Australia 801

With this visa you can

• live, work and study in Australia indefinitely
• sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia
• apply for Australian citizenship if eligible

You must

• hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820)
• in most cases, continue to be in a married or de facto relationship with your sponsor

Help with your visa

If you are getting help with your visa, before you pay someone, search the register of migration agents on the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) website.

With this visa you can

• stay in Australia indefinitely
• work in Australia
• study in Australia
• enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare
• sponsor your family members to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years
• if eligible, attend free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program
• if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship

Travel to and from Australia for 5 years

You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date we grant this visa. This is as long as the travel facility on this visa remains valid. If you want to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• you will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) so that you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident
• you might also want to consider Australian citizenship. If you become an Australian citizen, you don’t require a visa to enter Australia. You will need to apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter Australia. See more about eligibility requirements and current processing times for Australian citizenship

How long you can stay

This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely. You become a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted. For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts:

• on the day the visa is granted if you are in Australia
• on the day you enter Australia on this visa if you are outside Australia.

Include family

You can include your dependent child in your application when you apply for the combined temporary and permanent visas. If you did not include your dependent child in your temporary visa application, you can still add them to your application before we make a decision on your permanent visa application. The child must:

• usually hold a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) and
• be in Australia

Complete Form 1002  Application by a subclass 445 dependent child for a permanent partner visa and attach it to your ImmiAccount. Your children must meet our health requirement. If they are 16 years or older they must also meet our character requirement.

Your obligations

You and your children must obey all Australian laws.

Visa label

We will digitally link your visa to your passport and create a digital visa record for you. You will not get a label in your passport.

Have this visa

Usually, you must hold a Partner visa (subclass 820) or Dependent Child visa (subclass 445).

Meet relationship requirements

You must still be in a relationship with your spouse or de facto partner. You must usually continue to be sponsored. You might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship breaks down or if your sponsor dies after we have granted the temporary visa but while we are still considering the permanent visa.

Pay your debts to the Australian Government

If you or any family members (including those who don’t apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.

Best interests of the child

We might not grant this visa if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18.

New criteria description

Before you apply

If we granted you a permanent 801 Partner visa immediately after we granted your temporary 820 visa, you do not have to do anything else. If we did not grant you a permanent 801 Partner visa immediately after we granted your temporary 820 visa, you have to provide more documents.

Gather your documents

We start assessing you for the permanent visa 2 years after you lodged your visa application. You can send the documents no more than a month before the 2 years date. Do not send them before this time. Provide accurate, authentic documents. See what happens if you provide false or misleading documents or information.

Proof of your relationship

You need to show you are in a continuing relationship with your sponsor. If you are married, provide your marriage certificate or other evidence that your marriage is valid in Australia. If you are a de facto partner, provide proof of your de facto relationship. This proof should show that:

• you have a mutual commitment with your spouse of de facto partner to the exclusion of all others
• your relationship is genuine and continuing
• you either live together or don’t live permanently apart
• you are not related by family

You must also provide a statement about the application by completing and uploading the Statutory Declaration – Partner visa (sponsor).

Finances

• joint mortgage or lease documents
• joint loan documents for major assets like homes, cars or major appliances
• joint bank account statements
• household bills in both names

Your household

Show us how you and your partner share domestic matters. You could give us:

• a statement about how you share housework
• household bills in both names
• mail or emails addressed to you both
• documents that show joint responsibility for children
• documents that prove your living arrangements

Commitment

Show us how you are committed to a long-term relationship with each other. You could give us:

• proof you have knowledge of each other’s background, family situation or other personal details. You could tell us this at an interview
• proof you have combined your personal matters
• the terms of your wills
• proof you stay in touch when apart

Social matters

Show us evidence that others know about your relationship, such as

• joint invitations or evidence you go out together
• proof you have friends in common
• proof you have told government, public or commercial bodies about your relationship
• proof you do joint sporting, cultural or social activities together
• proof you travel together

You must also provide 2 statutory declarations from people who know about your relationship, such as your partner’s parents, family members, relatives or friends. They use Form 888 Statutory declaration by a supporting witness in relation to a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa application .

Changes to your situation

If your situation has changed since you lodged your partner visa application, complete Form 1022 – Notification of changes in circumstances and provide the following documents, as relevant:

• your marriage certificate
• your child’s or children’s birth certificate(s)
• adoption papers
• a final divorce decree or legal separation agreement or other relevant document
• a court decision on child custody
• the death certificate for your partner
• proof of change of name. This might be a marriage certificate, deed poll or equivalent document.

If you have a new or updated passport or changed your address:

• complete Form 929 – Change of address and/or passport details
• provide the pages of your current passport showing your photo, personal details and passport issue and expiry dates

Passport

Provide the personal details page of your most recent passport. This page must show your signature.

Tell us you are getting help

To nominate someone to:

• receive your correspondence, use  Form 956a Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient
• provide immigration advice, use  Form 956 Advice by a migration agent/exempt person of providing immigration assistance
• act for you but not provide immigration assistance, let us know in writing what they can do on your behalf (such as submit or withdraw an application for you). Upload your written notification in ImmiAccount