Partner Visa Melbourne | Australian Spouse Visa Specialist
Expert partner visa services across Australia. MARA-registered migration agent specializing in de facto and married couple visas (820/801, 309/100). We unite couples.
Australian Partner Visa Services in Melbourne
As Melbourne's leading partner visa specialists, we provide comprehensive Australian partner visa and spouse visa services for couples seeking to reunite in Australia. Our MARA-registered migration agents (No. 1569835) have extensive experience with both onshore partner visas (subclass 820/801) and offshore partner visas (subclass 309/100).
Whether you're in a married or de facto relationship, our Melbourne-based partner visa experts guide you through every step of the Australian partner visa application process. We specialize in helping couples in Melbourne and across Victoria navigate the complex partner visa requirements, compile strong evidence, and achieve successful outcomes for their spouse visa applications.
Our partner visa services in Melbourne include free initial assessments, comprehensive application preparation, relationship evidence gathering, and ongoing support throughout the processing period. Contact our Melbourne CBD office for expert partner visa assistance tailored to your unique circumstances.
Official sources
Is Your Relationship Evidence Strong Enough?
Partner visa refusals cost $9,365 in fees plus 18-36 months of processing time. Don't apply with weak evidence! Our free 4-pillar assessment tells you exactly where you stand and what gaps to fix.
Assessment Features:
- Evaluate evidence across 4 pillars (Financial, Household, Social, Commitment)
- Red/Amber/Green scoring shows your readiness instantly
- Identify specific evidence gaps and get tailored recommendations
- 8-12 minute assessment + detailed email report
- Expert agent review available (we'll contact you with tailored advice)
Partner Visa Options
Choose the right pathway based on your location
Onshore Partner Visa (Subclass 820/801)
For partners who are already in Australia. The Subclass 820 is a temporary visa, followed by the Subclass 801 permanent visa.
- Apply while in Australia
- Work and study rights
- Medicare access
Offshore Partner Visa (Subclass 309/100)
For partners who are outside Australia. The Subclass 309 is a temporary visa, followed by the Subclass 100 permanent visa.
- Apply from overseas
- Travel to Australia once granted
- Pathway to permanent residency
Quick Comparison
| Onshore (820/801) | Offshore (309/100) | |
|---|---|---|
| Apply from | In Australia | Outside Australia |
| Work rights | After grant | |
| Medicare | After arrival | |
| Processing | 12-24 months | 12-24 months |
Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) - Fiancé Visa Melbourne
Planning to marry your Australian partner? The subclass 300 visa allows you to come to Australia to marry your fiancé.
What is a Prospective Marriage Visa?
The Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) is designed for people who are engaged to an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen and want to come to Australia to marry their partner. This is often called a 'fiancé visa' or 'fiancée visa'.
Subclass 300 Visa Requirements
Genuine Engagement
You must be genuinely engaged to marry an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. Evidence of your relationship and intention to marry is required.
Marriage Intention
You must intend to marry your partner within the visa validity period (9-15 months). The marriage must be legally valid in Australia.
Location Requirements
You must be outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is granted. You cannot apply for this visa while in Australia.
Age Requirement
Both you and your sponsor must be at least 18 years old at the time of application.
Prospective Marriage Visa to Permanent Residency Pathway
Subclass 300
Prospective Marriage visa granted (9-15 months)
Fee: AUD $9,365
Get Married
Marry in Australia within visa validity
No fee
Subclass 820/801
Apply for Partner visa after marriage
Reduced fee: AUD $1,560
Permanent PR
Permanent residency granted
💡 Total Cost: $10,925 (300 visa + subsequent partner visa)
AUD $9,365 (subclass 300) + AUD $1,560 (subsequent 820/801) = AUD $10,925 total pathway cost
Note: Direct partner visa (820/801) costs $9,365 if you're already married or in de facto relationship
Benefits of Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300)
Work Rights in Australia
Full work rights while on the prospective marriage visa
Study in Australia
Can enroll in courses and study during visa validity
Multiple Entry
Travel in and out of Australia during visa validity
Reduced Subsequent Fee
Partner visa after marriage only $1,560 (instead of full $9,365)
Should You Choose Subclass 300 or Go Directly to Partner Visa?
