Is this your situation?
Your partner or spouse visa (subclass 309/100, 820/801, or the 300 prospective marriage visa) has been refused. The Department says it is not satisfied your relationship is genuine, or there is another problem with your application. You know the relationship is real. You live together, you share your lives, and the refusal feels like the government is telling you your relationship does not count. But the problem is not whether the relationship is real. The problem is whether you proved it to the standard the Department requires.
Common reasons for partner visa refusals
The most frequent reason for a partner visa refusal is failure to satisfy the decision maker that the relationship is genuine and continuing. The Department assesses four aspects: financial evidence (joint accounts, shared expenses, financial interdependence), the nature of the household (living together, sharing domestic responsibilities), social aspects (recognition by friends and family as a couple, attending events together), and mutual commitment (future plans together, evidence of building a life as a unit).
A refusal does not mean the Department thinks you are lying. It means the evidence you provided was not enough to satisfy them. The threshold is “satisfied on the balance of probabilities.” If the evidence leaves the decision maker uncertain, they will refuse.
Other reasons for partner visa refusals include PIC 4020 concerns (suspicion that false or misleading information was provided), character issues relating to the sponsor (particularly if the sponsor has a history of family violence), failure to meet Schedule 3 criteria (if the applicant was unlawful when the application was lodged), and insufficient evidence of the relationship having started before the application was made.
The appeal process at the ART
A partner visa appeal is an application for merits review at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which replaced the AAT on 14 October 2024. The Tribunal member looks at the case again from the start and can consider new evidence, including evidence about your relationship since the refusal. Hearings are often held by video, although the Tribunal can decide some cases on the papers.
Who can appeal a partner or spouse visa refusal
| Visa refused | Who applies to the ART | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Onshore partner visa (subclass 820/801), applicant in Australia | The visa applicant | 28 days after notification |
| Offshore partner or spouse visa (subclass 309/100) | The Australian sponsor | 28 days after notification |
| Prospective marriage visa (subclass 300) | The Australian sponsor | 28 days after notification |
| Any partner visa where the applicant is in immigration detention | The visa applicant | 14 days after notification |
The deadline runs from the day you are taken to have been notified, which for an email is usually the day it was sent. The ART cannot extend it, so lodge on time even if your evidence is not ready. Older guides that mention 21 or 70 days describe the pre-2024 rules.
ART fee, reductions and refunds
The application fee for a review of most migration decisions, including partner visa refusals, is $3,727 from 1 July 2026, and it must be paid by the deadline. You can ask for a 50% reduction if paying the full fee would cause financial hardship: pay the full fee or half by the deadline, then send the fee reduction form with evidence of your household finances. If the Tribunal sets aside, varies or remits the decision, 50% of the fee you paid is refunded. The fee is indexed each 1 July, so check the ART fees page on the day you lodge.
Both you and your partner should expect to be questioned, and in many cases you will be questioned separately. The Tribunal member will compare your answers. Inconsistencies in how you describe your daily routine, your relationship history, your financial arrangements, and your future plans will hurt your case. This does not mean you need to have identical answers to every question, but significant contradictions on basic facts are a problem.
The hearing is not a courtroom drama. It is a conversation with the Tribunal member where you explain your relationship and answer their questions. But it is a formal process and what you say is on the record.
Sponsor-related refusals
Some partner and spouse visas are refused because of the sponsor rather than the relationship. The common ones are:
- Sponsorship limits. The sponsorship generally cannot be approved if the sponsor has already sponsored, or been granted a visa through, another partner more than once, or if less than 5 years have passed since the earlier application, or since the sponsor was themselves sponsored as a partner. The Department can approve it anyway where there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.
- Sponsor police checks where children are included. If an applicant is under 18, the sponsorship must generally be refused if the sponsor has been charged with or convicted of a registrable offence (broadly, serious offences against children), subject to narrow exceptions where the sentence ended more than 5 years earlier and there are compelling circumstances.
- Sponsor status. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen at the relevant time.
On review, the evidence needs to deal with the sponsor issue directly: police certificates, court outcomes, evidence of the earlier relationship and when it ended, and a statement explaining the compelling circumstances where the sponsorship limit applies.
Refused because of Schedule 3
If you were in Australia without a substantive visa when you lodged an onshore partner visa (for example you only held a bridging visa, or your visa had expired), Schedule 3 criteria apply. They are waived only if the decision maker is satisfied there are compelling reasons. A Schedule 3 refusal is reviewable at the ART, and the Tribunal can look at your circumstances as they are at the time of its decision, including a child born since you lodged. Our Schedule 3 waiver guide covers the criteria and evidence in detail.
What makes a strong partner visa appeal
Strong cases bring concrete, specific evidence that demonstrates an intertwined life. Not just photos at a wedding or holiday, but evidence of ordinary daily life together over time.
