Uploading evidence to our 820/801 Australian Partner Visa application
Collecting and organising evidence for your 820/801 Partner Visa is absolutely the most stressful part of the entire application, and this confusion is only magnified by the scarcity of information provided on the Home Affairs site.
If you’re struggling with your evidence, just know that you’re not alone! Callum and I had 5 years of documents and photos to include, and at times it felt like an impossible amount of information to convey to another human being. Still, we managed to find a way to tell our story with this evidence and my application was granted with no requests for additional information (and I went straight onto the 801 permanent visa without waiting on the 820).
It’s important to remember that there is no “one size fits all” document checklist and there is no single “right” way to upload things to this application. I might have filed documents under Evidence of Relationship that you think are better suited to Length of Relationship, and that’s entirely your call to make. This post is just an example of what the upload portal actually looks like and how we organised our documents— I hope it will help you find a way to tell your own unique story!
Read my whole series on applying for the 820/801 Australian Partner Visa for more information about preparing your evidence, lodging your application, and the next steps. If you’re just beginning, start with this post to get an overview (and to read about our story). And, as always, please remember that I am not a migration agent or affiliated with Home Affairs in any way, so all the information provided in these posts and in the comments below is based entirely on my own experience and my own understanding of the application process.
Some background on us
If you haven’t been following along with all of my partner visa posts, Callum and I first started dating in 2015 after we met at Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay. I’d already been living as a student in Sydney for nearly 3 years at that point (I’m originally from Seattle, USA), but he was living in Melbourne, which meant quite a lot of long drives and expensive flights during the first few months of our relationship.
When I graduated a few months later, I eagerly moved down to Melbourne, rented an apartment with Callum in the city, and got a Working Holiday Visa. About 7 months after that, I got a scholarship offer to do my PhD in Sydney, so we packed up and moved back to NSW together.
At the time of submitting our application (December 2018), we’d been together 3.5 years, lived together for 3, travelled to more than 20 countries together, combined our finances, been on overseas holidays with his and my family, and had really intertwined our lives in just about every possible way.
When the application was granted 19 months later (July 2020), I received the permanent 801 visa just 1 minute after the 820 temporary visa, completely bypassing the usual 2-year waiting period. We were never contacted by a CO and there were no requests for additional information, so I can assume our evidence was pretty thorough!
Important things to remember
- You are limited to 100 documents, and even though that sounds like heaps, it will go far quicker than you think! Group similar documents into a single PDF, copy and paste photos into a word document rather than uploading them individually, and make sure you upload the essential stuff first before you get to all the fluff.
- Your documents need to be under 5MB, which means you’ll want to compress large PDFs (SmallPDF only allows you to compress 2 documents an hour, but just clear your cookies to reset the counter) and avoid submitting unnecessarily high resolution images. This might also mean that you have to split PDFs into multiple parts (e.g. “Financial Documents 2015” and “Financial Documents 2016”, etc.).
- Give documents logical names, like “Joint Travel Photos 2015” so it’s easy for the CO to sift through your application (and also easy for you to reference specific documents in your statements).
- Upload documents for both you and your partner to the main application.
- You must submit and pay for your application before uploading any documents.
- You can continue uploading new documents to your application for as long as you want. It’s a good idea to provide ongoing evidence of your relationship (more photos, new lease, recent trips, etc) while you’re waiting to be approved!
Getting to the upload portal
Within your IMMI Account (on the My Applications page), select your partner visa application by clicking “View Details“. Under the “Actions” tab on the left hand side, select “Attach Documents“, which will take you to the upload portal. You’ll now see two different expandable sections, one with your name and one with your partner’s name.
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about this, so it’s probably good to reiterate that you will only be able to upload documents after you’ve submitted the online application and paid! As far as I can tell, there is no official time limit to upload documents, but it’s best to provide a complete application as quickly as possible just to avoid potential delays in processing.
To really give you an idea of the upload process and provide a bit more information about what you might want to submit, I’ve included all the evidence sections that are displayed as “Recommended” (even if I didn’t personally upload anything under that heading and even if they don’t apply to everyone), as well as the description provided by Home Affairs and some notes from me where clarification is necessary. Lastly, I’ve written out a complete list of all the evidence I uploaded to each section of my own application!
Applicant documents
Form 80 Personal Particulars for Character Assessment
Attach a completed and signed Personal particulars for character assessment form (Form 80).
My uploads
- FORM 80 Brooke: Uploaded as a single PDF (find the form here)
Character Assessment, Evidence of Intention to Obtain
Provide evidence of your intention to obtain the relevant character assessments. This may include a receipt for an application for a police check.
Notes from BB: You are required to supply a federal police check from every country you’ve lived in for more than 12 months in the last 10 years. If you have already paid for the checks and are just waiting on results, you can upload a receipt here (more info about the actual checks under “Character, Evidence of”). Read more about completing your AFP police check in this post and your FBI checks in this post.
Citizenship – Not Australian, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your citizenship of any country other than Australia. This may include your passport or proof of citizenship certificate issued by the country. Provide a scanned copy of your original document.
Notes from BB: There’s a little drop-box with options for this section, see the screenshot below.
My uploads
- PASSPORT BROOKE: Don’t worry about certifying this, a colour scan is perfectly acceptable for an online application
Photograph – Passport
Provide a recent passport photograph (45mm x 35mm). This should be of the head and shoulders only, and should show the person facing the camera, against a plain background and must be less than six months old. Print the name of the person on the back of the photograph.
My uploads
- PASSPORT PHOTO BROOKE: For $19, Auspost will send you a digital copy of your passport photo, perfectly sized for upload to your application
Character, Evidence of
If you have lived in Australia for a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years (these 12 months are calculated cumulatively, not consecutively) you are required to provide an Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance by completing a National Police Check Online Application Form. You also need to provide a similar police check from every country you’ve lived in for more than 12 months.
Notes from BB: Submitting these police checks at the time of application is referred to as “front loading” or having a “decision-ready application”, but it seems to have fallen out of fashion as wait times have gotten longer and longer. The original idea was that, by giving the CO everything they need to approve your application without any follow-up, you’d get a decision much quicker. Given that police and medical checks are only valid for one year and visa processing times often extend far beyond this, most applicants wait for the CO to request the checks rather than risking expiration (and having to re-do the expensive checks). After giving a lot of thought to this, we decided not “front load” our application and instead wait for some time to pass before completing these checks.
UPDATE: 6-7 months after submitting my application and this initial evidence, I completed police checks and uploaded them to this category. You can read more about completing your AFP police check in this post and your FBI checks in this post.
Registered Relationship, Evidence of
Provide evidence that your relationship is registered under a law of a state or territory prescribed in the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008 as a kind of relationship prescribed in those regulations.
My uploads
- RELATIONSHIP CERTIFICATE: A colour scan of our NSW Relationship Registration
Contact While Apart, Evidence of
Provide evidence of contact between you both while you were apart from each other.
Notes from BB: There’s a little drop-box with options for this section, see the screenshot below.
My uploads
- STATEMENT OF CONTACT WHILE APART: Just a written statement about me and Callum living together uninterrupted for our entire de facto relationship, providing dates of when we were long distance prior to moving in together and when we travelled separately on a few occasions
- CALENDAR OF VISITS: Print-outs from my iCal showing all the dates Callum and I saw each other before we moved in together as a de facto couple
- MESSAGES WHILE APART: 120 pages of iMessages between me and Callum during the times we travelled separately
Form 956 Advice by a Migration Agent/Exempt Person
Provide a completed and signed Form 956 Advice by a migration agent/exempt person of providing immigration assistance.Access to complete this form online may be available from the ‘Update details’ section in ImmiAccount.
Notes from BB: We chose not to use a migration agent, so we had nothing to include here.
Form 956A Appointment or Withdrawal of an Authorised Recipient
Provide a completed and signed Form 956A Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient. Access to complete this form online may be available from the ‘Update details’ section in ImmiAccount.
Notes from BB: We completed the application on our own, so we did not need to submit this form.
Address – Residential, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your residential address. This may include your driver’s licence or utilities account.
Notes from BB: There’s a little drop-box with options for this section, see the screenshot below.
My uploads
- RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BROOKE: Our current lease agreement with my name and two bills addressed to me at our address, combined in one PDF
Photograph – Other
Provide a recent photograph of the visa applicant (other than a passport photograph).
My uploads
- RECENT PHOTOS BROOKE
Military Discharge, Evidence of
Provide a certified copy of your military discharge.
Notes from BB: This didn’t apply to me, so I didn’t submit anything under this heading.
National Identity Document (other than Passport)
Provide a certified copy of your national identity card/s (other than your passport). You must provide a copy of both sides of each card.
