently decided applications; a guide only and not specific to your application (Department of Home Affairs, pulled 3 October 2026; published monthly). These figures come from the Department’s Global visa processing times tool; its partner priority-processing factsheet confirms monthly publication.
“50% decided within” is the median, not a promised decision date. The table describes completed applications, rather than how much longer a pending application will take. The two-year permanent-stage wait is the usual pathway; exceptions are explained below.
For the 309 and 300, the Department’s Global visa processing times tool says it “continues to prioritise aged, and compassionate and compelling applications”. See the partner visa overview for the pathways, 309 visa processing time for the offshore first stage, and the Prospective Marriage visa page for the 300 wait.
820 processing time
19, 22, 26 and 30 months cover the 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles on figures pulled 3 October 2026 from Home Affairs’ Global visa processing times tool. The clock starts with the combined 820/801 application, not when a case officer contacts you.
While waiting for an onshore partner visa, an applicant who held a substantive visa at lodgement receives a Bridging visa A. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 page explains that it starts when the substantive visa ends, allowing the applicant to stay lawful while the application is processed.
The usual 801 assessment follows once two years have passed since the combined application, under clause 801.221 of the Migration Regulations 1994. It is not another two-year wait after the 820 grant.
801 processing time: from eligibility to decision
72 days, 8, 11 and 19 months from eligibility are the 801 figures pulled 3 October 2026 from Home Affairs’ Global visa processing times tool. They do not run from the original application or the 820 grant.
The usual 801 timeline is:
- Day 0: lodge the combined 820/801 application.
- 820 decision: half of recently decided applications took no more than 22 months.
- Two years after Day 0: become eligible for permanent-stage assessment. Home Affairs’ Partner Visa FAQs says to upload stage 2 documents then, not before.
- 801 decision: the published percentiles are 72 days, 8, 11 and 19 months after eligibility.
Adding the usual two-year eligibility wait gives about 2 years 8 months from Day 0 at the median, or about 3 years 7 months at the 90th percentile. These are calculations from the Department’s figures, not individual forecasts.
Under the Migration Regulations 1994, the two-year wait does not apply if the relationship was long-term at application: three years together, or two years with a dependent child of both partners who is not a step-child. The 801 partner visa can then be granted straight after the 820, provided the relevant criteria are met.
Subclass 100 processing time
8, 9, 13 and 21 months from eligibility are the subclass 100 percentiles pulled 3 October 2026 from Home Affairs’ Global visa processing times tool. On the usual pathway, eligibility begins two years after the combined 309/100 application.
That produces a calculated median of about 2 years 9 months from the combined application. Do not add the full 309 processing time to another two years: the eligibility date is tied to the original application.
The Migration Regulations 1994 applies the same long-term relationship exception to the 100. For the 100 only, clause 100.221 also removes the two-year wait where the sponsor is or was a permanent humanitarian visa holder and declared the relationship before their visa grant.
Why onshore applications are processed first
Onshore-first priority is a processing order, not a shorter guaranteed wait. Ministerial Direction No. 117, signed 24 July 2026 and effective from 25 July 2026, replaced Direction 102.
Section 8(2) of Direction 117 puts applications first where the primary applicant was in Australia when applying and the visa is grantable in Australia. Applications made outside Australia, or for visas that must be granted outside Australia, come afterwards.
Within each group, section 8(3) orders ministerial intervention cases first, then partners, prospective spouses and dependent children of a sponsor, followed by orphan relative, contributory parent, carer, and other parent and relative applications. Home Affairs’ Family visa processing priorities and Partner Visa FAQs explain the resulting highest priority for onshore 820/801 applications, with 300 and 309/100 applications lower.
Secondary applicants share the primary applicant’s priority. Direction 117 does not apply where it is “readily apparent” that the visa criteria will not be met, and it does not bind the Administrative Review Tribunal.
Partner visas are not capped: Home Affairs’ Migration Program planning levels describes their delivery as demand driven; Direction 103 governs capped family visas instead.
