Do I need a lawyer or a migration agent?

Many visa applications are lodged directly. A registered migration agent or immigration lawyer helps with complex or refused matters.

What is a Section 48 bar?

It limits the visas you can apply for while unlawfully in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. A professional can map your options.

Can I appeal a refused visa?

Often yes — the Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews many decisions, but strict time limits apply.

Refused Partner Visa in 2026? Check Your Status With VEVO Before You Act

If your 801 or 100 partner visa is refused, VEVO shows what you actually hold — read it before you travel, apply again or seek review.

If your Partner (Permanent) visa (subclass 801) or Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) is refused, you no longer hold a temporary Partner visa. That position is stated on the Australian Department of Home Affairs page Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), read alongside the Department's Review of decisions page, as at the October 2026 official pages. Before you write anything, book travel or lodge another application, run a VEVO check, because VEVO shows the visa you actually hold and the conditions attached to it.

What does VEVO show after a permanent Partner visa refusal?

VEVO stands for Visa Entitlement Verification Online. It is the Department's own record of the visa you hold, its conditions and whether it is still in effect.

The Department points applicants to VEVO in three separate situations on its official pages: after a permanent Partner visa refusal, whenever you need to know which visa you hold and what conditions apply, and while a visa decision is under review. The refusal scenario is put bluntly: once the permanent visa is refused, you need to be aware of your visa status, and VEVO is the tool named for that check.

When you run the check, read all four of these, not just the subclass line:

Whether any visa is recorded as in effect at all.
The visa subclass and any conditions listed against it.
The expiry or cease date shown for that visa.
Whether a bridging visa or another visa appears alongside it.

Conditions matter as much as the visa itself. Holding a visa without noticing its conditions is how people end up breaching them without intending to.

Why check status before you do anything else?

The refusal letter tells you what was decided. It does not replace the record of what you hold now. Those two things can drift apart, and VEVO is what reconciles them.

Acting before you check creates two risks. One is staying in Australia on the assumption that a visa is still in effect when it is not. The other is doing something your current visa does not allow, such as travelling or working, on the assumption that your earlier Partner visa conditions still apply.

Everything in this article is general information about published rules and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Your own position depends on what VEVO records and what your refusal notification letter says, so rely on those official records and on any advice you choose to obtain about your specific situation.

Does applying for review change the visa you hold?

Your refusal notification letter will tell you whether you have the right to seek review of the decision by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Not every decision carries review rights, so that letter is the starting point, not a general assumption.

The ART has jurisdiction to review certain visa decisions made under the Migration Act 1958. The Department is explicit about what to do while that review is running: keep checking your current visa details and conditions using VEVO. Review is a challenge to the decision; it does not, on the Department's own pages, operate as a stand-in for checking your status directly.

The ART sets out its own fees and charges on its website. No fee figure is listed on the Department's Review of decisions page, so none can be stated here.

Can you ask the Department for an update instead?

You can check the status of your visa application, and whether you have provided all supporting documents, through ImmiAccount. That is the channel the Department names for application progress.

If your application is still within the standard processing time, the Department states that it cannot provide any further updates on progress, and asks applicants not to contact it during that period. Processing times for Partner visas vary, and applicants may experience longer processing times than expected. The Visa processing time guide tool shows processing times for recently decided applications, but it is a guide only and not specific to your application.

The practical effect is that asking for an update rarely produces one. Checking VEVO always produces the record you need.

Partner visa applications are processed according to Ministerial Direction 117, which sets the order for considering and deciding applications. Onshore Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801) applications generally receive highest priority, with lower priority given to offshore subclass 309 and 100 and subclass 300 applications. Priority affects processing order, not the visa shown on VEVO.

Can you still travel after a permanent Partner visa refusal?

Travel is allowed if your current visa lets you travel. That is a property of the visa you hold now, not of the one that was refused, so it has to be read off VEVO rather than assumed from past travel history.

Two traps sit here. If you hold a bridging visa, different travel rules apply, and the Department publishes separate guidance for travel on a bridging visa. And if your first entry arrival date has expired, you can still travel to Australia where your visa is otherwise valid, but your visa may be cancelled before arrival or at the border. VEVO is again the check named for confirming validity.

Will the visa application charge be refunded?

Refunds are available only in certain circumstances. The Department's official pages note that there is no standard timeframe for processing refund requests, and that each request is assessed under the relevant legal authority or administrative rules. Nothing on those pages sets out a fixed figure or a guaranteed outcome, so none should be assumed.

Frequently Asked Questions

If my subclass 801 or 100 is refused, do I still hold my subclass 820 or 309?

No. The Department's Partner Visa FAQs state that if your permanent Partner visa has been refused, you no longer hold a temporary Partner visa. It also states that you need to be aware of your visa status and directs you to VEVO to check your visa details and conditions. Treat that check as the record rather than your memory of earlier grants.

How often should I check VEVO while my decision is under review?

Check it whenever anything changes, and before any step that depends on holding a visa, such as travel or a new application. The Department's Review of decisions page asks applicants with a decision under review to continue checking their current visa details and conditions using VEVO. The ART's jurisdiction covers certain decisions made under the Migration Act 1958.

My first entry arrival date has passed — does that mean my visa has ended?

Not necessarily. The Department states you can travel to Australia with an expired first entry arrival date if your visa is still valid. However, the visa may still be cancelled before arrival or at the border, so check whether the visa is still valid in VEVO before making travel plans.

Can I ask the Department for an update instead of using VEVO?

Not usefully, if your application is within standard processing time. The Department asks applicants not to contact it during that window and says it cannot provide further progress updates. VEVO and ImmiAccount are the channels it points people to for visa records and application status respectively.

Does the Administrative Review Tribunal review every partner visa refusal?

The ART has jurisdiction to review certain visa decisions made under the Migration Act 1958, not all of them. Your refusal notification letter will tell you whether you have the right to seek review of that particular decision. Where review rights do exist, the ART's own website sets out the applicable fees and charges.

Will I get my visa application charge back after a refusal?

Only in certain circumstances, according to the Department's official pages. There is no standard timeframe for processing refund requests, and each request is assessed under the relevant legal authority or administrative rules. Nothing in that guidance supports assuming a refund, a partial refund, or a timeframe.