My uploads
- SOCIAL SECURITY CARD BROOKE
Family Register and Composition Form (if applicable)
Provide evidence of your family composition. You can provide a copy of your family register book (if your country issues one). Applicants applying from China should provide a copy of their family register book (Hukou) and Form 54 Family Composition which can be found on the Department’s website. Applicants applying from Indonesia must provide a copy of their Family Card (Kartu Keluarga).
Notes from BB: It’s not common that people include this information, according to what I’ve read on the forums, so we left this section blank.
Travel Document
Provide evidence of your travel document. This may include a certified copy of the personal particulars/photo (bio-data) page. This is the page of the passport which shows the name and date of birth, passport number, issue and expiry date, and photograph of the holder. If you do not have a passport and are not able to obtain one, please provide a certified copy of your Document for Travel to Australia (DFTTA) or a Titre de Voyage (Convention Travel Document).
Notes from BB: There’s a little drop-box with options for this section, see the screenshot below.
My uploads
- PASSPORT BROOKE
Length of the De Facto Relationship, Evidence of
Provide evidence of the length of the de facto relationship.
Notes from BB: There’s a little drop-box with options for this section, see the screenshot below.
My uploads
- STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF PARTNER VISA: Stat dec from my mum about her staying in our shared apartment in 2015 and 2018, travelling with us over the years, Callum visiting her without me in America, etc
- 6 MONTH RELATIONSHIP UPDATE: About 6 months after submitting the application, I uploaded a PDF document with a cover letter detailing our previous 6 months together, a table of contents, and a bunch of new supporting documents, like photos, invitations, travel bookings, etc
Medical Examination, Evidence of Intention to Undergo
Provide evidence of your intention to undergo a medical examination. This may include a certified copy of your receipt for a medical examination.
Notes from BB: You are required to undergo a health check to make sure that you are not bringing any dangerous communicable diseases into Australia, but as with the police check, this is only valid for a year, so I decided to wait to submit mine.
UPDATE: I completed my health assessment about 6 months after submitting my visa, but BUPA automatically delivered my results to Home Affairs, so I never did upload anything here. To find out more about how to complete your own health check, read this post.
Nature of the Couple’s Household, Evidence of
Provide evidence of the nature of the couple’s household.
Notes from BB: There’s a little drop-box with options for this section, see the screenshot below.
My uploads
- EVIDENCE OF SHARED PET: Vet bills and receipt for the joint purchase of our cat, plus photos of us with our cat over the years
- BILLS AND MAIL ADDRESSED TO SHARED ADDRESSES: 2x pieces of mail addressed to me and 2x addressed to Callum at our shared address during every 6 month period of our relationship (showing consistent cohabitation)
- PHOTOS OF SHARED APARTMENT: Photos of our shared bedroom and other areas of our home on a single page
Form 888 Statutory Declaration by a Supporting Witness in Relation to a Partner Visa Application
Attach a completed and signed Statutory declaration by a supporting witness in relation to a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa application form (Form 888).
Notes from BB: You are required to include the name and details of at least 2 witnesses when completing your online application, but as I mentioned earlier, more is surely not a bad thing, so we uploaded 9 total stat decs from family and friends (find the form here and read more about it in this post)
My uploads
- FORM 888- Callum’s dad
- FORM 888- Callum’s mum
- FORM 888- Callum’s sister
- FORM 888- Our mutual friend
- FORM 888- Callum’s school friend
- FORM 888- Callum’s work colleague
- FORM 888- My friend
- FORM 888- My friend
- FORM 888- My work colleague
Relationship – Spouse, De Facto Partner, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your relationship with your spouse/de facto partner. This may include a certified copy of your marriage certificate, family book, household booklet or family composition evidence.
Notes from BB: There’s a little drop-box with options for this section, see the screenshot below.
My uploads
- APPLICATION COVER LETTER: I wrote a nice letter to our future CO explaining that we were waiting to undergo background and health checks until required and that we were happy to provide additional information as requested
- DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONSHIP: I wrote about 6 pages on the history of our relationship, from when we met all the way through to our future plans together
- RELATIONSHIP STATEMENT CALLUM: Callum also wrote a similar statement (albeit much shorter) and signed it
- SOCIAL ASPECTS STATEMENT: I wrote about all the events we’ve attended together and the travel we’ve done as a couple over the years, referencing specific dates and photos contained in other attachments
- JOINT PHOTOS 2015: Collection of photos of me and Callum together in 2015, all with captions
- JOINT PHOTOS 2016: Collection of photos of me and Callum together in 2016, all with captions
- JOINT PHOTOS 2017: Collection of photos of me and Callum together in 2017, all with captions
- JOINT PHOTOS 2018: Collection of photos of me and Callum together in 2018, all with captions
- FACEBOOK SCREENSHOTS: Screenshots of statuses where we tagged each other, photos we were both in, posts between Callum and my mum, our relationship status, etc.
- JOINT TRAVEL BOOKINGS: 40 pages of plane tickets, train tickets, and other travel bookings from the 20 countries we’ve visited together
- JOINT EVENTS: A collection of Facebook invites, gig tickets, and invitations to events with both of our names on them
- FINANCIAL STATEMENT BROOKE: Statement from me about our joint accounts and joint savings goals
- FINANCIAL STATEMENT CALLUM: A signed statement from Callum about how we share finances, how he bought me a car, how he is saving for our house deposit
- JOINT EXPENSES: A collection of bills, travel bookings, and other expenses paid for by one of us, showing that we each contribute financially
- CAR: Receipt from the car Callum bought me, insurance policy with both names, receipt from the rego that I paid
Health, Evidence of
You are required to provide additional information as part of the health assessment process for your visa application. For more information about the exact documentation required, click on the Attach document link.
Notes from BB: You are required to undergo a health check to make sure that you are not bringing any dangerous communicable diseases into Australia, but as with the police check, this is only valid for a year, so I decided to wait to submit mine.
UPDATE: I completed my health assessment about 6 months after submitting my visa, but BUPA automatically delivered my results to Home Affairs, so I never did upload anything here. To find out more about how to complete your own health check, read this post.
Divorce/Separation, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your divorce or separation. This may include a certified copy of your divorce decree absolute or court documents.
Notes from BB: This didn’t apply to our situation, so there was nothing for me to upload under this heading.
Identity, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your identity. Provide a scanned copy of your original document.
My uploads
- AUSTRALIAN ID BROOKE: I scanned my Australian Driver Licence, student card, WWCC, and healthcare card onto a single page
Nature of the Couple’s Mutual Commitment to Each Other, Evidence of
Provide evidence of the nature of the couple’s mutual commitment to each other.
My uploads
- COMMITMENT STATEMENT BROOKE: Statement from me about our involvement with one another’s family and our long-terms goals together
- COMMITMENT STATEMENT CALLUM: Signed statement from Callum about our mutual commitment and future plans
- BENEFICIARY: Screenshot from both my Super and Callum’s Super showing the other as full beneficiary
- EMERGENCY CONTACT: Screenshot from my Uni account showing Callum as my emergency contact
- TATTOO PHOTO: Photo of the matching tattoos Callum and I got in Indonesia
- STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF PARTNER VISA: Stat dec from my dad detailing all the time he’s spent with Callum, either when we visited America or when we’ve travelled with him
- STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF PARTNER VISA: Stat dec from my stepmother about how she believes our relationship is genuine and how Callum is considered part of the family
- JOINT FAMILY PHOTOS: Collection of photos of me with Callum’s family and him with my family throughout the years, all with captions
- CHRISTMAS CARDS: Three years of Christmas cards sent out by my parents that have included a photo of me and Callum and have signed his name at the bottom as part of the “Brisbine family”
Change of Name, Evidence of
Provide evidence of any name change. This may include your marriage certificate or change of name certificate. Provide a scanned copy of your original document.
Notes from BB: This didn’t apply to our situation, so there was nothing for me to upload under this heading.
Couple are Living Together, Evidence of
Provide evidence that the couple are living together.
My uploads
- EVIDENCE OF COHABITATION STATEMENT: Details from me about the addresses we’ve lived at together and when we moved in
- BOND RECEIPTS: Official bond receipts with both of our names from all 3 properties we’ve lived at together
- LEASE AGREEMENTS: Signed lease agreements in both names for all 3 properties we’ve lived at together
- REAL ESTATE CORRESPONDENCE: A collection of letters and emails between us and the various agents we have had over the years
- CURRENT ADDRESS: Mail addressed jointly to me and Callum at our current property
Form 1221 Additional Personal Particulars Form
Provide a completed and signed Form 1221 Additional personal particulars information for applicants aged 18 years and over.
My uploads
- FORM 1221 BROOKE: Find the form here
Birth or Age, Evidence of
Provide a certified copy of your full birth certificate. If your country of birth does not issue birth certificates, provide written notification stating this, and provide your country’s equivalent documentation, such as secondary school certificate, family book extracts or family census register.
