Australia partner visa for Thai nationals

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What this visa is

The Australian partner visa allows the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen to live in Australia permanently. It is a two-stage process: the applicant is first granted a temporary visa, then assessed for permanent residence roughly two years later.

Applications can be made from outside Australia, which is the offshore subclass 309 leading to subclass 100, or from within Australia on a valid visa, which is the onshore subclass 820 leading to subclass 801. Engaged couples who intend to marry in Australia use the prospective marriage subclass 300 instead.

This guide covers the process for Thai nationals joining a partner who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Thailand is one of the larger sources of partner migration to Australia, and most Thai applications turn on two things: whether the relationship is properly documented, and whether the Thai civil records have been translated and legalised in the right order.

Who can apply

You can apply if you are the spouse or de facto partner of your sponsor:

Legally married, with the marriage recognised under Australian law
In a de facto relationship that has run for at least twelve months immediately before applying, unless the relationship is registered in an Australian state or territory that allows it, or compelling circumstances apply

You must be aged 18 or over, the relationship must be genuine and continuing, and you must have met in person.

Your marriage must be registered at the amphur

A Buddhist ceremony, a village celebration, or any religious or traditional ceremony does not create a legal marriage in Thailand. Only registration before the registrar at a district office, the amphur, does.

This matters more here than it does for some destinations, because couples who assume they are married often discover at the document stage that they are not. If your relationship was never registered, you are not disqualified: you apply as de facto partners instead and evidence twelve months of living together. Many Thai and Australian couples do exactly that, and it is a perfectly normal application.

If you married outside Thailand, you can record the foreign marriage at the district office, which produces a Kor Ror 22. That is useful for keeping your Thai records straight but is not something Home Affairs requires.

Who can sponsor

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen, aged 18 or over. They complete a separate sponsorship application, and sponsorship must be approved for the visa to be granted.

Sponsorship limits apply. A person can generally sponsor only twice in a lifetime, with at least five years between applications, and a sponsor who was themselves granted a partner visa faces a further wait. Sponsors also undergo character checks, and where there are relevant convictions the department may disclose them to the applicant.

Financial requirement

There is no minimum income requirement for the sponsor. This is a real difference from the UK route and often the reason Thai and Australian couples choose it. The assessment focuses on the genuineness and continuing nature of the relationship rather than on the sponsor’s earnings.

Proving your relationship

Home Affairs assesses four aspects, and Thai applications are usually won or lost here rather than on eligibility.

Financial aspects: joint accounts, shared assets, evidence of pooled money, remittance records where one partner has been supporting the other.

Nature of the household: a shared address, domestic arrangements, and where you have lived together in Thailand, the house registration and rental agreements that show it.

Social aspects: photographs across the whole span of the relationship rather than one holiday, evidence that both families know about the relationship, attendance at family events such as a sin sod ceremony or a wedding celebration even where that ceremony was not the legal marriage.

Commitment: message and call history, flight records and passport stamps showing visits in both directions, and plans for the future.

Statements from people who know you as a couple carry weight. Australian citizen or permanent resident witnesses complete Form 888.

Health requirement

All applicants must undergo a health examination with an approved panel physician. Panel clinics for Australian visas are located in Bangkok. Use the Home Affairs panel physician locator through ImmiAccount to find and book an approved clinic, and book early, since demand is high and appointment lead times can run to weeks.

Results are submitted electronically. Where processing runs long, a repeat examination may be requested.

Police clearance

Thai nationals need a police clearance certificate issued by the Special Branch of the Royal Thai Police. Applications go through the Police Clearance Service Centre, Building 24, Royal Thai Police, Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330. Applicants outside Bangkok can start the process online or through the provincial arrangements the centre publishes, but the certificate itself is issued centrally.

You also need a police certificate from every other country you have lived in for twelve months or more since turning 16, which catches Thai applicants who have worked in Japan, South Korea, Israel, Taiwan or the Gulf.

Thai documents, translation and legalisation

Thai civil documents are issued in Thai and must be provided in English. The order is translation by a recognised translator, then legalisation by the Legalisation Division of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is a physical process and the queues vary, so start it early.

