My 309 Is Stuck While Onshore Applicants Go First: Should I Withdraw and Apply for an 820?
You lodged the 309 months ago, maybe longer. Then Direction 117 arrived in July and now couples who applied after you, from inside Australia, are being decided first. The obvious move is to give up on the offshore queue, get to Australia somehow, and lodge an 820 here. Stop before you do that, because the main reason people think they have to choose is out of date.
Until Late 2023, a Subclass 309 Could Only Be Granted While You Were Outside Australia. That Requirement Was Removed.
If you came to Australia to be with your partner, you had to leave again before the visa could be granted, which meant either sitting overseas for years or flying out on short notice. That was the rule that made the offshore route feel like a trap.
The change applies to visas granted on or after 24 November 2023, including applications that were already lodged. A 309 can now be granted while you are lawfully in Australia.
The decision is not really withdraw versus wait. It is wait here versus wait there.
You can often get most of what you want without withdrawing anything. Come to Australia on a visitor visa, be with your partner, and stay in the offshore queue. The 309 can be granted while you are here. You keep the fee you already paid, you keep the time you have already waited, and you do not restart anything.
A Warning About Sources
A lot of migration pages still state the old rule flatly, including firm pages that look authoritative. Some say a 309 applicant must be outside Australia when the visa is granted, full stop, with no mention of the change. If a page tells you that and carries no date, treat it as written before late 2023 and check it elsewhere.
Weighing a 309 Withdrawal Against an 820 Lodgement? A Confidential Review Settles It Before You Lose a Fee You Will Not Get Back.
Whether the 2023 location change applies to your specific position, whether a visitor visa is realistic in your case, and whether the long term relationship concession could collapse your whole timeline, all turn on your specifics. A partner visa specialist can confirm the position before anything is withdrawn.
What Direction 117 Actually Did
Ministerial Direction 117 commenced on 25 July 2026 and sets the order in which family visa applications are considered. It does not change who qualifies. It changes who waits longer.
The order it sets runs roughly like this.
| Priority | Category |
|---|---|
| 1 | Applications where the Minister has substituted an Administrative Review Tribunal decision |
| 2 | Partner and child visas |
| 3 | Orphan relative applications |
| 4 | Contributory parent visas |
| 5 | Carer visas |
| 6 | Parent, aged parent, remaining relative and aged dependent relative visas |
Within the partner category, the rule that matters to you is that applicants who were in Australia at the time of application are prioritised over applicants who were offshore. The 820 and the 309 sit in the same tier. Location is the tiebreaker, and it now breaks against you.
Three Things the Direction Does Not Do
- It does not stop offshore applications being processed. They are still being decided. They are waiting longer.
- It does not change any eligibility requirement. Nothing about your relationship evidence or your sponsor changes.
- It does not make the 309 a dead end, because the Direction is about processing order and the 2023 location change already solved the problem the offshore route used to have.
The Compassionate Carve Out
Commentary on the Direction notes that cases may be prioritised individually where there are compelling reasons to depart from the usual order. That is case by case and not something to count on, but if your circumstances are genuinely exceptional it is worth raising with a lawyer rather than assuming the queue is fixed.
The Two Real Options, Side by Side
Here is the comparison nobody is laying out, because most pages are written to sell one of the two.
For most couples who lodged the 309 more than six months ago, Option A wins on arithmetic alone. You are weighing a known cost, the fee and the years already waited, against an unknown gain, a priority position in a queue you would be joining at the end of.
Several Sources Report the Primary Applicant Charge at $11,710 From 1 July 2026.
It is generally not refundable, including on withdrawal. So withdrawing a 309 and lodging an 820 means paying that charge a second time, with nothing back from the first.
You also cannot carry anything across. The two pathways are legally distinct and there is no conversion mechanism. The 309 is withdrawn, the 820 is a fresh application, and the clock starts again. If your 309 was lodged two years ago, you are not trading a two year wait for a shorter one. You are throwing away the two years and starting a new wait.
The Point Most Often Missed
Onshore priority does not mean fast. It means ahead of offshore applicants. The 820 is still processed in months measured in the high teens at the median and well past two years at the slower end. Withdrawing a 309 that is already partway through, to join the back of a queue that still runs for years, is a decision worth running past a lawyer before you click anything.
If You Stay in the Queue: The Four Things That Can Go Wrong
Option A is usually better, but it is not risk free, and the risks are specific.
