Can You Get Partner Visa 100 in Under 2 Years in 2026? The Two Exceptions
Yes — but only in two situations. Under the normal rule, two years must have passed since you applied for the Partner (Provisional) (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) (subclass 100) visas before you can be assessed for the permanent visa. The Department of Home Affairs' Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) page, as of the October 2026 official page, says it may grant the subclass 100 in less than two years if either you were already in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied, or your sponsor is or was the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa and, before that permanent visa was granted, was in a married or de facto relationship with you — provided you had already told the Department about the relationship. This article is general information about how those rules are published and is not personalised advice; your own situation should be checked against the current official pages or with a qualified professional.
What is the normal two-year wait for subclass 100?
The default rule is about eligibility to be assessed, not an automatic grant. Two years must have passed since you applied for the subclass 309 and 100 visas before you can be assessed for the permanent subclass 100 visa. The Department's page points applicants to ImmiAccount to confirm the exact date the application was submitted.
Two other eligibility points sit alongside that timing rule. You must hold either a Partner (Provisional) (subclass 309) visa or a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa. And the two-year clock runs from the date you applied, not from the date your temporary visa was granted — a distinction that matters a great deal if your 309 took a long time to decide.
Exception 1: were you already in a long-term relationship when you applied?
This is the exception most relevant to couples who had lived together, or been married, for years before lodging. The test is set at the moment of application: you must have been in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied for the subclass 309 and 100 visas, not at the time the Department later looks at the file.
That framing has a practical consequence. Evidence needs to speak to the position as at your application date, so documents created after lodgement do very little work here. Joint leases, shared finances, correspondence addressed to both of you, and statements from people who knew the relationship are the kinds of material that show a relationship already had duration and substance at that point.
Assume an applicant who had lived with their partner for several years before lodging the 309/100 combination. On the face of the published rule, that applicant falls into the exception, and the two-year assessment wait does not have to expire before the Department can consider granting the permanent visa. That is a faster eligibility path, not a promise of a faster decision — processing still has to run its course.
One caution worth stating plainly: the official page uses the phrase "long-term partner relationship" without spelling out a number of years on that page. How that term is defined, and what evidence satisfies it, is a matter of the migration legislation and published Departmental policy, and those should be read in their current version rather than assumed.
Exception 2: does your sponsor hold a permanent humanitarian visa?
The second exception has three parts, and all three have to line up. Your sponsor is, or was, the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa. Before that permanent visa was granted, your sponsor was in a married relationship or de facto relationship with you. And you must have informed the Department about your relationship before that permanent visa was granted.
The third part is the one that catches people out. The requirement is not simply that the relationship existed before the sponsor's humanitarian visa was granted; it is that you had told the Department about it before that grant. A relationship that existed but was never declared to the Department before the sponsor's permanent visa came through does not appear to meet the exception as published.
The wording "is, or was" also matters. It covers sponsors who have since moved on from the humanitarian visa they held, rather than only those holding one at the moment you apply.
What still has to be true when the permanent visa is decided?
Timing is one gate; the rest of the criteria still apply. You must continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of the same person who sponsored you for the temporary Partner visa.
The Department's page also notes that you might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship ends, or your partner dies, before the permanent visa is granted. If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, the family violence provisions may allow the visa to be granted as well — the Department has a dedicated page on that.
Three further requirements apply at this stage:
- Health. You, and any members of the family unit including dependent children who apply with you, must continue to meet the health requirement. Family members who do not come to Australia might also need to meet it. If you had health examinations for your subclass 309 visa, the Department will tell you whether you need them again or whether more checks are needed.
- Debts to the Australian Government. If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, it must be paid back or arrangements made to pay it back. This can include family members who do not come to Australia with you.
- Best interests of the child. The visa might not be granted if doing so would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18.
How do you work out which path you are on?
- Open ImmiAccount and find the date you submitted your subclass 309 and 100 application.
- Count two years forward from that date.
- Read your own application date as the reference point, not your 309 grant date.
- If you were already in a long-term relationship with your sponsor at that date, note exception 1.
- If your sponsor holds or held a permanent humanitarian visa, note the date that visa was granted.
- Check whether the relationship was declared to the Department before that grant date.
- If it was, and you were married or in a de facto relationship before it, note exception 2.
- If neither applies, plan around the two-year mark as the point at which assessment can begin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the two-year wait counted from the 309 grant date or the application date?
It is counted from the date you applied for the subclass 309 and 100 visas. The Department's page directs applicants to ImmiAccount to confirm that submission date. Because most people apply for both visas in one combined application, the lodgement date is the reference point rather than any later decision date.
Can I be granted subclass 100 exactly at the two-year mark?
Two years having passed makes you eligible to be assessed for the permanent visa; it does not by itself produce a decision. The Department then has to be satisfied that the relationship requirements, health requirement, debt position, and best-interests considerations are all met. In practice, assessment and grant happen after that point rather than on the day.
What counts as a long-term partner relationship?
The official page does not set out a figure for this exception, so it should not be read as a simple count of months. The term is defined in the migration legislation and Departmental policy, and those should be consulted in their current published form. For the exception, the relevant question is whether the relationship met that standard at the time you applied.
My sponsor has a permanent humanitarian visa, but we did not declare the relationship before it was granted. Does the exception still work?
On the published wording, no. The exception requires that you informed the Department about your relationship before the sponsor's permanent humanitarian visa was granted. A relationship that existed beforehand but was not declared before that grant does not satisfy the condition as written.
What if our relationship ends, or my partner dies, before the permanent visa is decided?
The Department's page says you might still be eligible for the permanent visa in either situation. There is separate published guidance for changes in relationship circumstances. If domestic and family violence is involved, the family violence provisions may also allow the permanent visa to be granted.
Do I need to repeat my health checks for subclass 100?
You and any family unit members, including dependent children applying with you, must continue to meet the health requirement at this stage. If you had health examinations for the subclass 309 visa, the Department will tell you whether you need to undertake them again or whether more health checks are needed. You do not need to arrange repeats on your own initiative.
I hold a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa rather than a 309. Does the rule change?
The eligibility requirement is that you hold either a subclass 309 visa or a subclass 445 visa, so holding a 445 does not take you outside the visa. The two-year period is still measured from the date you applied for the subclass 309 and 100 visas, and the same two exceptions apply in the same way.