Choose Subclass 300 if:
- ✓You are engaged but not yet married
- ✓You want to marry in Australia
- ✓You haven't lived together for 12 months yet
- ✓You are currently outside Australia
Choose Partner Visa (820/309) if:
- ✓You are already married
- ✓You've lived together for 12+ months (de facto)
- ✓You want immediate work rights (onshore 820)
- ✓You have a child together
Partner Visa Requirements (820/801 & 309/100)
Relationship Evidence
Demonstrate a genuine and continuing relationship through joint finances, shared living arrangements, social recognition, and commitment to each other.
Sponsor Eligibility
Your partner must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen and meet character requirements.
Married or De Facto
You must be married to your partner or in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before applying.
Processing Time
Partner visa applications typically take 18-24 months to process. We help ensure your application is complete to avoid delays.
The 4 Evidence Pillars You Must Prove
Partner visas require comprehensive evidence across ALL four areas. Weakness in even one pillar can lead to refusal.
1. Financial Evidence
Joint bank accounts, shared bills, joint property/lease, tax returns, loans
2. Household Evidence
Same address, utility bills, mail, shared living space, household responsibilities
3. Social Recognition
Form 888 declarations (4+ recommended), photos, social media, joint invitations, family recognition
4. Commitment Evidence
Future plans, wills, insurance, power of attorney, joint health cover, children together
Don't Know If Your Evidence Is Strong Enough?
Our free assessment evaluates your evidence across all 4 pillars and gives you a clear Red/Amber/Green readiness score. Know exactly what gaps you need to fix before spending $9,365 on the application.
Assess My Evidence Strength →Free • 10 minutes • Instant results • Expert review available
Form 888 — Statutory Declaration of Support
The single piece of evidence most often misjudged by self-lodging applicants.
Form 888 is the Department of Home Affairs' statutory declaration form for third-party witnesses to your relationship. Each declaration is sworn under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959, signed before an authorised witness, and submitted as part of the social-pillar evidence in your partner visa application (subclass 820/801 or 309/100). Two 888s are the legislative minimum; in practice, four well-drafted declarations is the working norm for a credible relationship file.
Weak Form 888s are one of the most common triggers for a Request for Information (RFI) or, in worse cases, a refusal on the ground that the relationship is not genuine. The cost of a refusal is the AUD $9,365 visa application charge (non-refundable), 18-36 months of processing time already spent, and a refused-visa record on the applicant's immigration history. Strong Form 888s are short, specific and observable; weak ones are long, vague and emotional.
The four-paragraph structure DHA reads for
Every paragraph must answer a specific evidentiary question. Witnesses who improvise outside this structure produce declarations that read as character references, not relationship evidence.
How the witness knows both parties
First-met dates for the applicant AND the sponsor. The relationship to each (friend, colleague, family). The setting where the witness sees them together.
Observable shared life
Concrete events the witness personally attended where the couple appeared as a unit: housewarmings, birthdays, holidays, hospital visits, parent introductions, shared travel.
Behaviour consistent with a couple
Domestic routines, household division of tasks, public affection, shared decision-making, integration into each other's wider family. Not adjectives — observed actions.
Witness identity and authority to declare
Full name, address, occupation, Australian citizenship or PR status (required), contact details, and authorised-witness identification block on page 2.
What a strong paragraph 2 looks like
A sample drawn from the social-recognition paragraph. Notice the dated, place-bound, witnessable detail — and the absence of generic praise.
“I have known [Applicant] since March 2019, when she joined the weekly community choir I run in Brunswick. I first met [Sponsor] at the choir’s end-of-year dinner in December 2020, where [Applicant] introduced him as her partner of six months.
Since then I have seen the couple together at almost every monthly choir social — Christmas in 2021 and 2022, [Sponsor]’s 35th birthday in March 2023 at the choir hall, and most recently a Lunar New Year potluck they hosted at their home in Carlton in February 2025. The dinner was at their shared flat; I helped [Applicant] in the kitchen while [Sponsor] welcomed about twelve other guests at the door. They share the same household routines I see in long-married couples — finishing each other’s sentences, dividing tasks without discussion, and clearly building a long-term life together in Melbourne.”
