How to Apply for the Resolution of Status Visa (851) Online in 2026: Step by Step

Step-by-step guide to lodging the Resolution of Status (subclass 851) visa online in ImmiAccount in 2026, from eligibility and documents to submission.

Published: 3 October 2026

To apply for the Resolution of Status (RoS) visa (subclass 851) in 2026, you lodge it online through ImmiAccount: sign in or create an account, work through the guided form, attach any documents you are asked for, submit, and note the transaction reference number. There is no visa application charge, and you must be in Australia when you apply. The walkthrough below follows the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Resolution of Status (Subclass 851) official page as at August 2026, and tracks the stages it sets out — before you apply, gathering documents, applying, after you apply, and what the decision looks like.

The visa is only open to holders and former holders of a Temporary Protection visa (subclass 785) or Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790) who first arrived in Australia before 14 February 2023. What follows is general information about the published process rather than advice on your own circumstances; if anything about your history is unusual, check the current official page or take immigration assistance from a registered migration agent or legal practitioner before you rely on it.

Who can apply for subclass 851?

You can make a valid application if you are a holder, or former holder, of a Temporary Protection visa (subclass 785) or a Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790), you first arrived in Australia before 14 February 2023, and the Department has not cancelled your visa. From 14 February 2023, TPV and SHEV holders who held their visa before that date became eligible to apply.

Three further gates apply before an application is valid:

You must not be barred from lodging. You cannot make a valid RoS application while you are subject to an application bar, including the section 46A bar that applies to Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals under the Migration Act 1958. The online RoS form carries the notification of a section 46A bar lift.
Your most recent TPV or SHEV must not have been refused or cancelled. If the Department cancelled it, or your application was refused and finally determined, you cannot make a valid RoS application. If you have new, credible protection claims arising from changes in your country of origin or personal circumstances, you may request Ministerial Intervention; claims already considered in a Protection visa application or by the Tribunal will not be reconsidered.
You must meet identity, security, health and character requirements. Applicants aged 18 or over must also sign the Australian Values Statement.

Do I need to apply, or will my existing application be converted?

Some people never need to lodge at all. If you applied for an initial TPV or SHEV before 14 February 2023, the Department will convert your application to a RoS application if you meet the criteria, and will write to you if a RoS visa is granted. The same applies if you hold a TPV or SHEV and applied for a subsequent TPV or SHEV before that date — the conversion has already happened.

The group that does need to act is current TPV and SHEV holders who had not submitted a subsequent TPV or SHEV application before 14 February 2023. They apply online via ImmiAccount, and they must apply before their current visa ceases.

When do I need to lodge, and what happens if my TPV or SHEV ceases first?

Timing is the part of this visa that carries the most consequence. You should start well before your current TPV or SHEV ceases; if you do not apply before it ceases you become unlawful and may lose access to Government services.

A valid RoS application lodged before your TPV or SHEV ceases extends that visa until the Department decides the RoS application, which is how you stay lawful in the meantime. The extension is tied to applying before the cease date — it is not a remedy for applying late.

Two related situations are worth separating:

Already unlawful. If you are an unlawful non-citizen because your TPV or SHEV expired before 14 February 2023, an application for a RoS visa is also an application for a bridging visa.
Overseas at decision time. You must be in Australia when you apply, and a RoS applicant must be in Australia for the grant. If you are overseas when the visa is ready to be granted, you will be contacted and asked to return within 28 days; if you do not return, the application may be refused.

What do I need ready before I open the online form?

In many cases the Department can decide the application on the information you provide at lodgement. In some cases it asks for more — identity being the most common reason — so it is in your interest to be thorough and truthful from the start.

Identity documents. Where the Department invites you to provide further information about your identity, you need original and translated documents, attached in ImmiAccount. These can include all pages of your current or expired passports (including the biodata page), your birth certificate, national identity card, driver's licence, proof of change of name where applicable, and any other documents supporting your identity, nationality or citizenship. Change of name can be shown with a marriage or divorce certificate, change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the relevant overseas authority, or documents showing other names you have been known by.

