Partner Visa Refused: AAT/ART Review Time Limits in 2026
Twenty-one days, and you have to be in Australia. If the Department of Home Affairs refuses your Subclass 820 or Subclass 801 partner visa, the review position set out in the Migration Regulations 1994 as published on the Federal Register of Legislation, and in Home Affairs' own PAM3 partner visa procedures guidance, is that an application to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART, formerly the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or AAT) must be lodged within 21 days of receiving the refusal notification, and that the applicant must be onshore to lodge it. This article explains general information about how those rules are framed; it is not advice on your own case, and where your situation turns on your particular history you should work from the officially published requirements or from a qualified professional's opinion about your circumstances.
How long do you have to appeal a partner visa refusal?
You have 21 days. The period runs from the day you receive the refusal notification, and it applies whether the refused application is the temporary Subclass 820 or the permanent Subclass 801.
The notification itself is issued under section 66 of the Migration Act, and Home Affairs' PAM3 guidance requires it to tell you about your review rights — under sections 338(2) and 347(3) for a Subclass 820 refusal, and under section 338(2) for a Subclass 801 refusal. Read that section of the letter first: it names the decision, the review body, and the period that applies.
Treat day 21 as the last day rather than as a target. Being late is not the same as being wrong on the merits — a strong relationship case does not rescue an application that went in late.
When does the 21 days actually start?
It starts at receipt, not at the date printed on the decision. If a decision is made on one date and reaches you days later, the gap is time you lose, which is why the delivery channel matters as much as the decision itself.
Home Affairs' guidance also allows a decision to be made on the evidence already available if the applicant cannot be contacted, so if your contact details are out of date you risk both the refusal and a shorter window to respond to it. Suppose an applicant moves house, does not update their ImmiAccount details, and the notification goes to an old address: the 21 days is measured from when the notification actually reaches them, but the practical problem is that they may not learn about it until much of that time is gone.
Do you have to be in Australia to apply for review?
Yes. The PAM3 guidance states plainly that the applicant must be in Australia to apply for review of a partner visa refusal, and it lists "refused while offshore, so no review right" among the situations that end a case at the threshold.
The onshore requirement also runs backwards through the application itself. A Subclass 820 application is only valid if the applicant is in Australia and not in immigration clearance at the time of lodgement. The Subclass 801 is different at the grant end — it can be granted to an applicant who is in or outside Australia — but that flexibility at the grant stage does not create a review right for someone who is overseas when the refusal arrives.
What happens if the refusal reaches you while you are overseas?
The ART pathway is closed. Someone outside Australia when a refusal is notified cannot apply for merits review of that decision, and the two remaining routes are both narrow.
Judicial review in the Federal Court or the High Court is limited to legal error; it is not a second chance to argue the facts of the relationship. Ministerial intervention under section 351, or section 501J where character is involved, can result in a visa being granted on public interest grounds, but it is rare and reserved for exceptional cases.
The guidance does contemplate the reverse situation: where an applicant is temporarily overseas while a decision is pending, an officer may defer the decision for a reasonable period, with the guidance referring to up to six months for a temporarily offshore applicant and up to three months where the applicant cannot be contacted. Policy guidance of this kind has no legal force, and officers can depart from it, so it is a discretion rather than an entitlement.
What is your visa status while the review runs?
For an onshore Subclass 820 refusal, the guidance states that applicants usually hold a Bridging Visa A during the review period, which is what keeps them lawful while the ART considers the case.
Where it is the Subclass 801 that is refused, the position is more complicated, because the 820 the applicant was holding normally ceases along with the refusal. Do not assume the same bridging visa simply continues; check what the decision records say is in effect. If the ART later remits the matter or decides that the applicant meets every criterion apart from holding an 820, clause 801.221(8) allows the permanent visa to be granted without the applicant having to hold an 820 again, and PAM3 directs that the 801 should be finalised promptly after such a remittal unless there is significant new evidence that the relationship is not genuine.
What can the tribunal actually do?
The ART conducts a merits review: it looks at the facts and the evidence again, and it can affirm the refusal, send the matter back to Home Affairs for reconsideration, or substitute its own decision. That is different from judicial review, which only addresses legal error.
The practical consequence is that the review is where evidence belongs. Because the 820 and the 801 are usually lodged together, one notification can refuse both, and the review is the mechanism that can bring both back into play at the same time.
What should you do in the first 21 days?
Read the refusal notification and find the review-rights paragraph. Write down the date you received it. Count forward 21 days and mark the last one. Confirm you are physically in Australia. Check which bridging visa is recorded as being in effect. List each refusal reason separately. Match a piece of evidence to each reason. Update your contact details before anything else goes out. Lodge the ART application inside the 21 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to appeal a partner visa refusal?
You have 21 days from the day you receive the refusal notification to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal. The period is the same for a refused Subclass 820 and a refused Subclass 801, and the notification issued under section 66 should state it.
Can I apply for ART review if I am outside Australia?
No. Home Affairs' PAM3 guidance requires the applicant to be in Australia to lodge the review application, and a person who is offshore when the refusal is notified has no merits review right. Only judicial review for legal error, or the rare ministerial intervention route, remain available.
Does the 21 days start from the decision date or the date I receive the letter?
It runs from receipt of the notification. If the decision is dated earlier than the day it reaches you, the delay eats into your 21 days, which is one reason to keep your contact and ImmiAccount details current.
Do I keep a valid visa while the review is pending?
For an onshore Subclass 820 refusal, applicants usually hold a Bridging Visa A during the review. If it is the Subclass 801 that was refused, the linked 820 normally ceases, so check what bridging visa the decision records show rather than assuming the earlier one continues.
What happens to my 820 if my 801 is refused?
The 820 usually ceases along with the refusal. It can be brought back into play if the ART remits the matter or decides that the applicant meets all criteria other than holding the 820, which clause 801.221(8) provides for.
If the ART upholds the refusal, is that the end?
Not entirely, but the remaining routes are narrow. Judicial review in the Federal Court or High Court addresses legal error only, not disagreements about the facts, and ministerial intervention under section 351 or 501J is rare and exceptional.