My uploads
- BIRTH CERTIFICATE BROOKE: Colour scan of my birth certificate
Military Service, Evidence of
Provide a certified copy of your military service record.
Notes from BB: This didn’t apply to me, so I didn’t upload anything under this heading.
Marriage, Evidence of
Provide evidence of marriage.
Notes from BB: This didn’t apply to our situation, so there was nothing for me to upload under this heading.
Sponsor documents
Form 40SP- Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia
Attach a completed and signed Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia form (Form 40SP).
Callum’s uploads
- FORM 40SP: Find the form here
Character Assessment, Evidence of Intention to Obtain
Provide evidence of your intention to obtain the relevant character assessments. This may include a receipt for an application for a police check.
Notes from BB: See my notes under this same heading in Applicant documents.
Citizenship – Australian, Evidence of
Provide evidence of Australian citizenship. For more detailed information on when and how you may have acquired Australian citizenship and the documents you will need to support your claim, use Tables A-E. You might be required to provide additional documents to those listed in the tables. Provide a scanned copy of your original document.
Callum’s uploads
- PASSPORT CALLUM: A colour scan is perfectly acceptable for an online application
Australian Permanent Residence, Evidence of
Provide evidence that the person supporting your application is an Australian permanent resident. This may include a certified copy of a Residence Certificate or letter/statement from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP).
Notes from BB: Callum is an Australian citizen by birth, so we didn’t submit anything under this heading.
Eligible New Zealand Citizen, Evidence of
Provide evidence that your sponsor is an eligible New Zealand citizen. This may include a certified copy of your sponsor’s New Zealand passport or proof of citizenship certificate.
Notes from BB: Callum is an Australian citizen by birth, so we didn’t submit anything under this heading.
Character, Evidence of
If you have lived in Australia for a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years (these 12 months are calculated cumulatively, not consecutively) you are required to provide an Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance by completing a National Police Check Online Application Form. You also need to provide a similar police check from every country you’ve lived in for more than 12 months.
Notes from BB: See my notes under this same heading in Applicant documents.
Address – Residential, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your residential address. This may include your driver’s licence or utilities account.
Callum’s uploads
- RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS CALLUM: Our current lease agreement with Callum’s name and two bills addressed to him at our address, combined in one PDF
National Identity Document (other than Passport)
Provide a certified copy of your national identity card/s (other than your passport). You must provide a copy of both sides of each card.
Notes from BB: We didn’t upload anything under this category.
Divorce/Separation, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your divorce or separation. This may include a certified copy of your divorce decree absolute or court documents.
Notes from BB: This didn’t apply to our situation, so there was nothing to upload under this heading.
Identity, Evidence of
Provide evidence of your identity. Provide a scanned copy of your original document.
Callum’s uploads
- AUSTRALIAN ID CALLUM: Scanned copy of Callum’s Australian Driver Licence, Medicare card, trade qualification, and credit card showing his name, all on a single page
Change of Name, Evidence of
Provide evidence of any name change. This may include your marriage certificate or change of name certificate. Provide a scanned copy of your original document.
Notes from BB: Callum hasn’t changed his name, so there was nothing to upload under this heading.
Birth or Age, Evidence of
Provide a certified copy of your full birth certificate. If your country of birth does not issue birth certificates, provide written notification stating this, and provide your country’s equivalent documentation, such as secondary school certificate, family book extracts or family census register.
Callum’s uploads
- BIRTH CERTIFICATE CALLUM: Colour scan of Callum’s Australian birth certificate
What’s next?
Your application is now complete (for the moment), so take a break and celebrate! As you wait for your application to be processed over the next year or two, though, you will need to upload additional documents. Specifically:
- COMPLETING YOUR HEALTH CHECK ASSESSMENT: 6 months after submitting my application, I completed my health assessment (BUPA automatically uploads the results to your application)
- COMPLETING AFP NATIONAL POLICE CHECKS (NPC): 7-8 months after submitting my application, I completed my AFP (Australian) and FBI (American) police checks and uploaded the results
- Updates on your relationship: 6, 12 & 18 months after submitting my application, I uploaded evidence of our continued relationship as a PDF letter, which included new photos, recent travel details, event invitations, and general updates from our relationship
- Information about changes in circumstance: you need to alert Home Affairs if your contact details change, your relationship ends, etc ASAP. If you and your partner move house together, make sure to update BOTH addresses!
I hope this information has been helpful and I wish you so much luck on your Australian Partner Visa journey! Feel free to ask any questions below and I will do my very best to answer them.
* I am not a migration agent or affiliated with Home Affairs in any way, so all the information provided in these posts and in the comments below is based entirely on my own experience and my own understanding of the application process.
If you found this post helpful and want to contribute to some of the costs associated with running the blog, I would be infinitely grateful!
You can use the PayPal button below to donate whatever you feel this information is worth. If you aren’t able, don’t worry— I will always keep my posts free and accessible for everyone!
UPDATE: A MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who’s commented to let me know that you found these posts helpful— I can’t tell you how much it means to me to read your success stories! I worked incredibly hard to compile all of this information (while getting my PhD & teaching), but it’s genuinely been worth it to make even a small difference for my fellow immigrants.
More importantly, though, THANK YOU to everyone who has shared their own experience or answered questions for other readers in the comments below! We are building a wonderful & supportive community of Partner Visa applicants here, and every comment and question is a resource for others.
If you felt like these posts helped with your application, I’d encourage you to come back after your visa is granted (or even after various milestones) and let us all know what happened— it might mean the world to someone else struggling with this process! Best wishes to you all xx bb
The Comments
Pablo
Hi Brooke,
My Visa 309 was just approved today! (August 10, 2021). I am a Canadian, in Toronto, who applied for the 309 (overseas provisional partner visa) on June 1, 2021. The Consulate followed up with a request for information on July 9, 2021. After my partner and I submitted the additional information on August 9, 2021, the Consulate approved the visa the very next day!
Thank you so much for your wonderful blog post. It helped me so much during my application process.
Regards,
Pablo
brooke brisbine
PabloCongratulations, Pablo!
Thanks for sharing your experience, that’s wonderful.
Georgia Hammersley
Hi Brooke,
Thank you for all the information above – it has been so helpful to my own Partner Visa application. I was just hoping you could possibly help. Under, ‘Relationship – Spouse, De Facto, Evidence of’, my portal only lets me upload one document. After that, that category goes into ‘Received’ and I can no longer upload further evidence to that section. I am confused how you were able to upload so many different documents under that section. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks, Georgia
brooke brisbine
Georgia HammersleyHi Georgia,
I wonder if that’s a system glitch? I’m not sure why you’d be getting that message and not being able to upload further documents.
Perhaps someone else who’s seen the upload portal more recently than me can answer?
Rebecca Cuthbertson
Hey Brooke!
Your page is so amazing! It’s clearly been so helpful for people for years now. I (American) am about to be applying for a partner visa with my (Australian) partner. I’m currently figuring out statutory declarations. I have both of my (American) parents living in Australia but they are US citizens. If they fill out a statutory declaration form (888), do you know if it would be valid since they live here, or invalid because they are not Australian citizens? Also, for my partner’s parents and friends who ARE citizens of Australia, do you know where I can find a full list of people able to witness the declaration? We all live in Alice Springs, where there is no JP, but there is a Commissioner for Oaths. Just wondering it they can sign off on this just the same as a JP?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Rebecca
brooke brisbine
Rebecca CuthbertsonHi Rebecca,
So sorry for my delayed response, possibly you’ve already figured out that only a Aus citizen or permanent resident can complete the Form 888, so that would dictate whether your parents are eligible.
If you’ve solved the JP issue, please share your experience with other readers who may be having a similar issue in Alice!
Thanks,
Brooke
Pablo
Brooke,
Thank you for this amazing post. It has been very helpful with my partner visa application process. My partner, who lives in Brisbane, and I, who lives in Toronto, have been doing long distance since August 2018. We met while playing water polo during the Gay Games in Paris. We submitted our application in early June 2021 and have already heard back from the Case Officer requesting some more information. Fingers crossed that the application will be processed quickly.
Pablo
brooke brisbine
PabloHi Pablo,
What an amazing story! I sincerely hope you’ve had good news in the months since this comment, come back and let us know how you’re going 🙂
Brooke
Jonathan
Hi Brooke,
Thanks so much for your effort and information. I followed your guide, have received my Visa lately and wanted to say it was extremely helpful.
Do you know if I should be aware of any rights/important information as a permanent resident?
Do you plan to become an Australian citizen? Have any guidance or information about this process?
Thanks again and all the best !!!
Jonathan
brooke brisbine
JonathanThanks for the comment, Jonathon!