If you cannot provide them, you will get a chance to explain why and to show the reasonable steps you took to obtain them. Providing a bogus document, or false or misleading information about your identity, can lead to refusal. The Department may also ask for biometrics — a fingerprint scan and a digital photograph — if you have not provided them before.

Where your identity response leaves the Department with substantial concerns about a previous identity finding, it assesses whether you meet at least one of three criteria before granting: you would satisfy the criteria for a protection visa (including engaging Australia's protection obligations); there is a compelling or compassionate reason to grant the visa, such as family circumstances, health needs or a positive contribution to Australian society; or you are a member of the same family unit as someone who holds a RoS visa.

Character documents. Only if asked. You may be required to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 — and you should not arrange police certificates until the Department asks. You do not need to do this if you already provided it with your TPV or SHEV application.

Health. You may need to undergo health examinations, which the Department may waive if you already satisfied the health requirements for the grant of a TPV or SHEV. If examinations are required after lodgement, you are given a health identifier (HAP ID) and instructions on arranging them; visa medical examinations are carried out by Bupa Medical Visa Services.

Values statement. If you are 18 or over, you must have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet, and confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign or accept the Australian Values Statement.

Do I need to re-send what I already gave the Department?

No. It is not necessary to provide the claims, information or documents you already submitted as part of your previous TPV or SHEV application, and you do not need to ask the Department for copies of them. If you still want access to documents the Department holds about you, you can request them under the Privacy Act 1988.

How do I lodge the application in ImmiAccount?

The Department's online steps are short: log in or create an ImmiAccount, attach documents if required, and note the transaction reference number. The online form guides you through the questions and includes help text as you go; you can save at any page and return to it later.

Lodging online means you can check the status of your application, continue a saved application, attach documents, update personal details, and access a copy of your application at any time. When you finish, you reach a page prompting you to attach documents.

The form asks for basic information about you and any other applicant on the form — name, address, date of birth and contact details — plus questions on character and travel history. Complete it in full, including the Australian Values Statement and the declaration. If a migration agent completes the form for you, you must still read and understand everything in it before signing, including any statutory declaration you make.

Two practical points:

Email communication. The form asks whether you agree to the Department communicating with you by email. That is its preferred and fastest method; if you decline, information goes by post, which is slower and can make the application take longer to finalise. If you have already applied and want to switch, complete Form 1193 Communicating by email with the Department.
Cost. There is no visa application charge for the RoS visa. The Department does not charge a fee to fast-track a visa — if you are offered that service, it is a scam. Only registered migration agents and legal practitioners can charge for immigration assistance, and you can check registration with the Office of Migration Agents Regulatory Authority (OMARA).

Free legal assistance is available. It is not mandatory, but the Department encourages TPV and SHEV holders applying for a RoS visa to contact the specialist legal service provider in their state or territory, and the RoS visa factsheet lists those providers.

Can someone else deal with the Department for me?

Yes, with the right paperwork. Anyone can be appointed to receive documents on your behalf, but only some people can give immigration assistance — a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person.

To nominate someone to receive your correspondence, use Form 956A Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient.
To nominate someone to provide immigration assistance, use Form 956 Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person.

Upload the written notification or the completed form in ImmiAccount. The same two forms are used later if you no longer want someone to act for you.

What if ImmiAccount is unavailable — can I lodge on paper?

Online is the default, and it is the required method unless the Department has authorised you in writing to lodge a paper form and notified you of an application bar lift. Authorisation happens in limited circumstances, including a verified system issue with ImmiAccount.

If you hit trouble logging or submitting, the ImmiAccount front page carries information about planned and unplanned outages, and there is technical help for common issues and error messages. You may need to come back later to finish — but you still must apply before your current visa ceases. And if you have already been given a paper application form together with notification of an application bar lift, you can still apply online in ImmiAccount instead.

What happens after I submit?

The Department sends an acknowledgement letter when it receives your application. It does not give updates on processing status; instead, you check in ImmiAccount to see whether it needs more information from you, and applicants who lodged on paper must wait to be contacted.

You can provide more information in writing at any time until a decision is made. If you did not attach everything at lodgement, add it in ImmiAccount as soon as possible, or email it to the address given in your acknowledgement letter. If the Department asks you for information, you must respond by the set date — after that date it can decide on the material it already holds. If it receives information from another person that could form part of a decision to refuse, you will be given a chance to comment.

