EMC Australia / Offshore spouse visa · Subclass 309 provisional, then 100 permanent
Partner visa 309/100: bring your partner to Australia
The Partner visa (subclass 309/100) is for the married or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who applies from outside Australia. Same-sex couples are covered, whether married or de facto. You apply for both stages at once, and the charge is from AUD 11,710. The provisional 309 lets you live, work and study in Australia. You're usually assessed for the permanent 100 two years after you applied.
Being apart while you wait is hard. The 309/100 is the partner visa for couples where the applicant is overseas, whether you're married or de facto. Once the 309 is granted, your partner can move to Australia, work, study and start your life together while the permanent stage is assessed. We help Australian sponsors in Melbourne and around the country, and applicants anywhere in the world, plan the application, the evidence and the move.
Last reviewed:
Official source: Department of Home Affairs – Partner visa (subclasses 309 and 100)
Call +61 3 9069 3284 or WhatsApp · Weekdays 9:00am–5:00pm AEST
Who We Assist
Who We Assist
- Your partner lives overseas and you want them to join you in Australia
- You're an Australian citizen living overseas with your partner and planning to move home
- You married overseas and want to start your life together in Australia
- You've been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months
- You're unsure whether the 309 or the fiancé visa (300) fits your plans
- A previous application was refused or withdrawn
How it works
What this visa asks of you
These are the parts of this visa, in the order they usually matter.
Step 1
Before you apply
Plan the application from overseas
The applicant, and any family applying with them, must be outside Australia to apply.
Collect relationship evidence, both statements, Form 888s, police certificates for every country where the applicant has spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years (since age 16), and the sponsor's documents. Police certificates and health checks are generally valid for 12 months, so time them carefully.
Subclass 309
Provisional · from overseas
Apply for the 309 and 100 together
One application, from AUD 11,710.
Offshore applications get lower processing priority than onshore ones under Ministerial Direction 117. If you're outside Australia when the 309 is granted, you must enter Australia before the first-entry date in your grant letter. You can then live, work and study here, travel in and out as often as you like, and may be eligible for Medicare. Don't travel to settle until the grant is confirmed in writing.
Subclass 100
Permanent
The permanent stage
Usually assessed two years after you applied.
You'll provide updated evidence that your relationship is still genuine and continuing. The 100 can be granted sooner if you'd been together for three years when you applied (or two years with a dependent child together). The 100 is permanent residence, with a five-year travel facility, the right to sponsor eligible family, and a path to citizenship.
How EMC works
How we help
01
Planning the sequence
When to do medicals and police certificates, the first-entry date, and whether a visit to Australia while you wait makes sense. Planned ahead, these don't become last-minute problems.
02
Evidence for couples who live apart
Many 309 couples have spent time apart. We help you show how you stay in touch, plan your future, and share your money and responsibilities across borders. Read about the four areas of evidence.
03
Sponsor issues and past history
Earlier sponsorships, the five-year limit, character matters, previous refusals, or a relationship that started online. We deal with them openly and early.
What to Prepare
What to Prepare for Your Consultation
- Both passports, and any Australian visa the applicant holds or has held
- Proof of the sponsor's Australian citizenship or permanent residence (or eligible New Zealand citizenship)
- Your marriage certificate or relationship registration, if you have one
- Evidence of time together: travel records, visits, photos, and how you keep in touch while apart
- Any joint finances, shared property or leases, overseas or in Australia
- A list of countries where the applicant has spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years (since age 16)
- Details of any earlier refusal, sponsorship or police matter
Before you apply
Important Considerations Before Applying
- You can't apply for the 309 while you're in Australia. Family members applying with you must also be outside Australia. If you're already in Australia, look at the onshore 820/801 partner visa instead.
- If you visit Australia on another visa while you wait, you're responsible for keeping that visa valid for your whole stay. Your 309 can be granted whether you're in or outside Australia (though not while you're going through passport control on arrival). Read our visitor visa guide before you apply for one.
- If you're outside Australia when the 309 is granted, you must enter Australia before the first-entry date in your grant letter. If that date passes, speak to us before you travel. Home Affairs says the visa may still be valid, but it could be cancelled before you arrive or at the border.
- De facto couples usually need 12 months as a de facto couple immediately before applying. Time spent dating or in an online relationship might not count.