The most important right for PRs is Medicare, as far as I’m concerned. That’s incredibly valuable!
Hatty Bell
Hi Brooke,
Just wanted to say a MASSIVE thank you for putting this blog post out into the world. I was losing my mind over the visa application process when I stumbled across your blog post!
I followed it pretty much to the letter with the information I had which definitely wasn’t as extensive as yours (hello…120 pages of photos! Wow!) and my 820 was granted in 5 and a half weeks! I’m amazed!
Thank you again, you have no idea how helpful this information has been.
Hatty
brooke brisbine
Hatty BellAn enormous congratulations again on your visa, Hatty xx
Pablo
Hi Brooke,
Wow, thank you for such a thorough and informative blog post! I’m in the process of applying for the partner visa from overseas. My koala bear and I have been together since August 2018. We met while playing water polo in Paris. I was trying to figure out where to upload my support documents so it was a relief to hear that I can do it once I’ve made my payment.
Your personal examples of what you used for evidence was very helpful too. You’ve give me some extra ideas on what to attach to the application!
Best of luck on your PhD or you may finished it by now!
brooke brisbine
PabloHi Pablo,
As you may have guessed from my very late reply on your last comment, I am extremely behind in my administrative duties on this site! In my defence, there were 182 comments and it felt somewhat overwhelming.
I’ve finished my PhD by now, yes, and I believe you’ve been granted your visa, so congratulations all around xx
Brooke
Karlien Breukelman
Hi all
RE filling out Form 80 which is in Pdf format…Its password protected, So when I try to fill it in with Adobe Acrobat Reader its not letting me. I guess best is to print it and fill it in by hand then? Unless if someone here knows how to convert or unblock the pdf so I can type in the answers? If I convert it to Word it gets messed up and if I reconvert it back to pdf then its still messed up.
Thanks
Tom
Karlien BreukelmanHi, I just ran into this problem and found a solution! maybe too late for you but it might help others. The department won’t accept an encrypted form, but their forms are already encrypted! If you try to upload those you will get an error message suggesting you have to “print” the form an scan it in. However, that would waste a lot of paper.
Here’s the solution. You can remove the encryption very simply. Use the PDF programme to fill in and sign the form. Then select PRINT and then instead of choosing a physical printer, you can choose something like “print to PDF” in the dropdown menu, and then it gives you an option to save with a new file name. This basically saves a new copy of the completed form, without the encryption. You can then upload this form.
Incidentally for my visa I use a free programme called PDF Xchange Editor – it’s not perfect but it works OK and allows me to insert a scanned pic of my signature to sign documents. However for this solution, I think any PDF editor would work.
I hope that helps!
Jack
Hi Brooke, thanks to this blog our subclass 820 temporary partner visa was granted. The information provided was a massive help so thank u!! one question i have is that to receive the subclass 801 permanent visa do i have to upload any more information/documents or do i just have to wait the 24 months from the first application?
Thanks again, Jack
brooke brisbine
JackHi Jack,
So sorry for my delayed response, but perhaps you might be able to share your experience now and answer your own question (since I didn’t apply for the 801, I don’t actually know!)
Molly
Heyyy I am in the process of applying for my partner visa online and ive found your blog so helpful!! I’m reading so many different stuff about forms you have to fill out and getting so confused but the online application includes all the forms I thought? Did you guys get asked to fill in any extra forms ? I have so many questions and feel like I have no one to talk to !!!
brooke brisbine
MollyHi Molly,
So sorry for my age-long reply, hope you were able to submit your visa? Let me know if you still have questions!
xx Brooke
chantal roosen
Hi Brooke!
Wow this is amazing, we basically had all our documents ready to go but this just helped me so much to organise it all! So thank you so so so much!
Just one quick question, did you get every single statement signed by a JP? (like statement of contact while apart etc)
Thanks in advance!
brooke brisbine
chantal roosenHi Chantal, so glad you found these posts helpful!
I actually had NOTHING signed by a JP (other than the Form 888s from friends and family)– all my own statements were unofficial letters that I typed and signed.
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
kayla
hello! gosh this information has been EXTREMELY helpful whilst getting together our evidence to apply for this visa! i just wanted to clarify something. i am from the US and my partner from australia. if i want to get a stat dec filled out from a member of my family back home, can i send them an australian stat dec? or do they have to find an american one to fill out and send here? also, when you said you wrote a statement detailing your relationship, did it have to be officialized in any way? or did you just write it out in a word document and sign it?
thanks so so so much for your help!!
brooke brisbine
kaylaHi Kayla,
None of your US friends/family will be able to complete an Australian stat dec– however, you can definitely have them write a formal letter supporting your application and submit this! It won’t count as a Form 888 and won’t hold quite the same weight as a stat dec, but it is STILL valuable and I’d encourage you to do it (I submitted 3 from US family!).
As for my personal statements, I just typed them and signed at the bottom (i.e. not a stat dec).
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
Howard
Hi Brooke, very helpful blog – some observations that think would really help others if you were to update this:
1) I think it is worth making VERY clear that you cannot delete files once they are uploaded, as immi hides this information. Would suggest stating that in bold next to the “limited to 100 documents” in “Important things to remember”. Just caught me out after using 10% of my limit on one section :-|. Worth suggesting they read the “There are specific quality and formatting requirements when scanning documents” link where this is covered as well.
2) Some sections seem to be missing under your applicant evidence, including two big ones:
– Marriage, Evidence of
Options are “marriage Certificate”, “notice of intended marriage”, marriage registration document”, “photographs of ceremony”
– Visa for country of residence (and right to return)
Options are: “visa documentation” and “ABTC evidence of authority to reside and work”
– Social aspects of the relationship, Evidence
Options are: “photograph – other”, “statutory declarations”, “cultural, community, religious or sporting membership”, “declaration of relationship tih governement authorities”, “Invitations – joint”, “Record of joint friends and social networks”, “record of social events and activities”, “travel itinerary – joint”
– Financial aspects of the relationship, Evidence of
Options are: “Financial statements – Joint”, “Asset ownership documentation – joint”, “household bills and expenses – joint”, “legal documentation – joint”, “liabilioty documentation – joint”, property ownership documention – joint”
Tuner
Hi Brooke,
Thanks alot for these information you’ve made time to put out. Just so you know, I am overseas but my partner is in Australia … Here’s my question, On applying for the 820, would they request for phone records with my partner? Because we’ve been talking more over the phone these days and we barely have time for chats because we both get busy with work in the day.
brooke brisbine
TunerHi Tuner,
You can supply whatever information you want to prove that you’re in communication, it certainly does not HAVE to be chat records. You don’t even have to supply phone records if you have other evidence, but I’d definitely recommend it since you’re apart on a more long-term basis and therefore they will need to really verify an ongoing relationship.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Carly Owen
Hey Brooke!
Thank you so much for your help, this is so detailed much more than the Immi site!
I just had a question please, the stat dec for the sponsor to fill out, did you include this and under what category?
Also I missed my contacts employment details in the 1221 form, I don’t know how! eeeek! and I already uploaded it. I am going to just re- upload the whole form I think, and maybe write a note explaining why there are two uploads, you think this would be ok?
Thank you again for all you help, you are the best! Best of luck to you 🙏🏻
brooke brisbine
Carly OwenHi Carly, so happy to hear you found these posts helpful!
Which stat dec are you referring to– the statements made by the sponsor?
Also, yes, I think it will be totally fine to just upload a new version of the form and a note explaining the mistake.
Best of luck with everything 🙂
-Brooke
Carly
brooke brisbineHi Brooke,
Thank you for your reply 🙂
This is a link to the Sponsor Stat Dec Form -https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/forms/stat_dec_sponsor.pdf
I came across it searching in the Immi departmental forms, not sure it is a requirement but but my partner filled this out and has also written statements.
Thank you
Carly
brooke brisbine
CarlyHi Carly,
I don’t believe we ever completed this, but it could be a new requirement…or perhaps an old one. Either way, never hurts to be thorough, so probably good that you submitted it!
Best of luck 🙂
-Brooke
Sarah
Hi Brooke !
I don’t know how to thank you for these information ! Everything is so useful, you’ve saved me (and probably all of us) days of work ! It’s such a long a stressful process to do everything yourself and I’m so grateful that you are sharing this with us. I was literally crying in front of my computer not knowing where to start anymore and then I found your blog ! You gave me some hope haha !
Thank you so so so so much !!!!!!!!
– Sarah
brooke brisbine
SarahHi Sarah! I can totally relate to the feeling of crying at the computer trying to figure out this visa, so I’m really happy to hear all this information has been helpful to you 🙂
Best of luck with the application!
