Form 80 for Partner Visa: What You Need to Know

Key Facts
Visa subclasses	820/801 (onshore) and 309/100 (offshore)
Form 80 trigger	Case-by-case — not automatic for all applicants
Who completes it	The visa applicant only — not the Australian sponsor
Key Form 80 sections	Parts D (address), E (travel), F (employment), H (relationship), K (criminal)
Consistency risk	Dates and addresses must align with relationship evidence and partner visa statements
Submission method	Upload PDF to ImmiAccount under the named document request

Quick answer: Form 80 is not automatically required for partner visas — the Department requests it case by case, and only the visa applicant (not the sponsor) completes it.

Is Form 80 required for partner visa applications?

Form 80 is not automatically required for every partner visa applicant. The Department of Home Affairs determines whether to request it based on individual circumstances. You are more likely to receive a Form 80 request if you:

• Have lived in certain countries for 12 months or more in the past 10 years
• Have any criminal history in any country — including charges that were withdrawn or dismissed
• Have previously been refused a visa or had a visa cancelled in any country
• Have applied for visas to other countries with complex history
• Have a case officer who determines additional character assessment is needed

The trigger is not the partner visa subclass itself but your personal history. Two applicants applying for the same visa subclass at the same time may have different Form 80 requirements.

To check whether Form 80 has been requested for your application: log in to ImmiAccount, open your visa application, and look for a document request naming Form 80. If you have received a formal section 56 notice, see the s56 request guide for deadlines and next steps.

Which partner visa subclasses can require Form 80?

Form 80 can be requested for any of the Australian partner visa subclasses:

Subclass	Name	Where applied
820	Partner (Temporary)	Onshore — lodged in Australia
801	Partner (Residence)	Onshore — granted after 820 stage
309	Partner (Provisional)	Offshore — lodged outside Australia
100	Partner (Migrant)	Offshore — granted after 309 stage
300	Prospective Marriage	Offshore — fiancé(e) visa, may also trigger Form 80

The 820/801 and 309/100 pathways are two-stage: a temporary visa is granted first, and the permanent visa is granted usually two years later once the relationship is verified. Form 80 may be requested at either the initial or the permanent stage — or both.

Does the Australian sponsor need to complete Form 80?

No. Only the visa applicant (the person applying for the partner visa) completes Form 80. The Australian sponsor — the citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen sponsoring the application — does not complete Form 80 as part of the partner visa process.

The sponsor does complete a separate sponsorship form (Form 40SP) and a sponsorship declaration, but this is distinct from Form 80 and covers different information.

Key Form 80 sections for partner visa applicants

Part D — Address history

Part D requires all residential addresses for the 10 years before signing. For partner visa applicants who have split their time between countries or moved to Australia to be with their partner, this section requires careful attention. Every address must be listed with no gaps — including shared addresses with your partner, temporary accommodation, and any periods living apart.

Critically, any address you claim to have shared with your partner in your relationship evidence must appear in your Form 80 address history at the right dates. A mismatch here can create questions about the credibility of your relationship evidence. See the address history guide for a full walkthrough.

Part E — International travel history

Part E requires all international travel in the 10 years before signing. For partner visa applicants, travel history is often extensive — particularly if the relationship developed across borders, you have visited Australia multiple times on tourist visas, or you have made trips home since moving to Australia.

List every trip: destination, purpose (visit partner, holiday, family, work), and departure and return dates. See the travel history guide for help reconstructing travel records.

Part F — Employment history

Part F requires complete employment history from the end of full-time education with no gaps. For partner visa applicants who have worked in multiple countries, all overseas employment must be listed — not just Australian jobs. Include employer full legal name, full address (including country), role title, and start and end dates. List periods of unemployment, study, or caring responsibilities separately with a brief reason.

Part H — Spouse or de facto partner

Part H asks for details of your current and former partners. For a partner visa applicant, this section directly intersects with the relationship evidence you are providing. The details of your current partner in Part H — their name, date of birth, date the relationship commenced — must be exactly consistent with your partner visa relationship statement and supporting documents. A discrepancy as small as a different relationship start date between Form 80 and your partner visa statement can be raised as an inconsistency by the case officer.

Previous relationships must also be disclosed. The Department wants to verify that claimed marriages or de facto partnerships were genuine, and that previous relationships have genuinely ended.

Part K — Criminal history

Part K requires disclosure of all criminal history in any country with no time limit and no exclusion for spent convictions. For partner visa applicants with any criminal history — even minor matters — full disclosure is essential. Non-disclosure is treated more seriously than the underlying offence. If you have anything to declare in Part K, seek advice from a registered migration agent before submitting.

Keeping Form 80 consistent with your partner visa application

The most common problem Form 80 creates for partner visa applicants is an inconsistency with the information already provided in the main visa application. Partner visa applications generate a large volume of documents — relationship statements, statutory declarations, joint finances, shared leases, photographs. Form 80 adds another detailed personal history document to this pool, and any date or address that conflicts with another document will be flagged.

Before submitting Form 80, cross-check the following against your partner visa documents:

• Relationship start date (Part H): Must match the date stated in your relationship statement and statutory declarations exactly — day, month, and year.
• Shared addresses (Part D): Any address you have listed as a shared address with your partner in your relationship evidence must appear in Part D at the correct dates.
• Employment dates (Part F): Any employment you mention in context of your relationship (e.g., "we met at work") must be consistent with your employment history dates.
• Travel dates (Part E): If you reference specific visits to Australia in your relationship statement, those trips must appear in Part E with matching dates.
• Name and date of birth of partner (Part H): Must exactly match how they appear on their passport and your other documents.

Frequently asked questions

Is Form 80 required for all partner visa applications?

No. Form 80 is not automatically required for every partner visa applicant. The Department of Home Affairs requests it based on individual circumstances — common triggers include criminal history, country of residence, prior visa refusals, and case officer discretion. Check your ImmiAccount for any document requests before assuming it is required.

Does my Australian partner (the sponsor) also need to complete Form 80?

No. Only the visa applicant completes Form 80. The Australian sponsor completes a separate sponsorship form (Form 40SP) and declaration, but Form 80 is solely the visa applicant's responsibility. The sponsor's personal history is not assessed through Form 80.

Which partner visa subclasses can trigger a Form 80 request?

Form 80 can be requested for any partner visa subclass: 820/801 (onshore) and 309/100 (offshore) are the most common. It can also be requested for the 300 (Prospective Marriage) visa. The request may come at the initial temporary visa stage, the subsequent permanent visa stage, or both.

What happens if my Form 80 is inconsistent with my partner visa relationship evidence?

Inconsistencies between Form 80 and your partner visa application — such as a different relationship start date, mismatched shared addresses, or conflicting travel dates — will be flagged by the case officer. This can result in a request for further information, delay in processing, or in more serious cases, adverse credibility findings. Review all dates and addresses across both applications before submitting Form 80.

Can I fill Form 80 online for my partner visa?

Yes. FormMate 80 guides you through all 20 sections of Form 80 online for free, including Part H (partner details), Part D (address history), Part E (travel history), and Part F (employment history). Progress is saved automatically. Download the completed official PDF and upload it yourself to ImmiAccount under the relevant document request.

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