Partner Visa Processing Time in 2026: Onshore vs Offshore, Stage by Stage

The partner visa processing time in Australia is now about two years for the first stage, whichever route you take. As at 19 October 2026, Home Affairs decides half of onshore 820 applications within 22 months and 90 per cent within 30 months. For the offshore 309 the figures are 21 and 32 months.

The permanent stage (the 801 after an 820, or the 100 after a 309) runs on a second clock. It starts two years after you applied, and from that date half of 801 decisions take 8 months and half of 100 decisions take 9 months. Most couples reach permanent residence about three years after lodging a partner visa.

How long does a partner visa take right now?

The figures below come from the Home Affairs processing-time guide, updated on 29 September 2026 and read on 19 October 2026. “Half” is the point by which 50 per cent of recently decided applications were finalised, and “90 per cent” is the slower end of the range.

Home Affairs also publishes one combined figure each month. For August 2026 the median for all temporary partner visas (820 and 309 together) was 23 months.

These times have grown this year. In August 2026 the same guide showed half of 820 applications decided in 20 months and half of 309 applications in 17 months. The 300 is the only partner visa whose figures are unchanged since September.

Why does the permanent stage have its own clock?

One partner visa application covers two visas. You pay the AUD 11,710 charge once, receive the temporary visa first, and the permanent visa is assessed later. Home Affairs does not start the permanent assessment until two years have passed from the day you applied.

That is why an 801 processing time of 8 months does not mean 8 months after your 820 grant. It means 8 months after the two-year mark. If your 820 took 22 months, the permanent assessment opens about two months later, and half of those decisions then take another 8 months.

Two years is the usual rule, not a fixed one. If you were already in a long-term relationship when you applied (at least three years together, or two years if you have a child together), Home Affairs may grant the permanent visa without the two-year wait, sometimes together with the temporary visa.

When the two years pass, log in to ImmiAccount and open “Stage 2 – Permanent Partner Visa Assessment (100, 801)” under Family. That form is how you tell Home Affairs you are ready to be assessed, and where you upload the newer relationship evidence it will ask for.

Is an onshore partner visa faster than an offshore one?

Not at the moment, judged by the published figures. Since 25 July 2026, Ministerial Direction 117 (the rule that sets the order Home Affairs works through family visas) has put applications made in Australia, for a visa grantable in Australia, at the top. Offshore 309 and 300 applications sit lower.

Home Affairs says lower-priority applications “are likely to experience longer processing times”. Yet the current medians are 22 months for the 820 and 21 for the 309, with the 90 per cent marks at 30 and 32. The priority order sorts the queue; it has not yet opened a visible gap between the two routes.

What does differ is your life while you wait:

• Onshore (820) — if you held a substantive visa when you applied, you move onto a Bridging visa A with full work rights when that visa ends, and you stay in Australia for the whole wait. Leaving the country needs a Bridging visa B first. The visa-history rules are on our 820/801 page. If you applied after your last substantive visa had already ended, the Schedule 3 rules apply as well.
• Offshore (309) — you apply from outside Australia and the application itself gives no right to work here. You can visit on a visa that allows it, and the 309 can be granted while you are in Australia. Our 309/100 page covers the visit rules and the no further stay condition on visitor visas.
• Prospective Marriage (300) — you wait outside Australia, then have 9 to 15 months after grant to enter, marry and lodge the 820/801 for AUD 1,955. Our 300 guide sets out the sequence.

Why are partner visas taking longer in 2026?

Home Affairs says its continued priority for aged applicants and for compassionate and compelling cases is reflected in the current 309 and 300 times. Beyond that, its pages say only that applicants may wait longer than expected. In June the Minister blamed application volumes; our partner visa delays post covers that debate.

The yearly planning level is not a cap. The 2026–27 Migration Program lists 41,500 partner places, which Home Affairs marks as demand driven and indicative only. The Migration Act agrees: a limit on visa numbers cannot stop a grant to the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen or permanent resident (section 87).

Can you ask Home Affairs to process your partner visa faster?

Only in limited cases, and most requests are refused. Under Direction 117, Home Affairs may move an application up the queue where it involves special circumstances of a compassionate nature and there are compelling reasons to depart from the normal order. Its own FAQ says most requests for priority processing cannot be approved.

Three conditions apply before a request is even considered. Every supporting document must already be on the file. You must meet all the legal requirements for the visa. And if the request concerns the permanent stage, the two-year eligibility date must have passed.

No paid fast-track exists for partner visas. Home Affairs also asks you not to contact it while your application is within the published processing time, because it gives no progress updates in that period.

What slows a partner visa down?

In our practice, the files that run past the 90 per cent mark usually share one of four problems.

• Evidence that stops at lodgement — Home Affairs assesses the relationship as it stands at decision, not at application. A file lodged two years ago with nothing added since draws a request for more information, which adds its own weeks (usually 28 days to answer). Upload new joint evidence through ImmiAccount every few months.
• Expired health or police checks — medical examinations and police certificates are generally valid for 12 months, so on a two-year file they expire before a decision and must be redone. Do them when Home Affairs asks, or close to when your file is likely to reach an officer, not months before you lodge.
• Sponsor-side gaps — the sponsor’s police certificates and the sponsorship limits (usually two partners in a lifetime, at least five years apart) are checked on the same file. A sponsor who cannot produce an Australian Federal Police check, or a certificate from a country they lived in, holds up the whole application.
• Changes you did not report — a new address, a new job, a child, a separation. The law requires you to tell Home Affairs about changes in your circumstances, and changes found at decision time lead to more questions, or in the worst case a refusal.

Do you need to do anything right now? If your application is within the published time and your evidence is current, no. Keep documents up to date, add relationship evidence as it arises, and report any change. Our partner visa cost post lists which documents expire and when to pay for them.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a partner visa take in Australia in 2026?

About two years for the first stage. As at 19 October 2026, Home Affairs decides half of 820 applications within 22 months and half of 309 applications within 21 months. Nine in ten are decided within 30 months (820) and 32 months (309).

How long does the 801 take after the 820?

Half of 801 decisions take 8 months and 90 per cent take 19 months, counted from your eligibility date. That date is two years after you applied for the 820, not the day the 820 was granted.

Is the 309 faster than the 820?

The published medians are almost the same: 21 months for the 309 and 22 for the 820. Ministerial Direction 117 ranks onshore applications ahead of offshore ones, but that order has not produced a clear gap in the current figures.

Can I speed up my partner visa?

Only where the case involves special compassionate circumstances and compelling reasons, and only if every document is already lodged. Home Affairs says most priority requests cannot be approved. No paid fast-track exists.

Does Home Affairs process partner visas in the order they are lodged?

Broadly, yes. Direction 117 sorts applications into priority groups, onshore first, and within each group they are generally assessed in date order. Compassionate cases can be moved ahead, and incomplete files fall behind when more information is requested.