-Brooke
mia
hi brooke.
hope you have wonderful day.
just want to know how you manage to put all picture in 1 folder sorting by year? did you scan one by one and put in pdf? or you convert to other file? I cant do it because the file still over 5mb. can you tell me how you doing and manage your picture?
thank for your support.
brooke brisbine
miaHi Mia,
I personally dragged JPEGs into a word document and then used smallpdf.com to compress the file. If it’s still not compressing below 5mb, then you have too many photos and you should either remove some or split into 2 separate word documents before compressing.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Antonella
Hi Brooke, Thanks so much for all of this information that makes everything more clear and easy!
Can you guide me on the APPLICATION COVER LETTER you wrote? Besides what you put on the post about the medical exams and police checks… Writing is not my passion haha
Thanks in advance !
brooke brisbine
AntonellaHi Antonella, so happy to hear you found these posts helpful!
Don’t stress about not being too into the writing aspect, it really doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just informative and honest 🙂 As you mentioned, I specified in the cover letter that I was planning to do the medical and police check after some time, and other than that gave just an extremely brief summary of how long we’d been together and on what basis we were applying (de facto, having lived together for 3+ years). I also made an explicit request that both my 820 and 801 be granted simultaneously on the grounds of a long-term relationship. I don’t know that it’s necessarily required to request this, but I’d heard of couples who WERE eligible not automatically getting it and having to send a bunch of emails after their 820 came through, so I just wanted to be super clear from the outset.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Romy
Hi Brooke,
Thank you so much for this amazing job you’ve done! You made our application way easier and also less stressful!
I was wondering how many photos did you put in each document (like joint photos 2017, 2016, etc)? I have no idea if it’s something like 15 photos or more like 50 photos?
Thank you so so much ☺️
brooke brisbine
RomyHi Romy,
It’s entirely up to you, but we put around 20 photos in each of our documents. I think it’s just important to show a variety, so I wouldn’t submit 6 photos from the same family event– rather show some photos with different friends, family, different trips, weekends, events, etc.
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
juliana
Hi Brooke,
I and my husband are in USA currently and since I am an Australian I am sponsoring my husband for 309/100 visa online. When you paid for the visa, were the evidence upload boxes enabled right after payment? I made a payment but I haven’t been able to upload any documents yet. Did that happen to you too? Did you have to wait to upload the documents at all after payment? The recommended categories are inaccessible. The only category I can upload to is the” OTHER” section, the rests are all disabled as of now. Is that normal? I think I am getting a heart attack.
I would really appreciate if you can give some inputs regarding it.
Thank you
Has anyone experienced something like this before?
brooke brisbine
julianaHi Juliana,
Hopefully this problem has resolved since you originally asked your question? But as you probably found out, the payment has to be processed before you gain access to the uploads portal. Any update as to whether this was the case for you??
Best of luck!
-Brooke
Johanna
Hi Brooke!
I just have two questions for my partner visa application and I would be really happy to get some clarification as this process is sometimes a bit confusing. The statements the applicant and the sponsor writes eg statement about financial aspects, social aspects, household etc, do these have to be statutory declarations meaning you sign them and then have your JP sign them aswell?
Also, as only Australian citizens can complete form 888 I was just wondering whether I could include another statement (not 888) from both my parents who are Swedish to support our proof. I am going have 10 form 888 by aus citizens but was wondering if there is any point to also add my parents statements or if they are not “worth anything” cause they are in Sweden.
Thanks for an awesome blog that has helped me heaps 🙂
brooke brisbine
JohannaHi Johanna,
Apologies for the delayed reply, but no, you do not need to have the statements signed by a JP. These are informal statements about your relationship that are basically just an extension of the online application, so there’s no need to provide further certification on them (i.e. you already signed on the application that everything provided is true and honest).
As for the letter from your parents– absolutely! I had my American family write and sign informal letters to support our application. They don’t take the place of Form 888 (you still need these from Australians, which it sounds like you’ve sorted), but I think the letters make a very valuable addition!
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
Vincent
Hello Brooke,
First of all thank you for providing one of the most comprehensive websites of information I’ve found on this topic.
I had a quick question: For the Sponsor Application Evidence, is an Australian Passport sufficient for Evidence of Citizenship?
My australian partner does not have a birth certificate but does have her Australian Passport. I am wondering if she needs to dreg up her Australian Citizenship Certificate (from over 40 years ago) or if her passport is proof of citizenship (like it would be here in the states.) What do you think?
brooke brisbine
VincentHi Vincent,
We uploaded both Callum’s birth certificate and his passport in the interest of completeness, but I think you’re right that a passport is valid proof of citizenship and should be fine!
-Brooke
Emma
Okay so now I am super confused
Now that our 820 has been approved we can’t upload anything until another 2 years, which is when we apply for the 801? Can we apply for the 801 now or do we have to wait the two years?
Thanks in advance!
brooke brisbine
EmmaHi Emma,
Yes, you need to wait 2 years to be eligible for the 801– just before that 2-year mark, you can apply.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Emma
Hi Brooke, my partner and I have just been granted our temporary partner visa yay! (11months after applying)
Just a question, how long do we have before they will decide on the permanent partner visa? We will keep uploading evidence throughout this period
Is there anything else we need to be doing whilst we wait?
Thanks!
brooke brisbine
EmmaHi Emma,
I can’t give you a super specific answer here since I had my temporary and permanent granted on the same day, BUT I do know there is a 2-year waiting period between the two visas (for anyone who didn’t have them granted together). Usually a few months before that 2-year mark you can start preparing the application and evidence.
Best of luck 🙂
-Brooke
Mel
Hi Brooke
My partner and I applied for his visa (300) December 3rd 2018
We have gone through an agent, although i feel as though they dont fo enough.
My partner is ftom Afghanistan but resides and works in the UEA.
I have visited 3 times as i cant always get a chance to leave.
Both of us lost a parent each this year.
We have submitted everything.
I just returned home from being in the UEA for a month.
We decided not to wait any longer to get married and we married over there.
The agent has requested that the application be changed to a partner visa.
We have been waiting 22 months now
I wanted to ask you if you had to or your partner had to have an interview.
Also why do you think its taking do long for us.
Im an Australian born citizen.
Im really lost without him, my health is suffering.
Is there anything you can Jeetho me with to hurry it up.
I appreciate you
Thanks so much
Mel
brooke brisbine
MelHi Mel,
I’m so sorry to hear you guys have been waiting for nearly 2 years– it does seem like an awfully long time for an offshore application, so hopefully that means you’re close. I can imagine this is a very challenging time to be away from your partner, and surely the government has to know that.
We did not have to do an interview, but that’s highly dependent upon personal circumstances. Have you been updating the application with current evidence? Have you had any contact with a CO? I think it would be worth contacting Home Affairs and/or uploading a letter to your application explaining that you are really suffering without your partner, it’s no guarantee, but always worth a try.
I hope you’ll be receiving good news soon, please come back and let me know how you go.
xx Brooke
Jaya
Hi Brooke,
Thank you so much for your blog! I’m so blown away by the clear and precise manner you’ve presented such a complicated content!!
Can you give me some advice about form 80. Question 47/48 asks for personal contact details of people the applicant knows in Australia. The thing is, my husband and I have been married 10 years and we lived in England. We visit Australia often over those 10 years because my whole family is in Australia. So ‘personal contact’ my husband would have is nearly 60 personal contacts (30 just my extended family!). How did you fill this part in? Did you include every single person (but it asks for their DOB, country of birth, address- all of which are hard to get from 40 friends (aka – personal contacts). Any tips with how you went about it. Thanks
Jaya
brooke brisbine
JayaHi Jaya,
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! Of course it would be impossible to include all people you know in Australia under this question, so really you’re just picking 2 people (who also fill out Form 888) as your main contacts. I used my partner’s parents here, but it’s not hugely important, since you’re also uploading Form 888s later and you might choose to do far more than just the minimum 2– we did 9.
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
Sam
Hey Brooke – firstly, I wanted to thank you for this! It has been extremely helpful! I had a few questions – when your mom made her stat dec saying for proof of the length of your relationship, did she have to get it certified? Did all your stat decs have to get certified (besides the 888, which I know needs to).
brooke brisbine
SamHi Sam, thank you for the lovely comment 🙂
Non-Aussie family and friends can’t actually complete a stat dec, so I just had them write and sign informal letters (no need to get them witnessed because it won’t be recognised in Aus anyway). The ONLY documents in my entire application that were certified were the Form 888s.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Beth
Hi Brooke,
Firstly thank you for this information its been a great help to me.
I just have a couple questions if you don’t mind. When I was answering the initial questions on the partner visa application (before i submitted and paid for it), it asked me 5 questions, about the nature of the commitment, nature of household, social aspect, financial aspects and so on. So I put for those questions “See attached file etc etc..”
