Budgeting for the 300-to-820 Route in 2026: Two Visa Fees and When the Second Is Cheaper
Moving from subclass 300 to a Partner visa means two application charges. See when the second costs less, and what else to budget for.
Yes — the route from a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) to a Partner visa involves two separate government application charges, and the second one is reduced if you marry your prospective spouse and lodge the Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) before your subclass 300 ceases. That cost structure is set out by the Department of Home Affairs on its official Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) page, as at the July 2026 version of that page. The practical budgeting consequence is simple: the discount on the second charge is tied to a deadline, not to a discount code, and missing it costs real money.
Do you really pay two charges on the 300-to-820 route?
Yes. The subclass 300 is a temporary visa with its own visa application charge, payable at the point you lodge offshore. It is not a deposit toward the Partner visa, and it is not credited against anything later.
The department's page also states plainly that you will have to pay a fee for your Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801). So a couple budgeting across the full route should plan for two distinct lodgement payments rather than one upfront cost that carries them through to permanent residence.
What does the second charge actually buy?
The second charge attaches to the onshore Partner visa, which the department lists as subclasses 820 and 801 — the temporary stage and the permanent stage of the same onshore partner application. The official guidance directs you to apply after you are married and before your subclass 300 ends.
Because the page refers to "a fee for your Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801)" as a single item, the useful way to read it for budgeting purposes is one further application charge at that point, rather than one charge for 820 and another later charge for 801. Confirm the current treatment against the department's own published pricing before you rely on it.
When exactly is the second one cheaper?
Two conditions must both be met, and they sit together in the department's wording: you marry your prospective spouse, and you apply for the Partner visa before your Prospective Marriage visa ends.
Some supporting detail worth knowing while you plan:
- The marriage can take place in any country, but it must be valid under Australian law.
- You must enter Australia on the subclass 300 before the date specified in your grant letter.
- You must have married before the subclass 300 expires.
So the cheaper second charge is not automatic. It is the result of sequencing: enter Australia, marry within the visa window, then lodge the Partner visa application before that window closes.
Where does the deadline actually come from?
From your grant letter, not from your arrival date. The subclass 300 is a temporary visa that lets you live, work and study in Australia for 9 to 15 months from the visa grant date, with the exact period specified on the grant letter. That means the clock can run while you are still making travel arrangements, and couples who arrive late in the window have less time than they expect.
If you are outside Australia when the visa is granted, the grant letter also carries a first entry arrival date, and you must enter Australia before it. Practical budgeting advice follows from this: treat the grant date as the start of your planning timeline, and work backwards from the visa end date when you book anything that affects the marriage or the Partner visa lodgement.
What sits outside the two visa fees?
A fair amount. The department notes that beyond the visa application charge you might have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. These are real line items with their own providers and their own price lists, and none of them appear inside a visa charge.
Family members add cost as well. The department charges a fee for each family member who applies with you, and family members included in the application must be members of the family unit, meet the health and character requirements, and be outside Australia when they apply. You can add a dependent child after you lodge but before the department decides the temporary visa.
Health cover is the remaining item. The department recommends taking out health insurance for the period you are in Australia, warning that otherwise you are personally liable for the costs of any medical treatment you receive. Some countries have reciprocal healthcare agreements with Australia, which is worth checking separately.
What if the people involved hold Pacific Island or Timor-Leste passports?
From 1 July 2026, the official page carries a lower visa cost for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. The heading on the page describes this as a cost concession for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste partner visa applicants.
The mechanics set out are these:
- The lower cost is charged during the application process in ImmiAccount.
- Eligibility is recognised through a valid passport from one of the specified countries.
- Family members are also eligible, and that eligibility is based on the passport of the primary applicant — described as the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria.
- The application must be valid for the lower cost to apply.
The countries listed on the page are:
| Country | Country |
|---|---|
| Federated States of Micronesia | Republic of the Marshall Islands |
| Fiji | Samoa |
| Kiribati | Solomon Islands |
| Nauru | Timor-Leste |
| Palau | Tonga |
| Papua New Guinea | Tuvalu |
| Vanuatu |
Note the two limits in that list of mechanics: it turns on the passport, and it turns on the primary applicant. A family member holding a different passport is not assessed on their own nationality for this purpose.
How would this look across a full timeline?
Take a clearly hypothetical applicant to show how the pieces fit. Assume the applicant is granted a subclass 300 with a 12-month validity period, enters Australia two months after grant, and marries at month eight. On those facts, the Partner visa application can still be lodged before the visa ceases, so the reduced second charge applies. Assume instead that the couple marries at month eleven and takes another six weeks to collect documents: the visa may already have ceased before lodgement, and the discount no longer applies.
Nothing in the published material quantifies the size of the reduction, so the size of that loss cannot be stated here. What can be said is that the reduction is conditioned on timing, and the timing is set at grant, so it is worth mapping early. Planning assumptions like these are general information rather than advice about any individual case; charges, concessions and eligibility criteria are revised from time to time, so the department's current published pricing and requirements — or advice from a registered professional about your own circumstances — should be treated as authoritative.
How do you find out the actual amounts?
Use the department's Visa pricing estimator, which is the tool the official page points applicants to for working out the charge for their circumstances, including adding family members.
Two cautions come directly from the page:
- The estimator does not take into account the costs of health checks, police certificates or biometrics, so it answers only part of your budget question.
- The department cannot process your application if you do not pay the correct visa application charge, so an underpayment is a processing problem, not a minor administrative one.
The page also notes that concessions apply in limited circumstances for the main applicant, so it is worth checking whether any concession is shown for your circumstances at the time you price your application rather than assuming the headline amount applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Partner visa fee included in what I pay for subclass 300?
No. The subclass 300 has its own visa application charge, and the Department of Home Affairs' official Prospective Marriage visa page states separately that you will have to pay a fee for the Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801). Budget for two distinct government charges across the route.
What makes the second visa cheaper?
Marrying your prospective spouse and lodging the Partner visa application before your Prospective Marriage visa ends. Both limbs matter: the marriage must have taken place, and the application must be lodged while the subclass 300 is still in effect. The reduction is a timing condition, and nothing in the published material ties it to how long you have known your partner or to any other factor.
Can I marry outside Australia and still qualify?
Yes. The department's guidance says you can get married in any country, provided the marriage is valid under Australian law. What matters for the cost outcome is that the marriage happens and the Partner visa is lodged before the subclass 300 ceases, not where the ceremony takes place.
Do family members add to the cost?
Yes. There is a fee for each family member who applies with you, and those family members must be outside Australia, be members of the family unit, and meet the health and character requirements. Health checks, police certificates and biometrics for family members sit on top of that, as they do for the main applicant.
Can I add a child after I lodge the subclass 300?
Yes, according to the department's page, you can add a dependent child after you lodge your application but before it is decided. The same extra-charge logic that applies to family members included at lodgement would need to be priced at that point using the department's Visa pricing estimator.
Do Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants get the lower cost automatically?
The lower cost applies from 1 July 2026 to eligible citizens who lodge a valid application, and eligibility is recognised when they apply with a valid passport from one of the listed countries. The lower cost is charged during the application process in ImmiAccount, and family members' eligibility is based on the primary applicant's passport.
Does the Visa pricing estimator cover every cost in my budget?
No. The department states that the estimator does not include the costs of health checks, police certificates or biometrics. Treat it as the answer to the visa charge question only, and budget separately for those other items, plus health insurance for your time in Australia.