The De Facto Relationship Requirement

To be able to apply for any partner visa or be include your partner as a secondary applicant on your student visa, you must be classified as a member of the family unit. To be assessed as a member of the family unit you must be the spouse (husband or wife), or the de facto partner.

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Visas with the de facto requirement

  • Partner Visa (Subclass 801/820) or (310/100)
  • NZ Citizen Family Member (Subclass 461)
  • Or being added to your de facto partners visa

Just being in a relationship with a partner does not guarantee you will be able to meet the de facto requirement. Immigration doesn’t care that you love each other endlessly. Immigration care what documentation you can provide to meet this requirement. You need to be able to demonstrate the relationship on paper.

You must prove that:

you and your partner are in a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all othersare in a genuine and continuing relationshiplive together and do not live separately on a permanent basis’

are in a genuine and continuing relationship

live together and do not live separately on a permanent basis’

The De Facto Relationship Requirement

This video discusses meeting the de facto relationship requirement. To be able to apply for any partner visa or be include your partner as a secondary applicant on your student visa, you must be classified as a member of the family unit. To be assessed as a member of the family unit you must be the spouse (husband or wife), or the de facto partner.
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Requirements that immigration will judge your de facto relationship

Generally speaking, to have your visa approved, you must demonstrate that you meet the de facto relationship for at least 12 months before the application is made. This 12-month requirement can be waived by demonstrating compelling or compassionate circumstances. However, if you can register your relationship in a relevant state or territory, you may be able to waive the 12 month de facto requirement. Please note not every state in Australia allows you to register a relationship. Find more information on how to register a relationship here.

There is no exact set of documentation you can provide to meet the requirement. No relationship is the same, so rarely would a couple have the same documentation. What I will go through is a rough overview of some of the documents you can provide.

E

Financial Aspect

E

Nature of the Household

E

Social Aspects

E

Nature of the Commitment

The Financial Aspect 

  • Joint Bank Accounts – that are used frequently
  • Evidence of fund transfers to each other
  • Evidence of pooling of funds to make purchases
  • