Can a Permanent Partner Visa 801 or 100 Be Cancelled After Divorce or Separation?

A divorce or separation after a Subclass 801 or Subclass 100 Partner Visa has already been granted does not automatically cancel the permanent visa. The 801 and 100 are permanent visas. They are different from a pending 820/801 or 309/100 application where the relationship normally still needs to satisfy the Partner Visa criteria at decision time.

This distinction is important because many permanent residents wrongly believe a former sponsor can simply contact Home Affairs and “cancel” their already-granted permanent Partner Visa.

Can the former sponsor cancel your 801 or 100 visa?

No sponsor has a private power to cancel an Australian visa. Home Affairs makes visa cancellation decisions under the Migration Act. A sponsor can withdraw sponsorship before the permanent Partner Visa application is decided, but once the 801 or 100 is granted the visa holder is an Australian permanent resident.

Does divorce itself cancel permanent residency?

No. A genuine relationship can later break down. Divorce or separation after a permanent Partner Visa grant is not the same thing as proving that the relationship was not genuine when the visa was granted.

When could a permanent Partner Visa still be at risk?

Permanent visas remain subject to Australia’s general visa cancellation laws. Home Affairs says visas may be cancelled in circumstances including false or fraudulent information, fake documents, character problems, criminal conduct and other statutory grounds.

If Home Affairs receives evidence suggesting that the relationship was fabricated or that material facts were deliberately misrepresented during the Partner Visa process, that is a different issue from a genuine relationship simply ending after permanent residence was granted.

What if the relationship ended before the 801 or 100 was granted?

That is legally different. If the relationship ends while the permanent Partner Visa is still pending, the applicant normally needs to notify Home Affairs. Depending on the facts, the application may still continue under provisions involving domestic and family violence, death of the sponsor, or a child of the relationship with shared access and parental responsibility.

What if the sponsor claims the relationship was never genuine?

A former sponsor can provide information to Home Affairs, but an allegation does not automatically cancel a permanent visa. If the Department considers cancellation, procedural fairness and the applicable statutory cancellation powers become important. The visa holder should obtain legal advice immediately before responding to any Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation.

Case example

A couple separated 18 months after the applicant’s Subclass 801 was granted. The former sponsor told the applicant that the sponsor would “cancel the visa”. The separation itself did not cancel permanent residence. The critical distinction was that the 801 had already been granted. If Home Affairs ever raised a separate concern about fraud, false information or character, that would need to be dealt with under the visa cancellation framework.

801 and 100 holders should remember

• The 801 and 100 are permanent visas.
• A former partner does not personally control visa cancellation.
• A genuine later divorce is not automatically evidence of migration fraud.
• General cancellation powers can still apply to permanent visas.
• A cancellation notice should never be ignored.

Home Affairs confirms that the Subclass 801 and Subclass 100 are permanent visas. See also the Department’s visa cancellation guidance.

General information only. A person who receives a cancellation notice or character notice should obtain advice urgently because response periods can be short.