- Offshore applications are processed after onshore ones under Ministerial Direction 117, so expect longer waits and plan for them.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You must be outside Australia when you apply for the 309/100, and so must any family members applying with you. If you're already in Australia and able to apply, the onshore 820/801 partner visa is usually the visa to look at.
Many applicants do visit on a separate visa, such as a visitor visa, but that visa is assessed on its own and isn't guaranteed. Home Affairs says that if you travel to Australia on another visa while your 309 is in progress, you're responsible for keeping that visa valid for your whole stay. Your 309 can be granted whether you're in or outside Australia, but offshore applications are processed at a lower priority.
The government charge for the 309/100 is from AUD 11,710 for most main applicants, and it covers both the provisional and permanent stages. Each family member applying with you costs extra, and you'll also pay for health checks, police certificates and any translations. From 1 July 2026, a lower charge applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens.
Home Affairs' published figure for September 2026 is 22 months for partner provisional and temporary visas (subclasses 300, 309 and 820 combined). Under Ministerial Direction 117, offshore 309/100 applications get lower priority than onshore applications, so they're likely to take longer.
If you're outside Australia when your 309 is granted, you must enter Australia before the first-entry date in your grant letter. From then on you can live, work and study in Australia and travel in and out as often as you like while you hold the visa. You may be eligible for Medicare and free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program.
You're usually assessed for the 100 two years after you applied for the 309/100. It can be granted sooner if you were already in a long-term partner relationship when you applied: at least three years together, or two years if you have a dependent child together. You'll need to provide updated relationship evidence.
If you're already married or have been de facto for 12 months, the 309/100 is usually the right visa. If you're engaged and plan to marry, the Prospective Marriage visa (300) may suit you better. If you marry while a 300 application is still waiting, you're no longer eligible for the 300. You'd need to ask for it to be considered as a 309/100 instead.
Home Affairs looks at four areas: your finances, your household, your social life as a couple, and your commitment to each other, including how you stay in touch while you're apart. Include both partners' statements and two Form 888 statements from people aged 18 or over who know you as a couple.
Yes. You can include dependent children when you apply and add a dependent child before the 309 is decided. The child must be outside Australia. After the 309 is granted, a child usually applies for a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) and can then be included in your permanent application.
You must tell Home Affairs. You may still be eligible for the permanent visa in three situations: if your partner has died; if you or a member of your family has experienced family violence from your sponsor and you've entered Australia since applying; or if you have a child with your former partner and you have custody, access or a court order for them, or your former partner has to pay child support. Help is available whatever your visa status. If you're experiencing family or domestic violence, you don't have to stay in an unsafe relationship to keep your visa options. For confidential support, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, any time. In an emergency, call 000. You can also read the Home Affairs page on the family violence provisions, or talk to us in confidence.
Your sponsor is usually your partner, who must be aged 18 or over and an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, approved by Home Affairs. Permanent resident and eligible New Zealand citizen sponsors must usually live in Australia. If your partner is under 18 and married to you, their parent or guardian may be able to sponsor you instead. The sponsorship may be refused if it's the sponsor's third partner sponsorship, or if they sponsored a partner or were sponsored as one in the last five years. Exceptions include having a dependent child together, the sponsor's previous partner having died, the previous partner having left the relationship when there are children who depend on the sponsor, or a longstanding relationship.
You'll need police certificates from each country where you've spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, and you must meet the health requirement. Character requirements apply to applicants aged 16 and over. Certificates and health checks are generally valid for 12 months, so time them to avoid having to redo them.
Yes. Partner visa rules are the same in every state and territory, and we work with sponsors and applicants anywhere in Australia and overseas by Zoom, phone or message. If you're in Melbourne, you can book a paid appointment to meet us at our office at Level 14, 333 Collins Street.
Start with your situation.
You do not need to memorise the subclass. Book a consultation, or send a short note. MARN 1800335 · Level 14, 333 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.
Other work
- Partner visas: all options
- Onshore partner visa 820/801
- Prospective Marriage (fiancé) visa 300
- 309 and 820 explained: eligibility and evidence
- Partner visa costs
- The genuine relationship test
- Visitor visas
- If a visa was refused
This page is general information, not advice about your circumstances. Australian migration law changes. You should consult a Registered Migration Agent before you apply. EMC Australia is OMARA-registered (MARN 1800335).