The documents that matter:

Kor Ror 2, the marriage registration record held by the district office, which carries the fullest detail
Kor Ror 3, the marriage certificate issued to the couple
Kor Ror 6 and Kor Ror 7, the divorce registration record and divorce certificate, if either party was previously married
Tabien Baan, the house registration book, and your Thai national ID card, which are also useful cohabitation evidence for a de facto application
The district office record of any change of name, where a surname changed on marriage and your passport, ID card and Tabien Baan no longer match

On apostilles: Thailand acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention on 30 June 2026, and it enters into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027. Until then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation chain is what applies. Check the position at the time you lodge if your application falls near that date.

Documents needed

Sponsor’s documents:
– Proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residence
– Completed sponsorship application, Form 40SP
– Identity and character documents, including Australian police checks where requested

Applicant’s documents:
– Valid Thai passport
– Kor Ror 2 and Kor Ror 3, translated and legalised, for married couples
– Thai national ID card and Tabien Baan
– Health examination results
– Royal Thai Police clearance certificate
– Relationship evidence as described above
– Form 888 statements from witnesses

If previously married:
– Kor Ror 6 and Kor Ror 7, or a foreign divorce decree with certified translation, or a death certificate

How to apply

Applications are submitted online through ImmiAccount. The sponsor and the applicant each complete their own sections, and the sponsorship application is normally lodged alongside the visa application.

For offshore applications, the 309 and 100 pair, you must be outside Australia when you apply and can be inside or outside Australia when the temporary visa is decided. Once the 309 is granted you travel to Australia, and the permanent 100 is assessed roughly two years after lodgement.

For onshore applications, the 820 and 801 pair, you must be in Australia holding a valid visa when you apply. Thai nationals are not eligible for an Electronic Travel Authority, so an onshore application requires a substantive visa obtained beforehand, most commonly a visitor visa, and you must check the conditions on it before relying on this route.

Costs and processing times

Government application charge: AUD $11,710 for the primary applicant, covering both stages of the partner visa. This rose from AUD $9,365 on 1 July 2026, so older figures you find online are out of date.

Additional costs include the health examination, the police clearance, translation and legalisation of Thai documents, and a migration agent if you use one.

Processing times vary widely and are not published as a single number. Use the Home Affairs visa processing time guide before you apply, and note that applications are processed according to the ministerial direction that sets family visa priorities, so a queue position is not simply first in, first out.

After approval

Once the temporary visa is granted, you can live, work and study in Australia, travel in and out freely, and apply for Medicare. Free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program are available to eligible applicants, which is worth knowing for Thai applicants who arrive with limited English, since there is no English test to pass for the visa itself.

After roughly two years from lodgement, Home Affairs reassesses the relationship before granting the permanent visa. As a permanent resident you can live and work anywhere in Australia, and after four years of lawful residence, including at least twelve months as a permanent resident, you may be eligible to apply for citizenship.

FAQs

We had a ceremony in Thailand but never went to the amphur. Can I still apply?

Yes, but as a de facto partner rather than a spouse. You will need to show at least twelve months of living together, which is where the Tabien Baan, rental agreements, joint bills and photographs of daily life become the core of your application.

Is there an English test for the partner visa?

No. There is no English requirement for the partner visa itself. Free English classes are available after arrival for eligible visa holders.

Does my sponsor need to earn a minimum amount?

No. Australia has no minimum income threshold for partner sponsorship. The department is assessing the relationship, not the sponsor’s salary.

Which marriage document should I submit?

Both the Kor Ror 2 and the Kor Ror 3, translated into English and legalised by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Kor Ror 2 is the fuller registration record.

Can I work on the temporary visa?

Yes. Both the offshore 309 and the onshore 820 carry full work rights once granted.

What if the relationship breaks down before the permanent visa?

You must tell Home Affairs. The permanent visa is generally not granted, with limited exceptions including family violence and where there is a child of the relationship.

Is there a right of review if I am refused?

Yes. Partner visa refusals can generally be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal, which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in October 2024. Time limits for lodging a review are short and strictly applied.

Do my documents need an apostille?

Not yet. Thailand joins the Apostille Convention on 28 February 2027. Until then, translation followed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation is the correct route.