I am now on the page of uploading documents and it has upload categories such as ‘Nature of the couple’s household, Evidence of’ and ‘Nature of the couple’s mutual commitment to each other, Evidence of’. Do I just put the same statements here as i did on the previous questions and upload them twice? Hope that makes sense!
Q2. It wants me to upload a form 40SP but I cant find that anywhere online and your link doesnt work anymore. I read somewhere online that they dont require a form anymore because thats what the questions at the beginning of the application are. Do you know anything about this?
Thanks so much in advance, Beth 🙂
brooke brisbine
BethHi Beth,
So happy to hear you found these posts helpful!
I’m not sure I totally understand your question– did you write just one big relationship statement addressing all of the aspects of the relationship and you’re now wondering if you should upload that same statement under multiple categories? I personally wrote all my statements separately so I could upload them to each individual category without doubling up (but also still making it clear to the CO that I addressed all 5 categories). However, other readers have done a single statement, so I suppose it’s a matter of personal preference.
As for 40SP, I think this form is being phased out. My link breaks every couple months as it disappears from different webpages, so I believe it’s now been replaced by the online sponsorship application.
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
Johana
Hi Brooke, I found extremely useful all the information you provided, thanks a lot! huge thanks 🙂 🙂
I literally just finished uploading all my documents and hope for the best, I just have a question that you might know how to answer.
Is there a final submit button to press or something? how can I be sure that all is done and received? I received a bridge visa to me email from the moment I made the payment, that was a couple of days ago, is that it? Does that mean that my application was received and everything is in order? I am very concerned that I have uploaded all the documents on time, but forgetting a final step, like a confirmation or something like that, or the menu will always be open and available as it is now to keep uploading new evidence? Help me pleaseeeee mi current student visa expires tonight midnight.
Thanks again for everything, extremely clear and easy to understand.
brooke brisbine
JohanaHi Johana,
If you received the bridging visa, you can be confident that your application was received! Now you just need to go in and upload documents– throughout the entire wait, you should be updating your application with new evidence. Don’t worry, the upload portal never closes 🙂
Best of luck with everything!
-Brooke
Viv
Hi Brooke,
I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to develop such an in depth guide to applying for a partner visa. This has honestly been such a great reference tool.
I have a question in regards to the statements written to explain each situation/evidence provided. I’m the Sponsor and not currently working (thanks covid!) so will be doing the majority of the collating and writing the application, I know you wrote a lengthy Development Statement and Callum wrote a shorter Relationship Statement for your uploads in Relationship – Spouse, De Facto Partner, Evidence of; do you think it matters that everything will mostly be written by the Sponsor instead of the applicant? Should I be writing in a third person voice for these? I’m way more finicky about the details of the application and that our statements articulate exactly what we want it to say then my partner is!
Do you recommend having individual Relationship, Financial and Commitment statements or could a joint statement suffice? How are they listed in the drop down menu?
What did you include in your cover letter to the CO?
Did you upload your passport twice? I know you’ve previously said not to double up on evidence but looks like you had to as they were exact questions.
One of our Form 888 is from a family member whose apartment we live in so have no formal lease. Do you think it’s ok to reference her Form 888 that states we live in her place etc. in lieu of a lease?
Thanks!
brooke brisbine
VivHi Viv,
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, I’m so happy to hear these posts have been helpful to you!
I don’t think it’s an issue if you, as the sponsor, write longer statement and your partner just writes a few shorter supplementary statements (they’ll definitely still want to hear from both of you!). I did choose to write in third person for clarity and I think it makes the most sense, but it’s up to you.
I also wrote separate statements for each category so that it was really clear I covered all of the 5 aspects– I know other couples have written joint statements and it was fine, it was just easier in my brain to approach each topic in a new statement.
As for the cover letter, I just specified in the letter how long we’d been together and that we were hoping to receive the 820 and 801 grant simultaneously through the “long-term relationship” exception. I also wrote that we were waiting 6 months to submit police and health checks– if you’re submitting a 100% complete application, it could be useful to draw the CO’s attention to that! At the bottom, I put our contact details and we signed/dated.
I think my passport was the only thing I uploaded twice: once under “Travel Document” and once under “Citizenship– Not Australian, Evidence of”.
I wouldn’t worry too much about not having a physical lease if you can prove you live together through other means (such as a Form 888 stat dec), and especially if you’ve had a lease together in the past. For the last 6 months, Callum and I have been renting an apartment from his parents, so we also didn’t have an official lease. I intended to upload bank statements showing that we were jointly paying his parents each month, but the visa was granted before I had a chance! That could be another option for you to show cohabitation, if you’re both transferring rent money to family.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Viv
brooke brisbineThanks for the quick response Brooke!
Can I confirm when you say you “wrote seperate statements for each category” that both you and Callum wrote a statement for each category or do you mean you made each category have a statement as explanation?
We’ve never had a lease together (our time living together in Ireland was too short to bother) and we don’t pay rent here. We do have a joint account and can easily explain how each of us has supported the other financially at different times and we have plenty of mail/bills (individually and together) addressed to us here. I’m sure what we have will be fine.
Thanks again!
brooke brisbine
VivHi Viv,
Sorry about that! To clarify, I meant that I wrote a statement for each of the 5 relationship aspects rather than combining them into a single statement. I also wrote my statements independently of my partner’s– I believe they want to hear from each person in the relationship.
In your case, joint bills/mail and the Form 888 supporting that you live together should certainly be enough! You might include some personal touches like a photo of your shared bedroom, but that’s certainly up to you.
-Brooke
Hannah
Hi Brooke!
Thank you so much for all of this helpful information. My husband is wanting us to move back to Australia, and this has been so helpful. I am from Nashville and have been so overwhelmed with this process, but your step-by-step has really helped. My husband is saying I need a cover letter… any advice for when writing one? I am not a good writer haha and am trying to figure out what to write! If this is not needed, please let me know and that’d be a great relief!
brooke brisbine
HannahHi Hannah,
I personally did write a cover letter, but it’s not an actual requirement. I just specified in the letter how long we’d been together and that we were hoping to receive the 820 and 801 grant simultaneously through the “long-term relationship” exception. I also wrote that we were waiting 6 months to submit police and health checks– if you’re submitting a 100% complete application, it could be useful to draw the CO’s attention to that!
Don’t stress too much about the actual writing, just keep it short and to the point 🙂
-Brooke
Lou
Hi Brooke,
Thank you for your great help!
Can I please ask, is the parts that are written in italics in this post, what is actually in the online application?
Did you get your birth certificate certified in Australia?
Thanks
brooke brisbine
LouHi Lou,
That’s exactly right, the italicised bits are copied exactly from the upload section of your application.
Also, your birth certificate doesn’t need to be certified, a colour scan will do (same for your passport, etc). The ONLY documents required to be certified are the Form 888s filled out by your friends and family.
-Brooke
Lou
Hi Brooke, thank you so much for your posts!
I have a questions I was wondering if you could please help with. Do all of the ID’s need to be certified by an authorised witness in Australia?
My birth certificate is stamped and signed by the Swedish department that issues the birth certificate. Do you think this will be ok?
From your experience, is it necessary to have a national ID other than the Passport?
brooke brisbine
LouHi again Lou,
None of the IDs need to be certified, only uploaded as a clear, legible, colour scan 🙂
The only exception is sometimes documents in another language need to be translated and certified, but any ID or certificates in English do not require certification.
I personally uploaded my passport, birth certificate, and Australian driver licence, so I’d say that’s as much ID as you need.
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
Anonymous
Thanks for the input Brooke.Such a relief knowing uploading evidences is not that hard with your help.🤩👍
Sherr
sherr
Hi Brooke thank you so much. your blog was so helpful in our visa application. Just wondering what would we upload if we don’t have any lease agreements ,household bills in our names together in the same address as couple living together, evidence of? And should we upload Contact while apart, evidence of even if we’re only apart 2 weeks every month due to work schedule 2:2? Woukd really appreciate your help.
brooke brisbine
sherrHi Sherr, that’s so lovely to hear!
If you and your partner are living together with family or friends, you can ask someone to write a stat dec on your behalf. You can also attach photos of your shared room and a statement explaining your specific living situation. Without knowing much more about it, those are just some generic recommendations!
If you are apart 2 weeks every month due to work schedule, you probably don’t need to show text messages from every single month (although you might choose to attach them and/or phone records for a few months). I’d say it’s probably more important in that instance to provide evidence that you’re apart FOR WORK (i.e. not by choice) and that you are definitely living together while not working.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Lachy
Hi Brooke,
Thanks for all your information unfortunately my wife and I found it too late as we had already applied for our visa before reading. However, it is good to read over all your information to reassure we’ve been doing things right.
The immigration website currently shows 16-22months processing times, previously it was 12-18. I have been hearing a few stories of people getting their first (temp) visa granted with 6 months! In your experience and all your reader’s experiences, have you got many examples where the applications were granted well within the estimated time frame?
