Australian Partner Visa from the Philippines: Cost and the 309/100 vs 820/801 Choice

If you are a Filipino marrying or partnering with an Australian, there is one number that tends to stop couples in their tracks: AUD 9,365. That is the base government charge for an Australian partner visa, and it makes it the most expensive standard visa in the entire family stream. For a couple budgeting in pesos, that single line item can feel like a wall before you have even started the paperwork.

The good news is that the number is more understandable than it looks once you see what it actually buys. This guide breaks down exactly where the AUD 9,365 goes, why you do not pay it twice, the real difference between applying offshore (309/100) and onshore (820/801), and the on-the-ground Philippine costs - NBI clearance, PSA documents, health checks - that the headline fee does not cover.

The single combined AUD 9,365 charge

The Australian partner visa is built in two stages. First you are granted a temporary (provisional) partner visa; then, after a waiting period and a second assessment of your relationship, you progress to the permanent partner visa. What surprises many Filipino-Australian couples is that the AUD 9,365 base visa application charge is paid only once, at the start, and it covers both stages.

To put the size of it in perspective, this is far more than most other Australian visas a Filipino might apply for - a primary student visa is AUD 2,000, and a skilled visa is AUD 4,910. The partner visa sits in a class of its own. The fee reflects the fact that you are buying a path to permanent residency for a family member, and that the Department assesses your relationship twice across several years.

If your partner is bringing dependants, the cost climbs. Each additional applicant aged 18 or over adds AUD 4,685, and each applicant under 18 adds AUD 2,345. So a partner applying with one teenage child from a previous relationship is looking at AUD 9,365 plus AUD 2,345 in government charges alone, before any third-party costs.

Why there's no separate fee for the permanent stage

This is the part that genuinely works in your favour. When your temporary partner visa is later assessed for the permanent grant - the 100 (offshore) or 801 (onshore) - there is no second government charge. The AUD 9,365 you paid at the provisional stage carries you all the way through to permanent residency, assuming your relationship continues to meet the requirements.

That single-payment structure is why budgeting the partner visa is actually simpler than budgeting something like the contributory parent visa, which is paid in two large instalments. With the partner visa, the big government number is paid once, up front. The only situation where a reduced second-stage charge applies is a narrow one - for example, a couple moving across from a Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa - which is a different pathway with its own rules.

So when you see "AUD 9,365" quoted, treat it as the cost of the whole partner journey from the government's side, not a deposit. The expense you still need to plan for is everything around that fee - and for Filipino applicants, that is where the real budgeting work lives.

Offshore 309/100 vs onshore 820/801

The base charge is identical whether you apply offshore or onshore - so the choice between them is not about price. It is about where you are when you lodge and what you are allowed to do while you wait.

• Offshore - subclass 309 (then 100): You lodge from outside Australia, typically while you are still in the Philippines. You must be offshore when the temporary 309 is granted, after which you can travel to Australia and live there while waiting for the permanent 100.
• Onshore - subclass 820 (then 801): You lodge while you are lawfully in Australia (for example, on a visitor or other valid visa). The temporary 820 generally lets you stay, work and study in Australia while it is being decided, which is a major practical advantage for couples already together in Australia.

On processing, the two pathways behave differently and the figures are estimates, not promises. Offshore subclass 309 is estimated at around 50% of applications decided within roughly 14 months and 90% within roughly 24-26 months. Onshore subclass 820 timeframes are harder to pin down - some 2026 trackers cite figures in a similar range, while others put the bulk of cases closer to 24-31 months. Because these move constantly, always check the live Home Affairs processing-times tool for the current published estimate rather than relying on any single number.

Real all-in costs (health checks, NBI, PSA documents, translations)

The AUD 9,365 is only the government's visa application charge. For a Filipino applicant, a realistic budget also has to absorb the third-party costs that come with proving your identity, character and health. None of these go to Home Affairs - but every one of them is non-negotiable.

• NBI Clearance and police checks. You will need an NBI Clearance covering the Philippines. If you have spent 12 months or more in Australia within the last 10 years, you also need an AFP National Police Check (name-based AUD 56, or AUD 113 with fingerprints). Home Affairs requires a police certificate from every country you have lived in for 12+ months in the past decade, and these are generally valid for about 12 months.
• PSA documents and DFA Apostille. Your civil documents - PSA birth certificate, marriage certificate, and CENOMAR where relevant - must be PSA-issued and authenticated for overseas use via DFA Apostille. From 16 March 2026, the DFA issues only electronic Apostilles (e-Apostilles) for PSA eCertificates to Apostille-Convention countries, and Australia is a member. Confirm whether the office handling your file accepts the e-Apostille or still wants paper.
• Panel health examinations. Offshore applicants in the Philippines must be examined by a Department-approved panel clinic. These exams carry their own clinic fees, separate from the visa charge.
• Translations and certification. Documents not in English need accredited translation, and you may need certified copies - small individual costs that add up across a full application.

Two more things to keep in your spreadsheet: Australian visa charges are indexed and re-set every 1 July, so the AUD 9,365 figure should be re-verified on the official pricing estimator before you lodge, and card payments on a non-Australian card typically attract a surcharge of around 1.4%.

Processing-time expectations

Here is the honest framing every couple deserves: a partner visa is a long process, and no agent or consultant can guarantee a timeframe. The published estimates above - roughly 14 months for half of offshore 309 cases, with the slower tail stretching well past two years - are the Department's own indicative figures, and they shift as caseloads and policy change.

What actually moves your application along is the quality and completeness of what you lodge. A strong partner application evidences a genuine, continuing relationship across four broad areas - financial, household, social, and the nature of your commitment - with documents that line up cleanly. Gaps, thin evidence, or missing PSA or police documents are what cause the avoidable delays, and those are exactly the things a careful application avoids from day one.

Because the fee is large, the timeline is long, and the consequences of getting it wrong are real, this is a visa where structure matters. Budget the AUD 9,365 and the surrounding Philippine costs early, gather your PSA and NBI documents before they expire, and build your relationship evidence steadily rather than scrambling at the end.