Getting the Visitor Visa Is Harder Than It Looks
A visitor visa is granted on the basis of a genuine temporary visit. Having a pending permanent partner application is visible to the decision maker and is a reason to look harder at whether you intend to leave. It is not a bar, and many partner applicants are granted visitor visas, but do not treat it as a formality. Commentary notes that applicants from countries assessed as higher risk can find this step difficult.Condition 8503 Can Change Everything
If the visitor visa you are granted carries condition 8503, no further stay, get advice before you travel. The condition is aimed at stopping you being granted a substantive visa while you remain in Australia. One migration law firm notes that an application made before the condition attached may still be able to be granted, which would matter here because your 309 was lodged first, but that is a technical question and the consequences of getting it wrong are severe. Our page on condition 8503 and the waiver test is at married on a visitor visa and the 820.An Offshore Application Gives You No Bridging Visa
This is the structural weakness of Option A. Lodging offshore creates no bridging visa, so your right to be here comes entirely from the visitor visa. When it expires you must have something else or leave. There is no automatic safety net the way there is after an onshore lodgement. If you let it lapse and become unlawful, that is not a neutral event. Unlawful presence can damage the partner application itself, and it puts you into Schedule 3 territory if you later want to lodge onshore. We cover that at Schedule 3 partner visa waiver.You Generally Cannot Work
Most visitor visas carry a no work condition. For a couple who need two incomes, this is often the single factor that decides the question, and it is a legitimate reason to choose Option B even though the arithmetic says otherwise. Be honest with yourself about whether you can afford eighteen months in Australia on one income.
If You Switch: The Four Things That Can Stop You
You Must Be in Australia and Lawful to Lodge the 820
That means getting here first and lodging before your visitor visa expires, not after.Condition 8503 Blocks It Outright Unless Waived
Marrying or being in a relationship is generally not accepted as a reason for a waiver. That is covered on the page linked above.Schedule 3 Applies if Your Visitor Visa Has Already Expired
The application becomes much harder.The Section 48 Bar if You Have Been Refused or Cancelled
If a visa has been refused or cancelled while you were in Australia, the section 48 bar comes into play. The 820 is one of the visas usually treated as an exception, so this is often survivable, but it is not automatic. Our page is at section 48 bar and onshore options.
There Is a Fifth, and It Catches People Months Later
If your visitor visa application did not disclose the relationship accurately, that can surface when the partner application is assessed. Raise it with a lawyer before lodging rather than after.
When Withdrawing Genuinely Is the Better Call
There are real cases for Option B, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest.
| Situation | Why Switching Makes Sense |
|---|---|
| The 309 was lodged recently | If you are only a few months in, you are not throwing away much time. The fee still hurts, but the calculation changes. |
| You need work rights now | A bridging visa with work rights is worth real money. If one income will not cover eighteen months, this can outweigh everything else. |
| You are already in Australia on a long term substantive visa | A student or work visa holder does not face the visitor visa risk at all. Lodging onshore is straightforward and there is no travel gamble. |
| Your relationship crosses the long term threshold | See the next section. In the right case this can collapse the whole timeline. |
| You cannot get a visitor visa | If Option A is not actually available to you, the comparison is moot. |
The Timing Concession That Can Beat Both Options
This is worth more than the entire onshore versus offshore question for some couples, and most cost calculators never mention it.
Three Years, or Two Years With a Dependent Child, Measured at the Date of Lodgement.
If, at the date the combined application is lodged, the relationship has lasted three years, or two years where there is a dependent child of the relationship, the usual two year wait for the permanent stage does not apply. The provisional and permanent visas can be granted together.
Because it is measured at the date of lodgement, a couple sitting just under the threshold can change their entire timeline by choosing when to lodge. If you are considering withdrawing the 309 and lodging an 820 anyway, and you are close to three years, the timing of that new lodgement is the most valuable decision in the whole process. Get advice on it rather than guessing.
Worth Knowing Separately
The two year point for the permanent stage runs from the date the combined application was lodged, not from the date the provisional visa was granted. People routinely add a year or more to their own expectations for no reason.
Where You Actually Stand
| Your Situation | The Likely Answer |
|---|---|
| 309 lodged over a year ago, you can get a visitor visa, one income is enough | Stay in the queue and wait here. Withdrawing costs you the fee and the time for a queue position you would be joining at the end of. |
| 309 lodged recently and you need to work | Switching is defensible. Run the numbers with a lawyer first. |
| Already in Australia on a student or work visa | Lodging the 820 is clean and low risk. This is the strongest case for switching. |
| Visitor visa offered with condition 8503 | Do not travel on an assumption. Get specific advice on whether your pending 309 can still be granted. |
| Relationship approaching three years | Timing matters more than the pathway. Do not lodge anything without advice on the concession. |
| Already in Australia and unlawful | Different problem, and urgent. Start with the Schedule 3 page and get help this week. |
For the current processing order and figures, our page is at 820 partner visa processing time. For the general requirements and how the two stages work, the main guide is at Australian partner visa: married, de facto or engaged.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Fee Is Not Refundable. The Time Is Not Transferable. Get a Straight Answer on Your Own Numbers Before You Click Anything.
Send us your lodgement date, where you are now, and what visa you hold or could get. We will tell you plainly whether withdrawing is worth it in your case. In most cases it is not, and we would rather say so than take the question further.
Written by
Founder and Editor, Aussie Migration Guide
Karan Rawat is the Founder and Editor of Aussie Migration Guide. With nearly 4 years of experience in SEO and digital content, including work with Australian migration law clients, he specialises in turning complex Australian visa rules, fees and eligibility criteria into clear, practical guides. Every article is checked against current official sources such as the Department of Home Affairs before it goes live. Karan is not a registered migration agent, and the content on this site is general information, not migration advice.