Priority processing and the partner processing enquiry form
Yes—but only for special compassionate circumstances with compelling reasons to depart from the order. That is the threshold in section 9 of Direction 117. Home Affairs’ Partner visas: requests for priority processing factsheet directs applicants to the Partner Processing Enquiry Form with a signed statement and supporting evidence, and says: “Most requests for priority processing cannot be approved.”
What does not move a case forward
The Home Affairs factsheet lists these reasons as not compelling on their own:
- Financial hardship.
- Pregnancy.
- The pain of separation.
- Employment.
- Wedding plans.
- Expiring health checks, police certificates or passports.
Home Affairs’ Partner Visa FAQs advises against chasing the Department within standard processing times. Appointing a lawyer does not create priority either: its Using a legal practitioner page says lawyers cannot fast-track processing.
What can change your timeline
28 days for a written invitation in Australia, or 7 days for an invitation at interview or by phone, are the usual prescribed response periods under section 58 of the Migration Act 1958 and regulation 2.15 of the Migration Regulations 1994. Different rules apply in detention and for applications made outside Australia, so check the actual section 56 request or section 57 letter.
Respond within the applicable period: section 62 of the Migration Act allows the Department to decide without information not supplied in time. If you need an extension, the Partner Visa FAQs says to request it before the deadline and provide evidence of steps taken.
Keep relationship evidence current in ImmiAccount, as the Partner Visa FAQs recommends. This does not secure an earlier decision. Separately, the long-term relationship exception in the Migration Regulations can remove the usual permanent-stage waiting period.
Why partner visas take so long
96,839 first-stage applications were on hand at 30 June 2025, up 29%, according to Home Affairs’ Report on the Migration Program 2024–25. It records 68,105 first-stage lodgements that year against an outcome of 40,500 places—about 27,600 more lodgements than places delivered.
The report counts partner places when the first-stage temporary or provisional visa is granted, not again at the permanent stage. Home Affairs’ Migration Program planning levels sets 41,500 partner places for 2026–27, announced 12 May 2026, but calls these “indicative planning levels only” because delivery is demand driven.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current wait time for an Australian partner visa?
22 months for half of 820 applications and 30 months for 90%; 21 months for half of 309 applications and 32 months for 90%, on Home Affairs’ Global visa processing times figures pulled 3 October 2026.
Why is a partner visa taking so long?
Demand exceeds recent delivery: Home Affairs’ 2024–25 Migration Program report records 68,105 first-stage lodgements, 40,500 places delivered and 96,839 applications awaiting decisions at 30 June 2025.
How long does it take to get an Australian spouse visa in 2026?
22 months for half of onshore first-stage applications and 21 months for half of offshore ones, on Department figures pulled 3 October 2026. Spouses use the partner pathway; the Migration Act’s section 5F defines the spouse relationship.
What percentage of partner visas are approved in Australia?
93.9% of partner decisions in 2024–25 were grants and 6.1% refusals, according to Home Affairs’ Migration Program report. Withdrawals are excluded; this historical rate is not your personal probability of approval.
Can I ask for my partner visa to be processed faster?
Yes, through the Partner Processing Enquiry Form, but Direction 117 requires compassionate circumstances and compelling reasons to depart from the order. Home Affairs’ priority-processing factsheet says most requests cannot be approved.
Does pregnancy speed up a partner visa?
No, not on its own. Home Affairs’ priority-processing factsheet expressly lists pregnancy among reasons that are not compelling for priority.
What a lawyer can and cannot do about delay
A lawyer cannot buy you a place in the queue, fast-track processing or guarantee a visa. Home Affairs’ Using a legal practitioner page expressly rules out fast-tracking and guarantees.
An Australian migration lawyer can check a proposed priority request against Direction 117’s compassionate-and-compelling threshold, organise evidence and track section 56 or 57 response deadlines. They can also identify whether the long-term relationship exception applied at lodgement.
A criteria check under the Migration Act and Migration Regulations can identify Schedule 3, condition 8503 or section 48 issues—not merely delay. Their consequences differ: some affect eligibility, others whether an application can validly be made. For help deciding the scope of a review, see do I need a lawyer for partner visa.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check the application’s criteria and respond to any section 56 or 57 request within its period while the Department’s processing queue runs.