Nothing about skills, occupation lists or English bands applies here. The case is built entirely on evidence that the relationship is genuine, continuing and exclusive – and that evidence is what separates the applications that succeed from the ones that sit in a queue answering questions.
| If you apply from | Temporary | Permanent |
|---|---|---|
| Outside Australia | Subclass 309 | Subclass 100 |
| Inside Australia | Subclass 820 | Subclass 801 |
You lodge once and pay once. The temporary visa is decided first; the permanent stage follows after a qualifying period, when your relationship is assessed again. Many applicants do not realise the second assessment happens at all, and let their evidence go cold in between.
Case officers assess the relationship against four aspects. A file strong in one and empty in another is where refusals come from.
| Aspect | What actually counts |
|---|---|
| Financial | Joint accounts, shared bills, transfers between you, joint assets or liabilities |
| Household | Shared address, joint lease or ownership, how domestic responsibilities are divided |
| Social | Statements from family and friends, photographs across time, joint invitations and travel |
| Commitment | Time spent together, communication records during separations, wills, nominations, future plans |
The Australian partner is sponsoring, and that carries its own assessment: character checks, disclosure of previous sponsorships, and a financial undertaking. A sponsor with a relevant criminal record, or who has sponsored partners before, needs that addressed openly at lodgement rather than discovered later.
The partner visa carries one of the highest application charges in the Australian system, and it is paid once at lodgement for both stages. There is no reduced fee for the permanent stage later.
| Item | Paid to | When |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application charge | Department of Home Affairs | At lodgement, covering both stages |
| Additional applicant charge | Department of Home Affairs | Per dependent child included |
| Health examinations | Panel clinic | After lodgement, for each applicant |
| Police certificates | Each country lived in | Before or shortly after lodgement |
| Document translation | NAATI-accredited translator | For anything not in English |
| Our professional fee | NC Visas | Staged, separate from every charge above |
The charge is revised each July. Applying with last year’s figure is a lodgement error that delays the file.
If you are engaged but not yet married and your partner is in Australia, the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa lets you travel, marry within the validity period and then apply onshore. It suits couples whose wedding is planned in Australia. It costs a further application later, so it is worth comparing against simply marrying first and applying for the partner visa directly – which is the cheaper path when the ceremony can happen in India.
The gap between lodgement and the permanent stage is where most couples lose ground. The Department reassesses the relationship at stage two, using evidence from the period after you applied – so the joint account opened the week before lodgement and never used again works against you. Keep adding to the file: shared tenancy renewals, joint policies, updated nominations, travel together, and any change of address notified on time. Ten minutes every few months is the whole task, and it is the difference between a straightforward stage two and a request for more information that adds months.
Processing times are published by the Department and vary by subclass and volume. The permanent stage is assessed separately, after the qualifying period.
If you applied onshore on a bridging visa, generally yes. Offshore applicants wait for the temporary visa.
No. De facto partners qualify, usually with twelve months of documented cohabitation or a registered relationship.
A previous refusal must be disclosed. The new application has to answer the specific concern raised, not simply repeat the old file.
The whole file is prepared from our Hyderabad office and lodged online. What needs local planning is the biometric appointment, the medical where one is required, and police clearance – the item people consistently start too late. We sequence those so nothing expires before the decision.
Send us your relationship timeline and what evidence you already hold. We will tell you which of the four pillars is thin and what to gather before you lodge. Talk to our Australia team in Hyderabad.
Looking at the employer-sponsored side instead? Our Australia work visa consultants in Hyderabad page covers the 482, 186 and 494 routes.
Deciding whether to trust a consultancy? Read what our clients say, and the checks worth running on any firm before you pay.
