Applications · Change of circumstances
Updating your details after a change: which form, how, and by when
A visa application is decided on facts, and a visa is held on conditions, and both assume the Department knows where you are and what has changed. A renewed passport, a new address, a new relationship or the end of one, a child, a new employer, a changed course: each is a change the Department expects to be told about, some within days, and each has a way of being told. This guide sets out which changes must be reported, how, by when, and what happens when they are not.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Online
- ImmiAccount, update details
- Paper
- Form 1022, changes in circumstances
- Address and contact
- 14 days under condition 8578
- Students
- 7 days to the provider, 8533
- Sponsors
- 28 days for employment changes
- Not reported
- Missed deadlines; PIC 4020 exposure
The migration agent that other migration agents learn from. WIDEN is an OMARA-approved CPD provider — our training is rated ★4.8 by 40+ registered migration agents.
About the CPD →MARN 1576536
Why it matters
Three consequences follow from a change the Department does not know about. Correspondence goes to the last address or email on file and is deemed received, so a request for more information, a natural justice letter or a notice of intention to cancel can run its deadline unseen. A pending application is decided on the facts as lodged, and an applicant who knew those facts had changed and did not say so has made a false or misleading statement, which is a refusal ground under PIC 4020. And after grant, most temporary visas carry a condition that requires notification within a set time, so not updating is itself a breach. None of these is cured by saying later that you did not know.
How to notify
- ImmiAccount. For an application lodged online, open it and use update details: there are separate functions for a change of address, a change of passport, and a notification of changes in circumstances, with uploads for evidence. For a visa already granted, the same functions are available against the granted application.
- Form 1022, Notification of changes in circumstances. The paper form for any change that affects the answers given in an application or the basis of a visa: relationship, family composition, employment, criminal history, health, intentions. It is uploaded in ImmiAccount or sent to the processing office where online lodgement is not available.
- The Department's online update forms. For address and passport changes on applications not lodged online, the Department provides web forms; Form 929 is the older paper equivalent and is still accepted where listed.
- Through your agent. Where a registered agent or authorised recipient is on the file, the Department corresponds with them, and the notification goes through them.
Keep the acknowledgement. The date the Department received the notification is the date that matters for every condition on this page.
Passport
A visa is recorded against a passport number. A renewed or replacement passport must be notified so that the visa is linked to it: airlines check VEVO against the passport presented, and a visa on an old passport number means a refused boarding or a secondary examination on arrival. Notify with a scan of the new biodata page and, for a change of name, the marriage certificate or change-of-name document. The visa is not re-issued and its conditions and expiry do not change; the record is updated, and VEVO then shows the visa against the new passport. Do this before travel, not at the airport.
Address and contact details
Most temporary visas granted since 2017 carry condition 8578: notify the Department within 14 days of a change of residential address, email, phone number, passport, or, where the visa was granted on the basis of employment, employer. Students also carry 8533, requiring the education provider to be told the address within seven days of arrival and any change within seven days. Bridging Visa E holders commonly carry 8506, two working days before moving. Permanent residents and most permanent visa holders have no condition, but an application in progress, a citizenship application or a sponsorship is corresponded with at the address on file, and an out-of-date one costs deadlines.
Relationship
A marriage, a new de facto relationship, a separation or a divorce is a change in circumstances and is notified with the date and the evidence. What it means depends on the visa. On a pending partner application, a separation is the end of the basis of the application unless the family violence, death of sponsor or child-of-the-relationship provisions apply, and advice before notifying decides which; the family violence guide covers the first. On a pending skilled or employer-sponsored application, a new partner can be added as a secondary applicant before decision and a separated partner removed. After grant, a new partner is added through a subsequent entrant application, set out in adding a partner after grant. A separation after grant of a temporary visa does not end the visa, but a dependant's visa is tied to the primary holder's and the dependant may need their own route.
Children and family members
A child born after an application is lodged is added to it on notification with the birth certificate, and a child born after a permanent visa is granted to a parent in Australia is usually a citizen or permanent resident by birth, depending on the parents' status. A child born overseas to a temporary visa holder needs a visa of their own. A family member who was included and who will not now migrate is withdrawn, and a dependant who marries or turns 23 may cease to meet the definition of a member of the family unit, which is a change the Department must be told about and which can decide the application.