Effective evidence includes joint lease agreements or mortgage documents, utility bills and internet accounts in both names, bank statements showing regular transfers between you and your partner, shared subscriptions, statutory declarations from people who have visited your home and can describe specific observations about your living arrangements, communication records if there were periods of separation (call logs, video call history, messages), evidence of meeting each other’s families and attending family events together, joint travel bookings, evidence of mutual commitment such as wills naming each other, superannuation beneficiary nominations, insurance policies, and evidence of caring for each other during illness or difficulty.
The statutory declarations from friends and family are important but they need to contain specific, detailed observations. “They seem happy together” is useless. “I visited their apartment in March 2025 and they showed me the bedroom they share. Sarah was cooking dinner while John helped their daughter with homework. They told me they were saving for a house deposit” is specific and credible.
Evidence to gather by refusal reason
| Refusal reason | Evidence that answers it |
|---|---|
| Relationship not genuine and continuing | Financial, household, social and commitment evidence across the whole relationship, with detailed statutory declarations (Form 888) from people who know you as a couple |
| Not living together, or periods apart | Evidence of contact while apart, the reason for the separation, travel records and plans to live together |
| De facto relationship less than 12 months | Evidence the relationship met 12 months before lodgement, or that relationship registration or another exception applies |
| False or misleading information (PIC 4020) | An explanation of how the information came to be wrong, and independent verification from the document issuer |
| Sponsor issue | Police certificates, court outcomes, evidence about earlier sponsorships and the compelling circumstances relied on |
| Schedule 3 | A chronology of your visa history, reasons it was beyond your control, and evidence of the hardship separation would cause |
Possible outcomes
The Tribunal can affirm the refusal, set it aside and remit the application to the Department with a direction (for example that the relationship requirement is met), set it aside and substitute its own decision, or vary it. After a remittal, the Department completes the remaining checks, such as health, character and sponsorship, before granting the visa.
Your bridging visa during the appeal
If you applied onshore and hold a Bridging visa A linked to the 820 application, it generally stays in effect while a valid, on-time review is under way. If the Tribunal affirms the refusal, it ends 35 days after the Tribunal decision under the current Migration Regulations. If no review is lodged in time, it ends 35 days after the refusal. Offshore applicants are not affected, but should not travel to Australia on the expectation that the review will succeed.
If the ART affirms the refusal
Judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia must be filed within 35 days of the Tribunal decision and only deals with legal errors, not whether the relationship is genuine. That is court work for a lawyer, and we can refer you. Other options can include a request for Ministerial intervention in limited cases, or a fresh application from outside Australia. If you are in Australia, check the section 48 bar before you plan another onshore application.
Book a partner visa appeal assessment
Bullseye Consultants are MARA registered migration agents in Brisbane. In a partner or spouse visa appeal assessment we read the decision record with both of you, confirm who should lodge and the exact deadline, and tell you whether the ART, a fresh application or another pathway gives you the better chance. Book an appointment or call (07) 3519 7009 as soon as the refusal arrives.
How Bullseye Consultant can help
Partner visa appeals are one of the most common case types at Bullseye Consultant. Amanpreet Bhangoo (MARN 1573884) and his team will read the refusal carefully, identify the specific evidence gaps, and build a targeted submission for the ART hearing. They will prepare both you and your partner for the hearing so you know what types of questions to expect and how to present your evidence clearly.
Call (07) 3519 7009 or email info@bullseyeconsultants.com.au.
FAQ
Q: Will my partner and I be interviewed separately at the ART?
Often yes. The Tribunal member may speak to each of you separately to compare your accounts of the relationship. This is standard practice. Prepare by discussing the details of your daily life, relationship history, and future plans together beforehand so you are both comfortable speaking about these things.
Q: How long does a partner visa review take at the ART?
It varies with the Tribunal’s caseload, and partner reviews can take a long time. You can ask the ART to expedite your review if you can show with documents that the criterion you failed is now met, or if there are exceptional circumstances such as reuniting a child under 18 with a parent. If you applied onshore, your bridging visa should stay in effect while the review runs. Use the wait to gather relationship evidence that covers the period between the refusal and the hearing.
Q: How many days do I have to appeal a spouse or partner visa refusal?
28 days after you are notified of the decision, or 14 days if the applicant is in immigration detention. For offshore 309 and 300 refusals, the Australian sponsor lodges the appeal. The ART cannot extend the deadline.
Q: How much does a partner visa appeal cost?
The ART fee is $3,727 from 1 July 2026, with a 50% reduction available for financial hardship and 50% refunded if the decision is set aside, varied or remitted. Professional fees for preparing the appeal are separate.
The Tribunal process is the same across visa types. See ART appeals for deadlines and what a review involves.