Do you know what, if anything, we can do to help get seen quicker than their given estimates (ie have all documents, health exam and afl checks uploaded)?
Many thanks,
Lachy
brooke brisbine
LachyHi Lachy,
Based on comments from readers, it’s not unheard of to have your visa granted in under 12 months (some as little as 6 months), but I’d say that you absolutely need a “decision ready” application (ALL health and police checks completed) to make this a possibility. I’ve also heard that it can be helpful to write a cover letter (for your CO) describing that your application is ready to be approved– who knows if it does actually make a difference, but I wrote a cover letter requesting a simultaneous grant of 820/801 just to be completely clear about what I wanted. Submitting a letter to say that your application is decision ready certainly couldn’t hurt!
Again, this is based on reader comments, but it is my understanding that usually those having their 820/801 granted simultaneously might wait a bit longer for approval, while those just eligible for the 820 will have it granted sooner (and then have to wait 2 years for the 801). Hope that makes sense.
Basically, the best thing you can do is just have a 100% complete application! I have posts on both the health check and AFP check, so consider getting started on those now.
Wishing you and your wife a smooth, speedy visa process 🙂
-Brooke
george
Hi brooke,
My partner and I are looking for ideas of what to upload for ‘evidence of couple living together’ as we live with my parents and do not have lease agreements or bills addressed to the both of us which makes it really hard.
We have mail addressed to each of us at this same address however need further evidence
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks!
brooke brisbine
georgeHi George,
I’d recommend uploading some mail addressed to each of you (anything official is best, like a bank statement or rego notice), a statement written by you or your partner about your living situation, a stat dec from your parents confirming that situation, and maybe some photos of your shared room.
I think there are many people in your same situation (and actually my partner and I were renting an apartment owned by his parents for the last 8 months before the visa was granted, so we also had no shared lease and it was fine).
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
Angus
Hi Brooke!
Thanks for your detailed information on your partner visa application. My wife and I have found this incredibly useful, and are very grateful for you providing all of this for free.
I just had one question, when you speak of ‘statements’ from your partner and yourself regarding household duties etc, are these just signed letters, or official statutory declarations?
Thanks in advance!
Angus
brooke brisbine
AngusHi Angus,
So glad you and your wife found these posts helpful! We personally just wrote and signed letters as our statements rather than doing official stat decs and this seemed to be fine!
-Brooke
Guru
wow!! Thank you so much for this information this is so helpful. I am currently doing a PhD as well in Sydney and will be applying for the partner visa soon. Discovering your website has made my day and its a great help. All the positive vibes for you.
brooke brisbine
GuruHi Guru,
So happy to hear these posts have been helpful to you!
Wishing you lots of luck on your application and your PhD (we must be crazy to have done both at the same time, I swear this application is LIKE a PhD!).
-Brooke 🙂
Gurpreet Singh
brooke brisbineHi Brooke,
Congratulations on getting your Visa. I got a bit late in filing my visa with over load of work from my PhD and casual teaching. I was just wondering if you included dates in your joint photos with your partner? I was just compiling my photos. Many thanks for the amazing work you have done.
brooke brisbine
Gurpreet SinghHi Gurpreet, I can certainly relate, having completed my application while also doing a PhD and teaching! It’s a full work load, for sure…
Yes, I did include dates, but usually just the month and year to give some context. I’d imagine this is helpful for the CO!
-Brooke
Jennifer Charbonneau
Hi Brooke. I have to admit, you are so helpful! I do have some questions as well. I have sent my application and paid for it about a month and a bit ago, I haven’t been able to do anything regarding my application as I have been stupidly busy and pretty pregnant, which worries me as I have to hurry and upload all pf the files. Is there a time limit?
brooke brisbine
Jennifer CharbonneauHi Jennifer,
No stress, there is no official “time limit” as such. Just get things uploaded within the next few months and it should be fine– there’s essentially no chance a CO is going to look at your application within the first couple months of submitting anyway, so as long as you get it completed before Home Affairs reviews it, you’re fine 🙂
-Brooke
Mylene
Hi Brooke ! Thank you so much for all the help you’re providing !!! This blog has been like a Bible to me. You’re a legend !!!!!!
However there are a few things I can’t figure out !! I lodged and paid my application already and am now uploading the supporting documents, but I can’t find in which section I should upload the evidences for the social aspects of the relationship. I can’t see anything named like it !! Is it going in “others” then ??
Also I have been writing only one big statement covering all the different categories (commitment, development of the relationship, social aspects, financial aspects, periods of separation etc etc…). Should I re-upload the stat dec in each category or again, in “others” at the end ?
It seems like some documents are asked in different sections (like our civil partnership certificate, it could fit in “Registered relationship, Evidence of” but also “Relationship – Spouse, De facto Partner, Evidence of” and “Length of the de facto relationship, Evidence of”. It’s so confusing !!!
I hope you will be able to help 🙂 Thanks again !
brooke brisbine
MyleneHi Mylene, thank you so much for the lovely comment! So happy to hear these posts helped you 🙂
I personally uploaded my “social aspects” under “Relationship – Spouse, De Facto Partner, Evidence of”. There’s no specific place to put this stuff, so just choose a logical category.
I probably wouldn’t recommend writing one large statement, since the actual online application asks for 5 separate statements. It’s up to you, and it might be fine, but I think it’s safer to write separate statements addressing each specific aspect of the relationship. This also saves the repetition 🙂
I agree it’s SO confusing knowing which category to put certain evidence in… I’d just suggest choosing one spot, knowing that the CO will look at it regardless of what category it’s in and know that it covers multiple types of evidence (e.g. that your civil partnership is evidence of both commitment and length of relationship). In that particular instance, I’d upload to the most specific category, which is “Registered relationship, Evidence of”, just so it’s super easy for them to find.
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
Emma
Hi Brooke,
my partner and I have been contacted and asked to provide certain additional information which we have completed. My question is, will they contact us again if anything is still missing or not uploaded? or they won’t give us another chance?
Just also wanted to say thankyou for all that you do on this blog, you have no idea how helpful reading it has been!
brooke brisbine
EmmaHi Emma,
I can’t personally comment on this, but maybe another reader will be able to weigh in!
Best of luck to you guys, and so sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
-Brooke
Maria
brooke brisbineHi, Emma and Brooke!
I was asked for extra documentation twice, separate times. So I believe if they do need some extra documents after the first request, they will simply contact you again. If extra proof has been provided within dead line given, you should have no reason to worry. I was not contacted directly again, simply received a grant of visa few weeks ago.
Ps: Brooke, thank you for your blog, it has been very helpful. Truly nice things to do! 🙂
brooke brisbine
MariaThanks so much for sharing your experience, Maria!
Great to hear that even if you are asked to supply extra documentation, it’s a quick and easy process. I’m sure that will reassure many readers 🙂
-Brooke
phoebe Wang
Hi Brooke,
Thank you for writing such a helpful blog. I am also in the process of submitting documents. I have two questions to ask.
1. Citizenship – Australian, Evidence of (the sponsor): upload the Australian Passport and Australian citizenship certificate? I’m not sure about the use of table A-E? What doc should upload on this?
2. Photograph – Passport(Applicant): Print the name of the person on the back of the photograph.
My photograph finds the JP certifies the photo. The name is handwriting not print. I’m confused.
Thanks so much for your help!
Cheers,
Phoebe
brooke brisbine
phoebe WangHi Phoebe,
1. If your partner has an Australian passport, that’s all you need to upload. I think tables A-E are just about proving citizenship if you weren’t born in Australia and don’t have a passport (e.g. if the sponsor previously got their citizenship through a work sponsorship, but didn’t actually apply for a physical passport at that time).
2. These instructions are copied directly from Home Affairs, but they are super misleading… you obviously don’t need to print OR handwrite anything on the back of the photo when you are applying online, that is ONLY for paper applications. You also do not need it certified, just scan the photo.
Hope that helps!
-Brooke
KC
Hi Brooke,
Thanks so much for all this information. I’m just about to start the process and it’s so overwhelming but we’re aiming to submit next month – I’m glad I found your website. I have a question about the application though, my partner and I live together now but he travelled a lot for a work which is not really more than 2-3 weeks at a time. Do I still need to give details about those particular travel periods? (Since there’s quite a bunch of them). Also for the “Date applicant and sponsor committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others” – is this the date we became boyfriend/girlfriend even if I haven’t lived in Australia yet during this date?
Thanks so much and I really appreciate your help! I hope your permanent partner visa gets approved soon.
brooke brisbine
KCHi KC, so glad to hear you found these posts helpful!
I would recommend providing information about his travel. It really don’t believe it will be an issue since it’s for work, but you should still explain the situation and provide evidence that you were in contact while he was away.