Five mistakes that get Form 888s discounted
Each of the below is a pattern that case officers are trained to look for. A single occurrence is not fatal; clusters across all four declarations usually are.
- 1
Generic praise instead of observable events
“They are a loving and devoted couple” carries no evidentiary weight without dates, places, and specific shared moments the witness was present for.
- 2
Witness only really knows one party
Declarations relying on second-hand knowledge (“his sister told me they live together”) signal a thin social network and are routinely discounted.
- 3
Four declarations that read as if one person wrote them
Identical phrasing patterns, the same adjectives, the same paragraph order across all four 888s — a strong tell that the applicant drafted the text and handed it to witnesses to sign.
- 4
Witness eligibility not established
Witnesses must be Australian citizens or permanent residents. Their citizenship/PR evidence, contact details, and the authorised-witness block on page 2 must be complete — missing fields invalidate the declaration.
- 5
Relationship framing inconsistent with Form 47SP
Witness uses “married” language for a de facto applicant, or claims a multi-year history that contradicts the dates the applicant declared on Form 47SP. Cross-document inconsistency is one of the fastest paths to a refusal.
Have you drafted your Form 888s yet?
Run the free 4-pillar evidence assessment — it tells you whether your social-pillar evidence (including 888s) is strong enough before you lodge.
Check my evidenceHave a complex case or low-trust country evidence?
Form 888 framing has to match your relationship type, country of origin, and what your sponsor can corroborate. Book a 30-minute strategy call to review your drafts before lodgement.
Book a 30-min consultAuthored by R. Weng — MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 1569835). LLM (Australian National University), LLB (Deakin), admitted to practice law in Victoria.
Schedule 3 — When You Don't Hold a Substantive Visa
The single hardest eligibility hurdle for onshore partner visa applicants. Misjudged in self-lodged applications more often than any other criterion.
Schedule 3 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets out extra criteria that an onshore partner visa applicant (subclass 820/801) must meet if, at the moment of lodging the application, they do not hold a substantive visa. A bridging visa, for example, is not a substantive visa. Neither is an unlawful status. The Department's default position when Schedule 3 applies is to refuse the application — unless the applicant demonstrates compelling reasons not to apply the criteria.
Schedule 3 is not a procedural box-check. It is a discretion the case officer exercises, and the same set of facts can be assessed differently by different officers. Strong compelling-reasons argumentation is fact-specific, legally framed, and supported by documentary evidence — not a cover letter saying “please consider our case sympathetically.”
Does Schedule 3 apply to you?
Schedule 3 is triggered by your visa status at the moment of lodging Form 47SP — not by where you are physically, not by your nationality, not by your relationship history.
- Applies when: you lodge while holding only a bridging visa with no underlying substantive visa, while unlawful, or after a substantive visa has been cancelled.
- Does not apply when: you hold a valid substantive visa at lodgement — student (500), visitor (600), graduate (485), work (482), or any other non-bridging class — even if that visa expires the next day.
- Edge case: if you became unlawful and lodge within a specific short window after your last substantive visa expired, a different Schedule 3 criterion can apply with a lower threshold. The window is measured precisely and the wrong calendar count costs the application.
The “compelling reasons” assessment — what tribunals consider
Australian tribunal decisions over the past two decades have shaped a non-exhaustive list of factors that may, taken together, reach the compelling threshold. No single factor is automatically sufficient. The applicant's specific combination is what matters.
Factors that historically carry weight
- • An Australian-citizen child of the relationship
- • Documented family-violence circumstances affecting the applicant or a child
- • Established medical conditions that genuinely prevent travel
- • A long-standing genuine relationship spanning several years, with deep evidence
- • Significant caregiving responsibility for an Australian citizen or PR family member
Factors that, alone, are usually not enough
- • The relationship itself (already a base requirement of the visa)
- • Financial hardship of leaving Australia to lodge offshore
- • Loss of employment or income disruption
- • Inconvenience of returning to the home country
- • Lack of family support overseas
This guidance reflects general patterns in published tribunal decisions. It is not legal advice — each application is decided on its own facts and the current state of the law at the time of decision.