If you submitted a valid application, you may be able to get financial or other assistance from the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) program.

Which form covers which change?

Situation	Form or action	How it reaches the Department
Mistake in an answer you already gave	Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers	Upload in ImmiAccount
Child born after lodgement, before decision	Form 1022 Notification of change of circumstances, plus a clear colour copy of the birth certificate	Upload in ImmiAccount, or email the address in your acknowledgement letter
Change of name, phone, email, address or passport; change in marital or de facto status; pregnancy; birth of a child; a death in the family where that relative is an applicant; withdrawing the application	Notify the Department of the change in circumstances	Through the change-in-situation process, or as a written notification in ImmiAccount
Adding or removing help from a representative or recipient	Form 956 or Form 956A	Upload in ImmiAccount, or send to the office where you applied

A child born in Australia is automatically granted the same visa their parents hold at the time of birth. If either parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time of the birth, the child is an Australian citizen by birth, and an Australian citizenship certificate should be obtained and attached in ImmiAccount.

Can I travel while the application is decided?

TPV and SHEV holders who have made a valid application for another TPV, SHEV or RoS (including a converted RoS) remain holding their current visa indefinitely until a final decision is made on that later application, and they can continue travelling overseas, subject to requesting permission to travel. Remember the grant condition: you must be in Australia for the RoS visa to be granted.

What does the decision look like?

The Department tells you its decision in writing.

If it grants the visa, the grant notification letter sets out your visa grant number, the date of grant, and information on a range of topics including ImmiCards, living in Australia, the Translating and Interpreting Service, client service information, torture and trauma counselling services, and other government services. Keep a copy somewhere safe.

The RoS visa is permanent. You can stay indefinitely, and you become an Australian permanent resident on the day of grant — the same day counts as the start of your permanent residence for citizenship purposes. You can travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date of grant, after which re-entry requires a Resident Return visa (RRV). The visa also brings access to services such as Medicare and Centrelink, the ability to sponsor eligible family members for permanent residence through the family visa stream, and, where eligible, a path to citizenship and free English language classes. Your visa is digitally linked to your travel document or ImmiCard; you will not get a label in your travel document.

If it refuses the application, the letter explains why, sets out your review rights — including review rights with the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) — and gives the time limit for lodging a review application.

On timing, the Department states that it continues to actively process RoS applications. Some cases are more complex than others, and it may need additional information, including on identity; cooperating with those requests is what allows an application to move as quickly as it can. Reporting on the processing of the RoS caseload sits in the humanitarian program statistics published by the Department.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fee for the Resolution of Status (851) visa?

There is no cost and no visa application charge for the RoS visa. The Department does not charge a fee to fast-track a visa, so any offer of paid fast-tracking is a scam. Only registered migration agents and legal practitioners may charge for immigration assistance.

Can I apply for subclass 851 from outside Australia?

No — you must be in Australia when you apply. You must also be in Australia for the grant: if you are overseas when the visa is ready to be granted, you will be asked to return within 28 days, and failing to do so may result in refusal.

How do I check the progress of my 851 application?

The Department does not provide processing status updates. After lodgement you receive an acknowledgement letter, and you check ImmiAccount to see whether the Department needs more information from you; paper applicants must wait to be contacted.

Do I need to re-submit documents from my TPV or SHEV application?

No. The claims, information and documents you already provided with your TPV or SHEV application do not need to be given again, and you do not need to request copies from the Department. You can still request your documents under the Privacy Act 1988.

What should I do if I made a mistake on my application?

Tell the Department as soon as you can. The mechanism is Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers, which you upload through ImmiAccount if you applied online.

Can a child born after I lodged be included in my application?

Yes. A child born after you submit and before the decision is made is included in that application. Notify the Department as soon as possible using Form 1022 and attach a clear colour copy of the child's original birth certificate.

Can I apply on paper instead of ImmiAccount?

Only in limited circumstances. Paper lodgement is available where the Department has authorised it and notified you in writing of an application bar lift, including where there is a verified ImmiAccount system issue. If you already hold a paper form and a bar lift notification, you can still apply online.