What Is the First Entry Arrival Date on Partner Visa 100 in 2026?
The first entry arrival date on a Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) — also written on the grant letter as "first entry, arrive by" — is the deadline for your first trip to Australia: if you were outside Australia when the visa was granted, you must enter Australia before that date. It is not the date your visa expires. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) page, as of October 2026, the Subclass 100 is a permanent visa, and you become a permanent resident on the day it is granted. This article is general information only and is not personalised advice; what applies to your own case is your grant letter, your VEVO record and the Department's current official guidance.
Where does the first entry arrival date appear?
It appears in your visa grant letter. Home Affairs states the rule in one sentence: if you are outside Australia at the time of visa grant, you must enter Australia before the first entry arrival date specified in your grant letter.
That condition only bites for people granted offshore. If you were already in Australia when the Subclass 100 was granted, there is no first trip to make, and the date has no practical role in your travel planning.
Is the first entry arrival date the same as the end of your visa?
No. These are two separate things, and mixing them up is the most common source of panic before a flight.
Your visa is permanent. You become a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted, and you can live, work and study in Australia indefinitely. What expires is not the visa but the travel facility attached to it: you can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for five years from the date the visa was granted, as long as the travel facility is valid. After those five years you need a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157) to travel back as a permanent resident.
The first entry arrival date sits in front of all of that. It governs only your first arrival after an offshore grant.
What happens if you arrive after the first entry arrival date?
Home Affairs is explicit on this point: you can travel to Australia with an expired first entry arrival date if your visa is still valid. It also warns that your visa may still be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border.
So the practical sequence is not "miss the date and lose the visa", but "check whether the visa is still valid before you fly". The Department's own instruction is to check this in VEVO. Assume an applicant granted offshore in early 2026 whose grant letter set a first entry date in mid-2026: the visa does not switch off when that date passes, but the traveller now carries a document condition that has not been met, and the decision about it is made by the Department or by an officer at the border — not by the airline, and not by the traveller.
How do you check whether the visa is still valid?
Use VEVO, the Department's online visa entitlement check. The Department points to VEVO both to confirm the visa is still valid and to see when the travel facility ends.
- Find your Subclass 100 visa grant letter.
- Take the visa number from that letter.
- Open VEVO on the Department of Home Affairs website.
- Use the visa number to open your digital visa record.
- Read the visa status shown in the record.
- Read the travel facility end date shown in the record.
- Save a copy of the record before you book flights.
Why VEVO matters at the airport as well
Australian visas are digital. Home Affairs does not put a visa label in your passport; it digitally links the visa to your passport and creates a digital visa record. Your visa number, from the grant letter, is the key to that record.
That record is what other parties rely on: airlines check your visa before you board, Australian government agencies use it to check your identity and visa conditions, and employers, banks or other registered organisations use it to check visa conditions. If your passport details change, the Department asks you to tell it about your new passport, because the digital record is tied to the passport.
What does the first entry change for citizenship timing?
It changes the date your permanent residency is taken to have started, for citizenship purposes only. Home Affairs states that for citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts on either the day your visa was granted if you were in Australia, or the day you first entered Australia on this visa after it was granted.
For an offshore grant, that means the first entry does real work later on: it sets the starting point used when citizenship eligibility is assessed, even though the visa itself has been valid since the grant date.
If you hold a New Zealand passport
Say the right thing at the border. Home Affairs advises that if an immigration officer processes your clearance, tell them you have a permanent Australian visa and that you do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). If you do not, you might be granted a subclass 444 visa, and that grant will override your permanent visa and might affect your eligibility for Australian citizenship.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find my first entry, arrive by date?
It is printed in your Subclass 100 visa grant letter, not in VEVO. Home Affairs describes it as the "first entry arrival date (first entry, arrive by) specified in your grant letter", and it applies when you were outside Australia at the time of grant.
Does my Subclass 100 visa expire if I miss the first entry date?
No, the visa itself does not expire on that date. Home Affairs says you can travel to Australia with an expired first entry arrival date if your visa is still valid, while warning that the visa may still be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border.
Does the five-year travel period start from my first entry?
No. The travel facility runs for five years from the date the visa was granted, not from the date you first arrive. To travel after that five-year facility ends, you must apply for and be granted a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157).
What should I check in VEVO before booking flights?
Check that the visa is still valid and check the travel facility end date. Home Affairs directs visa holders to VEVO for both, and the grant letter provides the visa number you need to open the digital record.
Do I get a visa label in my passport for the Subclass 100?
No. Australian visas are digital, so the Department links your digital visa record to your passport instead of issuing a label. Airlines and government agencies read that digital record rather than a stamp.
Can family members be added after the Subclass 100 is granted?
No. Home Affairs states you cannot add family members after the permanent Partner visa (subclass 100) is granted. As a permanent resident you may be able to sponsor eligible family members for their own visa instead.
Does arriving late affect when I can apply for citizenship?
It affects the start date used for citizenship purposes. Home Affairs says permanent residency starts, for citizenship purposes, on the grant day if you were in Australia, or on the day you first entered Australia on this visa after it was granted.