Onshore vs Offshore Partner Visa: 820/801 vs 309/100

Current as at 3 July 2026. General information only, not advice for your circumstances. Fees are FY2026-27 figures; confirm current charges and processing times at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.

If you are the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, there are two main routes to a partner visa. Which one you use is decided almost entirely by where you are when you apply — and that single fact then shapes your work rights, your ability to travel, and how you live for the year or more it takes to get a decision.

This guide compares the onshore Partner (820/801) and offshore Partner (309/100) pathways so you can choose with your eyes open.

The two pathways in one sentence each

• Onshore — Subclass 820/801: you apply while you are in Australia (usually on another substantive visa), and you generally stay in Australia while it is processed.
• Offshore — Subclass 309/100: you apply while you are outside Australia, and you must be outside Australia when the provisional visa is granted.

Both are two-stage visas: a provisional (temporary) stage followed, usually about two years later, by assessment for the permanent stage. Onshore, that is the 820 leading to the 801. Offshore, it is the 309 leading to the 100. The relationship test — a genuine and continuing relationship, assessed against the four pillars of evidence — is the same for both.

Side-by-side comparison

Charges are indicative FY2026-27 figures; confirm on the Home Affairs fee calculator. There is no separate application charge at the permanent (801/100) stage.

Bridging visas: the biggest practical difference

This is where the two pathways feel most different day to day.

When you lodge an onshore 820 application while holding a substantive visa, you are usually granted a Bridging visa A (BVA). It keeps you lawfully in Australia while the application is processed and generally carries work rights. If you need to leave the country — a family emergency, work travel — you apply for a Bridging visa B (BVB), which lets you depart and return within a set travel period. Note that the BVB application charge rose sharply on 1 July 2026 to $575 (indicative — confirm before applying).

With an offshore 309 application, there is no bridging visa because you are not in Australia. You can live and work wherever you already are and travel freely; the only hard rule is that you must be outside Australia when the 309 is granted. Many offshore applicants visit Australia on a visitor visa while they wait — but they must leave before the grant, or the grant cannot be made.

Who each pathway suits

The onshore 820/801 usually suits you if…

• You are already in Australia on a substantive visa (student, working, visitor with the right conditions) and want to stay put.
• You are living together in Australia and moving overseas to lodge would disrupt work, study or care arrangements.
• Being able to work in Australia while you wait matters to your household budget.

The offshore 309/100 usually suits you if…

• You are living overseas together, or the partner seeking the visa is based outside Australia.
• You expect to keep travelling while you wait and do not want to depend on bridging-visa travel permissions.
• Your life is not yet established in Australia, so there is nothing to disrupt by applying from offshore.

Watch-points that catch people out

• Visa conditions. Some Australian visas carry an 8503 “No Further Stay” condition that blocks an onshore 820 application unless it is waived. Check your current visa before assuming onshore is open to you.
• The offshore “must be outside” rule. If you are onshore when your 309 is ready to grant, it cannot be granted until you leave. Applicants who forget this can hold up their own decision.
• You cannot freely switch mid-stream. An 820 and a 309 are different applications with different lodgement rules. Choosing the wrong one is not a simple toggle later — it can mean a fresh application and another charge.
• Prospective Marriage feeds the onshore route. If you enter on a Prospective Marriage (300) visa, marry and then apply, that later application is an onshore 820/801.

What is the same either way

Whichever pathway you choose, the core of the case does not change:

• The same genuine and continuing relationship test and the same four pillars of evidence — financial, household, social and commitment.
• The same expectation, since the April 2026 processing update, that the application is decision-ready at lodgement, with typically one opportunity to supply further information before a decision.
• The same $11,710 application charge (indicative FY2026-27), which is generally non-refundable if the application is refused.
• The same sponsor obligations, health and character requirements, and permanent-stage assessment about two years on.

The permanent stage: 801 and 100

Neither pathway ends at the provisional visa. About two years after the provisional grant, the Department assesses you for the permanent stage — the 801 (onshore) or the 100 (offshore) — and the central question is whether the relationship is still genuine and continuing. There is no additional application charge at this stage; the single charge you paid at the start covers both.

Two practical consequences follow. First, you need to keep evidence rolling across those two years — the permanent assessment looks at the life you have built since the provisional grant, not just the file you lodged originally. Second, in a small number of cases the permanent visa can be granted sooner where the couple were in a long-term relationship before applying, so it is worth knowing whether you fall into that category. Either way, the permanent stage is a second evidence exercise, not a formality — plan for it from the day the provisional visa is granted.

Common questions

Can I apply onshore if I am here on a visitor visa?

Sometimes. It depends on your visitor visa’s conditions — in particular whether it carries an 8503 “No Further Stay” condition — and on your circumstances. Some people on visitor visas can lodge an onshore 820; others cannot without a waiver. Check the conditions on your current visa before assuming the onshore route is open.

Is offshore really faster?

Offshore provisional processing has at times run shorter than onshore, but processing times move constantly and are set by the Department. Choose the pathway that fits your situation and lodge it decision-ready; do not pick offshore purely on the hope of speed, because that hope is not something anyone can promise.

What if we are living together overseas but plan to move to Australia?

That is a classic offshore situation. You can lodge the 309 from overseas, keep living and working where you are, and move to Australia once the provisional visa is granted — remembering only that you must be outside Australia at the moment of grant.

How to decide

Start with the fixed facts — where you are, what visa you hold and its conditions, and where you can realistically be at grant. Those usually narrow the choice to one pathway before preference even comes into it. Then weigh the lifestyle differences: work rights and staying in Australia (onshore) against travel freedom and applying from where you already live (offshore).

You can confirm the right subclass with our partner eligibility check, and budget the full cost — charge, police checks, health examinations and translations — with the fee estimator.

Choose the pathway once, and lodge it right

The wrong pathway is an expensive detour; the right one, lodged decision-ready, is the shortest route to a grant. Our partner and family visa team advises on onshore versus offshore in light of your visa status, your relationship evidence and your travel plans, then prepares the application to a decision-ready standard. Book a consultation and we will map the pathway that fits your situation.