As for the date, that’s a bit open to interpretation. This is how I understand the dates:
– Date you met (not a lot of ambiguity here)
– Date you began dating: this could be when you had your first date or when you started introducing each other as a boyfriend/girlfriend
– Date you committed to a shared life together: this may be when you became de-facto or even before, really when you became “exclusive” or when you would consider yourselves to be in a serious and committed relationship beyond just “dating”
– Date the de-facto relationship began: this is typically when you moved in together and began living “as a married couple” (regardless of whether you were married)
Hope that provides a bit of clarity!
-Brooke
KC
KCThanks Brooke! That’s very helpful. Did you have to certify your relationship statements? Which documents did you get certified (besides Form 888 for the witnesses)?
brooke brisbine
KCHi KC,
Literally the only certified documents we submitted were the Form 888s (and the witnesses got these certified, so we didn’t have to do that). We just signed and dated our statements.
-Brooke
KC
brooke brisbineThanks so much, Brooke! We have finally submitted and are still in the process of uploading everything. Hopefully, no one looks at it soon! Just a quick question, is it necessary to inform them about a casual job that I got after submitting? Or is the “notification of changes in circumstances”, just for relationship breakdowns, or having babies, etc?
brooke brisbine
KCHi KC,
Congratulations, that’s a huge milestone!
I don’t believe it’s necessary to notify them of a change in employment (I didn’t!), I think that’s more for change in address or more serious developments like those you listed.
Good luck with it all 🙂
-Brooke
Emily
Hey Brooke,
Love your blog. It has been so incredibly helpful to get my head around this process.
Just out of curiosity, did you refer to particular pieces of evidence in your statements? Like “we travelled to xyz, please see these docs in upload”.
If you did, did your sponsor do the same thing in his, or was his statements more or less that with no references to uploaded evidence.
Thanks!!
brooke brisbine
EmilyHi Emily,
So glad it’s been helpful to you! Yes, I referenced specific evidence within my statements to help support some of the dates and information. My partner’s statement was much less detailed, so as not to be repetitive (and also because he’s not as pedantic as I am lol).
Hope that helps 🙂
-Brooke
Emma
Hi Brooke.
My partner and I are compiling our own relationship statement and within these statements we have covered the aspects of our relationship.
Should we still do a seperate statement/stat dec for the main aspects under each heading, or just use the relationship statement as evidence. I just feel as though we will be doubling up.
Thanks in advance!
brooke brisbine
EmmaHi Emma,
Since there are separate text boxes on the online application for each of the relationship aspects, we thought it would be best to write separate statements for each of the categories. Yes there is some crossover, but it’s how Home Affairs has actually asked the question, so in my opinion, separate statements fulfil the requirement more completely.
Hope that make sense!
-Brooke
Meghan
Hi Brooke. This blog has been amazing. I don’t think I have EVER commented on anything online but this information has been so much help. I have just started to gather all the evidence. Omg it feels never ending. Just curious, how long after you applied for the visa did you upload and submit the second part? I know you have a lot of time but I feel like I need to get it done so fast. I also have some dates wrong in the initial part of the visa ( which is now submitted ) I found a form that you can fill out for incorrect information. I was just going to fill that in and attach it to the next part of the application. Did you have any issues where you wrote in something wrong accidentally? My husband and I have been together almost 6 years but have been travelling for those 6 years. It feels almost impossible to get all the dates correct. Thanks in advance!
brooke brisbine
MeghanHi Meghan, thank you so much for the thoughtful comment, you don’t know how much that means!
When you say the “second part”, do you mean the uploads section? If so, I did it as quickly as possible, but there is no official “deadline” to submit evidence by. A CO won’t be looking at the application anytime soon, so as long as you get stuff up there in a semi-timely fashion, that’s good enough. And you should continue adding to the evidence throughout the waiting period, too!
As for the dates, yes, I would DEFINITELY recommend submitting a form to correct the dates ASAP because that is definitely something Home Affairs looks at. The fact that you made a mistake isn’t an issue, just make sure you explain so they know it was a genuine mistake 🙂 Digging through old visa application for a WHV I had about 5 years ago, I actually found that I wrote “single” instead of “de facto”, even though my partner and I were living together and sharing all finances at the time. I submitted a form and a long letter explaining the error, so I think these things DO happen!
Hope that helps, best of luck to you and your husband!
-Brooke
Allie
Hi Brooke! YOur website is wonderful and you’re helping so many others in your similar situation make something that seems impossible just a bit easier!!
I have just hit submit for the application and paid and am now uploading all of the evidence that I’ve compiled! YAY!
I just have a quick question regarding the “Document type” and “description” that you’ve put for some of the uploaded evidence categories.. For example, I am from the U.S. and like you asked several of my family members to write letters to testify to my relationship with my partner here in Australia as they’ve met him.. And now I am uploading those statements and don’t know whether to put them under “other” and then title them “Statement in support of partner visa” or should I list them under “statutory declaration” ??
Similarly, when I am uploading a collection of bills or other joint photos or joint lease agreement emails that all have multiple pages combined into a single PDF, are you uploading these under the document type that they are most closely associated with such as utility bill or lease agreement or photo-other, or are you uploading them as “other” and then giving them a description??
I hope that question makes sense… I just can’t for the life of me figure out what’s the easiest way as the immi account and website don’t seem to make it at all easy for you!
Thanks so much for your help!
Cheers,
Allie
brooke brisbine
AllieHi Allie,
So sorry it’s taken me so long to respond, but thank you for the lovely comment! AND a big congratulations on finally hitting submit, what a milestone!!
There’s not really a specific “right” place to put those letters. If you look at my evidence checklist, I put letters in a few different places (I think “Length of Relationship” and “Mutual Commitment”, from memory) just based on what I thought the content was speaking to more. BUT I think this is totally up to you, put the letters wherever they make sense! The CO will look at everything anyway and since this is extra (not required evidence), they won’t be *expecting* it in any one location more than another.
If I grouped different types of documents together (bills and a lease, for instance), I would have personally put them under “other” and explained in the description. You can probably see this in my document checklist– I used that “other” categorisation quite a lot! Again, I don’t think it matters too much as long as there is some sense behind the choice and it’s easy enough for the CO to decipher (although with “required” evidence, it’s definitely better to use the actual categorisation labels whenever possible, since a CO might quickly scan to see if the app is complete).
I really hope that makes sense! I agree the upload process is super confusing and there’s probably a million ways to do it, none of which is necessarily “right” or “best”. Good luck 🙂
-Brooke
Hope that helps!
Sharmaine
Hi Brooke , I love your blog <3 it really helped me and my husband a lot 🙂 Today we have a wonderful news my Partner Visa (820) got granted today , I just want to ask If you know what’s the next step ? Or the immigration will tell us ? Thank you Brooke 💕 Take care always
brooke brisbine
SharmaineHi Sharmaine, what fantastic news!!
You guys applied at the end of last year, if I remember correctly, so that is such a wonderful, quick outcome for you! Well deserved 🙂
I can’t comment (at least not from experience) on what happens beyond the 820 visa, but from what other readers have said, you need to keep gathering evidence during this time and you’ll be notified a little ahead of the 2 year mark when you are eligible to submit documents in support of the 801 Permanent Partner Visa.
**If any other reader wants to jump in here and comment with their own experience, please do!
Congratulations again to you and your husband, Sharmaine.
-Brooke
Sharmaine
brooke brisbineThank you Brooke 🤗 Yes we applied last year around October, we didn’t expect to get the results fast we thought it will take about 2 years for the Temporary 820 . Hopefully you’ll get yours soon 😇
brooke brisbine
SharmaineThank you, Sharmaine, I certainly hope so! But good to hear that applications are being processed quicker, I’m sure other readers will be VERY relieved to hear that 🙂
xx Brooke
Charis
Hi Brooke,
I am the sponsor for the VISA and recently learnt that I upload my documents to my partner who is the applicants immi account as I thought I had to create my own linked account.
The category heading under my name don’t match what you had for sponsor for e.g. Address – Residential, Evidence of, Birth or Age, Evidence of do these just go under “other?”
brooke brisbine
CharisHi Charis,
Yes, you can upload everything (for the applicant AND sponsor) to the main application on IMMI. There should be a section for Applicant Documents and Sponsor Documents as shown in this post.
Hmm, I’m not sure why your upload categories would be different– you’re definitely looking at the main application, not the sponsor application? Do you see ANY “Recommended” documents listed? Categories like “Birth or Age, Evidence of” should apply to everyone, so it’s strange that they aren’t showing on your application.
Obviously it’s hard because I don’t know why your application would look so different and I can’t see what it does look like, but I’d like to help you figure it out if I can!
-Brooke