Employment
For a sponsored worker, a change of employer, a change of position, a reduction in hours or salary, a period of unpaid leave and the end of employment are all changes the sponsor must report within 28 days and that you should notify under 8578 and on Form 1022 where the visa was granted on the employment. The employer's obligations are in sponsorship obligations and monitoring; your position after the job ends is in the 180-day guide. For a points-tested applicant, a change of employment during processing does not affect the points claimed as at invitation, but it is still notified, because the Department verifies employment at decision and an unexplained gap reads as an inconsistency.
Study
A student who changes course, provider or level of study notifies the provider and, where the change is to a different provider or a lower level, the Department, because condition 8202 and the Genuine Student requirement both turn on the course the visa was granted for. A change to a lower level without approval is a breach; a change of provider is reported through the provider's confirmation of enrolment system and should be confirmed in ImmiAccount. A deferral or suspension of study is also a change the Department expects to know about, with the provider's documentation.
Agents and authorised recipients
Where an agent or authorised recipient is appointed, the Department sends correspondence to them and treats it as received by you. If you end the engagement, lodge the form that removes them, or the next letter goes to a person who no longer acts for you. If you appoint a new agent, the appointment form carries your new contact details as well. A surprising share of missed deadlines is a letter sent to a former agent's inbox.
Book a consultation — $330 inc. GST, credited
General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. Conditions 8506, 8533 and 8578, Schedule 8 of the Migration Regulations 1994; sponsor obligations in Division 2.19; forms as listed by the Department of Home Affairs at the date above. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each application; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
Not sure which visa fits you?
Answer three questions. An automated guide points you to the route that usually applies. General information only.
Ask Keshab a question — it costs nothing
Tell Keshab your situation and your question. Keshab reads it personally and replies within a business day. Asking costs nothing. Advice on your own case is the paid consultation.
Ready now? Skip the form. Pick a time and talk to Keshab directly — your documents on the table, a straight answer, and a written summary afterwards. $330 inc. GST, credited toward your fee if you engage.
Pick a time — no enquiry needed →Questions we get asked first
I renewed my passport. Does my visa move to the new one?
The visa is linked to the passport number it was granted against, so until the Department records the new passport you may be refused boarding or questioned at the border. Update it in ImmiAccount under update details, or on the Department's online passport update form where the application was not lodged online, with a scan of the new passport's biodata page. The visa itself is not re-issued; the record is updated.
I moved house. Do I have to tell the Department?
If you hold a temporary visa granted since 2017 you almost certainly hold condition 8578, which requires notification within 14 days of a change of address, email, phone or passport. Students also tell their provider within seven days under 8533. A permanent resident has no condition but should update so that correspondence arrives; a pending application must be kept current or the decision goes to the old address.
I have a new partner, or my relationship ended. What do I lodge?
A change in relationship status is a change in circumstances that can affect the application or the visa: it is notified on Form 1022, or in ImmiAccount against a pending application, with the date and the evidence. For a partner visa applicant the consequences depend on the stage and the reason, and the family violence provisions may apply; get advice before the notification, not after.
My employer changed. Is that a change of circumstances?
For a sponsored worker, yes, and it is also a matter for the sponsor, who must notify the Department within 28 days of your employment ending. You notify under 8578 and, where the visa was granted on the basis of the employment, on Form 1022. The new employer must have its nomination approved before you work for it in the nominated occupation; the 180-day rule governs the gap.
What happens if I do not update?
Two things. Correspondence goes to the old address or email and is taken to have been received, so a request for information or a notice of intention to cancel can run its deadline without you seeing it. And an application decided on facts that have changed, where you knew and said nothing, is an application containing false or misleading information, which is a refusal ground under PIC 4020 and a cancellation ground after grant.
What does the consultation cost?
A$330 inc. GST for 30 minutes by video with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536), credited in full if you engage WIDEN. Most updates need no agent; the ones that do are relationship changes on a partner file and employment changes on a sponsored visa.
Keep reading