Why Schedule 3 submissions fail when self-drafted
A persuasive compelling-reasons submission is a legal document, not a personal letter. The patterns below are common in self-lodged refusals and are the issues a competent migration agent corrects before lodgement.
- 1Leading with the relationship. The relationship is already required for the visa itself; raising it as a Schedule 3 reason adds no weight and signals the submission is generic.
- 2No evidence to corroborate each claimed factor. “My partner has a medical condition” without the specialist letter, treatment plan and prognosis is not a compelling reason — it is an assertion.
- 3Emotional framing without legal framing. Compelling reasons must be argued by reference to the regulatory test. A submission that reads like a personal appeal — “please understand our situation” — is not the same as one that addresses the discretion the officer is being asked to exercise.
- 4Inconsistency with Form 47SP and supporting evidence. Dates, places, history and relationship milestones declared elsewhere in the application must align exactly with the Schedule 3 narrative. Even small inconsistencies are flagged.
Not sure whether Schedule 3 applies to your situation?
Visa status at lodgement determines whether Schedule 3 is triggered. The free evidence assessment includes a Schedule 3 trigger check at the start.
Run the trigger checkSchedule 3 applies and you need a compelling-reasons strategy?
These cases turn on how the facts are framed and what evidence is assembled. Book a 30-minute strategy call to map the route most likely to satisfy the discretion.
Book a strategy callAuthored by R. Weng — MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 1569835). LLM (Australian National University), LLB (Deakin), admitted to practice law in Victoria.
Application Process Timeline
Two-stage process to permanent residency
Temporary Visa Application
Lodge application (820 or 309)
Temporary Visa Grant
12-24 months processing
Permanent Visa Application
After 2 years (801 or 100)
Permanent Residency
Full PR rights granted
Partner Visa Fees 2025 - Complete Cost Breakdown
Australian partner visa government fees effective July 1, 2025
Main Applicant Fees
Partner Visa (820/801 or 309/100)
Covers both temporary and permanent stages
AUD $9,365
Prospective Marriage Visa (300)
Temporary visa to marry in Australia
AUD $9,365
Subsequent Partner Visa (after 300)
Reduced fee if applied after Prospective Marriage visa
AUD $1,560
Additional Family Members
Age 18 and over
AUD $4,685
Per additional applicant
Under 18 years
AUD $2,345
Per child applicant
Additional Costs to Consider
Credit Card Surcharge
Applied to all government fees
1.4%
Health Examinations
Required for all applicants
$300-$600
Biometrics Collection
Fingerprints and photo
~$300
Police Certificates
Varies by country of residence
Varies
Important Fee Information
- •Fees are current as of July 1, 2025 and may change annually
- •No separate charge for the permanent stage (801/100) - it's included in the initial application fee
- •Our professional migration agent fees are separate from government charges - contact us for a quote
- •Free initial partner visa assessment available at our Melbourne office
Frequently Asked Questions
Common concerns about partner visas
Partner Visa Services Across Australia & Worldwide
Based in Melbourne, we provide expert partner visa services to clients across all Australian states and territories, as well as offshore applicants worldwide. Whether you're applying from within Australia or from overseas, we deliver the same high-quality, personalised service via video consultation.
Onshore Applicants
All Australian states & territories: VIC, NSW, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT
Offshore Applicants
Worldwide coverage: Asia, Europe, Americas, Middle East, Africa & Pacific
Flexible Consultations
In-person (Melbourne), video call (Zoom/Teams), phone, or email - your choice
Why Choose Our Partner Visa Services?
- MARA-registered migration agent (No. 1569835) with LLM (ANU) and LLB (Deakin) qualifications
- Specialization in both onshore (820/801) and offshore (309/100) partner visa applications
- Bilingual support in English and Chinese - serving clients globally in their preferred language
- Seamless remote service via video consultations - no need to travel to Melbourne
- Free initial partner visa assessment available to all clients, regardless of location
Ready to Start Your Australian Partner Visa Application?
Whether you're in Australia or overseas, our MARA-registered specialists are ready to help. Get your free partner visa assessment today - no obligation, no matter where you are.