Where Must You Be When You Apply — and When Your Visa Is Granted?

Location rules drive this entire pathway, and one of them changed in 2023. Get this distinction wrong and you risk lodging under the wrong subclass.

• Lodging your application: you must be outside Australia. This applies to you and to any dependent family members included in the application.

• Grant of Subclass 309: you can now be in or outside Australia. The Department removed the "outside Australia" requirement at this stage from 25 November 2023.

• Grant of Subclass 100: you can be in or outside Australia. This has not changed.

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Before the 2023 change, an offshore applicant who entered Australia on a visitor visa risked refusal if the Subclass 309 decision landed while they were onshore. That risk no longer applies. The part of the rule that has not moved is lodgement — you still need to be outside Australia the moment you submit the application.

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Can You Visit Australia While Your Offshore Application Processes?

Yes. Lodging an offshore partner visa application does not stop you from applying separately for a visa to visit Australia, such as a Visitor visa (Subclass 600) or an eVisitor (Subclass 651) if you're eligible.

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A visitor visa application is assessed on its own terms. You need to meet the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement — you must show your visit is genuinely temporary and that you intend to leave before the visitor visa expires. Holding a pending partner visa application does not guarantee the visitor visa gets approved, and a pattern of long, repeated stays can count against you.

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If your visitor visa is granted, you can travel to Australia and be there when your Subclass 309 decision is made, under the location rules above. You still need to leave again before the visitor visa expires, unless you hold a separate lawful basis to stay.

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Do You Get a Bridging Visa While You Wait?

No. A bridging visa only applies when you lodge while you're in Australia on a substantive visa — that's the onshore pathway. As an offshore applicant, you wait on whatever lawful basis applies to you in your own country, or on a separate Australian visa if you've been granted one, as covered above.

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This is one of the clearest practical differences between the offshore and onshore routes. If your circumstances could suit either pathway, compare them in our onshore partner visa guide.

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How Do Health Examinations Work From Overseas?

You complete your health examinations after you lodge, once the Department issues your Health Assessment Portal (HAP) ID.

 

Inside Australia, applicants book through Bupa Medical Visa Services. Outside Australia, you must book with one of the Department's approved panel physicians or clinics in your country.

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Your results stay valid for 12 months. If the Department asks you to sign a health undertaking instead, that stays valid for 6 months. Not every country has a panel physician within its own borders — in that case, you'll need to travel to the nearest approved clinic, so check early rather than waiting for a request to land in your ImmiAccount.

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How Does Biometric Collection Work From Overseas?

Most offshore applicants need to provide biometrics — a facial photo and fingerprint scan — as part of the application.

 

The Department runs this through Australian Biometrics Collection Centres, operated by VFS Global, across dozens of countries.

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Some applicants can skip the in-person visit. If your biometrics letter gives you a Visa Lodgement Number starting with AUI, you can use the Australian Immi App on your phone to submit your passport details and a live facial image instead of attending a centre. If your country has no Biometrics Collection Centre, you may need to travel to the nearest one in a neighbouring country.

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Is There a Limit on How Many Times Your Partner Can Sponsor You?

Yes. A sponsor is generally limited to two partner sponsorships in their lifetime, across all partner and Prospective Marriage visa subclasses combined.

 

If your partner has sponsored someone before, they usually need to wait five years from that earlier application's lodgement date before sponsoring you.

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The Department can waive this limit in compelling or compassionate circumstances, such as a dependent child you share with your partner. If this applies to your sponsor, raise it with a registered migration agent before you lodge — a waiver request needs to be argued alongside your application, not after a refusal.

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What Do You Need for Documents, Cost, and Processing Time?

You'll need identity documents, relationship evidence across all four assessment areas, sponsor documents, and health and character checks — the same evidence categories as the onshore pathway. See our full partner visa document checklist for what to prepare.

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The government fee covers both Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 under one payment. See our partner visa cost guide for the full breakdown, including police certificates, translations, and dependants.

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Subclass 309 typically takes 12 to 20 months, and Subclass 100 is assessed around two years after your original lodgement date. See our partner visa processing time guide for what affects your timeline.

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Not Sure If Offshore Is Right for You?

If you're weighing offshore against onshore, the deciding factor is usually simple — where are you right now, and can you lawfully stay there until a decision is made? See the full comparison in our partner visa Australia guide and onshore partner visa guide, or book a consultation with a registered migration agent if your situation doesn't fit neatly into either pathway.

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Common Mistakes Offshore Applicants Make

These mistakes show up often in offshore applications, and most are avoidable.

• Assuming the November 2023 change means you can apply while in Australia. It doesn't — you still must lodge from outside Australia.

• Booking a visitor visa purely to "wait out" the partner visa decision, without a genuine intention to leave. This can trigger a Genuine Temporary Entrant refusal.

• Leaving the health examination until a request appears in ImmiAccount, then discovering there's no panel physician in-country and travel is needed.

• Assuming Medicare or work rights apply before Subclass 309 is granted. They don't, regardless of where you are at the time.

• Not telling your migration agent about a sponsor's previous partner visa sponsorship, which can trigger the sponsorship limitation late in the process.

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Does the Offshore Pathway Lead to Permanent Residency?

Yes. Subclass 100 grants permanent residency once the Department confirms your relationship is still genuine and continuing, generally around two years after your original lodgement date. Some couples qualify for both visas at once.

 

See our guide to the full temporary-to-permanent timeline for the direct-grant criteria and what to prepare before the two-year mark.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I lodge an offshore partner visa application while I'm in Australia?

No. You must be outside Australia when you lodge your Subclass 309 and Subclass 100 combined application. If you're in Australia and want to apply, the onshore Subclass 820/801 pathway applies instead.

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Do I need to stay outside Australia until my Subclass 309 is decided?

No, not since 25 November 2023. You can now be in or outside Australia when the Department grants your Subclass 309. You still must have lodged the application from outside Australia in the first place.

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Can I visit Australia while my offshore partner visa is processing?

Yes, by applying separately for a visitor visa. You need to meet the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement, and a pending partner visa application doesn't guarantee the visitor visa gets approved.

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Do offshore applicants get a bridging visa?

No. Bridging visas only apply to onshore applications. As an offshore applicant, you wait on your existing lawful status rather than an Australian bridging visa, unless you separately hold another Australian visa.

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Where do I complete my health exam if I live overseas?

With one of the Department's approved panel physicians or clinics in your country. You'll need a HAP ID, issued after you lodge your application, to book the appointment.

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How many times can my partner sponsor someone for a partner visa?

Generally twice in their lifetime, with a five-year gap required between sponsorships. The Department can waive this in compelling or compassionate circumstances, such as a shared dependent child.

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Does the offshore pathway lead to permanent residency?

Yes, through Subclass 100, usually assessed around two years after your original lodgement date, provided your relationship remains genuine and continuing.

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Need help with your offshore partner visa application?

RACC's registered migration agents can confirm whether the offshore pathway suits your situation, check your sponsor's eligibility, and help you prepare a decision-ready application before you lodge.