Your Love is Valid. Your Visa Should Be Too.

Not necessarily, but it does require a thoughtful approach. The Department understands that some same-sex couples have legitimate reasons for keeping their relationship private, particularly where disclosure would have created safety risks or serious family consequences. The key is providing a clear, honest explanation of your circumstances alongside the evidence you do have. A smaller body of evidence, well-explained and well-presented, is significantly more effective than a large volume of unorganised documents with no narrative.

Yes. Same-sex marriages legally performed overseas are recognised under Australian law and for Australian immigration purposes. You can use your marriage certificate as evidence of your relationship status and do not need to remarry in Australia. This applies regardless of when you married overseas, provided the marriage was valid in the country where it took place.

Yes, and this situation is more common than you might think. Their home country's laws have no bearing on their Australian visa application. However, special care is required in how the application is managed, particularly around documentation, communication protocols, and what is stored or sent in their home country. We have experience navigating these situations and can advise on protective measures from the outset. If your partner also faces personal persecution because of their sexuality, a protection visa application may run concurrently or as a separate pathway.

Processing times are the same regardless of sexual orientation. For the onshore Subclass 820, processing currently takes between 12 to 24 months for the temporary visa. After grant, you wait a further two years before applying for the permanent Subclass 801. Offshore Subclass 309 applications have similar timeframes. During processing onshore, you hold a Bridging Visa with full work rights. We strongly recommend not making major life decisions, such as departing Australia, without first speaking to your lawyer about the impact on your visa status.

Long-distance relationships can qualify, but they require particularly strong evidence of genuine commitment. The Department looks for evidence that the distance was a circumstance rather than a choice, and that you maintained a genuine relationship across that distance through communication records, visit history, financial support, and documented future plans. For de facto couples, the 12-month relationship requirement may be satisfied even if you lived apart, provided the relationship was genuine and ongoing throughout. Each case is assessed on its facts.

Yes. The Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) is available to all engaged couples, including same-sex couples, planning to marry in Australia. Same-sex marriage has been fully legal in Australia since December 2017. This visa grants a 9-month stay during which you must legally marry, after which your partner can apply for the Partner Visa 820/801 onshore. Both parties must have met in person prior to application and must be legally free to marry under Australian law.

The No Visa, No Fee guarantee means that if your standard partner visa application is refused by the Department, we refund our professional fees in full. It covers Partner Visa 820/801, 309/100, and Prospective Marriage Visa 300 applications. It does not cover government application fees (paid directly to the Department, which are non-refundable in all cases), and it may not apply to complex matters involving character issues, health complications, or other significant risk factors. The full terms are provided in writing before you sign anything. You will always know exactly what you are covered for before you commit.

The Department assesses evidence across four categories: financial (joint accounts, shared bills, financial support between partners), household (living arrangements, shared responsibilities, cohabitation history), social (being recognised as a couple by family and friends, shared social activities), and commitment (future plans, duration of relationship, time spent together, emotional interdependence). Not all categories need to be equally strong. What matters most is that the overall picture is coherent and convincing. For LGBTIQ+ couples with privacy considerations, we help you build the strongest possible case from the evidence you actually have.

Yes. Dependent children can generally be included in a partner visa application, including children of one or both partners in a same-sex relationship. Children who are step-children, adopted children, or biological children of either partner may be eligible to be included, depending on their age, circumstances, and immigration status. Including children adds complexity to the application and requires additional documentation. We assess each family's situation individually to determine the most appropriate pathway for the whole family.

If you apply onshore (Subclass 820), you will be issued a Bridging Visa A upon lodgement, which gives you the right to remain in Australia with full work and study rights until the application is decided. If you need to travel internationally during processing, you will need to apply for a Bridging Visa B before departing, otherwise your bridging visa will cease when you leave. If you are applying offshore (Subclass 309), you remain on your current visa or visa-free status in your home country until the offshore visa is granted, at which point you may travel to Australia.

HIV status does not automatically disqualify someone from a partner visa. All applicants must undergo a health examination, and the Department assesses health requirements on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as treatment access, likely costs to the Australian health system, and individual circumstances. Australia has moved toward a more nuanced approach to HIV-related health assessments in recent years. We recommend speaking to us directly about your circumstances, as health assessments are highly individual and generalised advice can be misleading.

Sponsorship history limitations apply to all partner visa sponsors, regardless of the sex of their current or previous partner. Generally, an Australian sponsor can only sponsor two people for a partner visa in their lifetime, and there are waiting periods that apply if a sponsor has previously sponsored someone within the last five years. These restrictions can significantly affect your options and timeline. We assess sponsorship eligibility as part of your initial consultation, so any restrictions are identified early and planned around.

If your relationship genuinely ends before your visa is decided, the application will generally not succeed on partner visa grounds. However, there are important exceptions. If the relationship ended due to family violence, you may still be eligible for the permanent partner visa under the family violence provisions, which apply equally to same-sex relationships. There are also provisions for situations where a partner has died. If your relationship ends during the processing period, you should contact your lawyer immediately rather than waiting, as the approach taken from that point can significantly affect your options.

As at 2025, the Department of Home Affairs application fee for the main applicant is $9,365. Additional fees apply for children included in the application: $4,685 for each dependent child over 18, and $2,345 for each child under 18. These government fees are required upfront, are payable directly to the Department, and are non-refundable regardless of the outcome of your application. Our professional fees are separate and are set out clearly in your engagement agreement. We offer staged payment plans for our fees to help spread the cost.

Not necessarily. Many genuine couples today form relationships online before meeting in person, and long-distance or internationally-based couples are well represented in successful partner visa applications. The key requirement is that you have met in person at least once (particularly important for the Prospective Marriage Visa), and that you can demonstrate the relationship has been genuine and ongoing across the distance. Strong digital communication records, documented visits, evidence of financial interdependence, and a compelling personal statement go a long way. We help long-distance couples build these cases regularly.

The main difference is where your partner (the applicant) is located when lodging the application and when the visa is decided. Onshore (Subclass 820/801) requires your partner to be in Australia on a valid visa at both lodgement and grant, giving them immediate Bridging Visa rights to stay and work. Offshore (Subclass 309/100) requires your partner to be outside Australia, and they remain there until the temporary visa is granted. The offshore pathway is generally appropriate where your partner cannot or does not currently hold a valid Australian visa. The evidence requirements and eligibility criteria are substantively the same for both pathways.

Yes, if you are applying onshore. Upon lodgement of an onshore Partner Visa (Subclass 820), your partner receives a Bridging Visa A, which includes full work rights with no employer or occupation restrictions. They can work in any role for any employer from the day the application is lodged. Study rights are also included. If your partner is applying offshore (Subclass 309), work rights are not available in Australia until the visa is granted and they travel to Australia.

After the temporary visa (Subclass 820 or 309) is granted, your partner can live, work, and study in Australia freely. Approximately two years after the original application was lodged, the Department will assess eligibility for the permanent visa (Subclass 801 or 100). At that stage, you will need to demonstrate that the relationship is still genuine and ongoing. We assist clients through both stages and keep track of key dates so you are well prepared when the permanent stage assessment begins.

All communications with our firm are protected by legal professional privilege and strict confidentiality obligations. We will never disclose the existence or content of your matter to anyone outside the firm without your consent. If you have specific confidentiality requirements, such as preferred contact methods, particular email addresses, or restrictions on how and when we contact you, we document and follow these from the outset. We understand that for some LGBTIQ+ clients, confidentiality is not just a preference but a genuine safety consideration. We treat it accordingly.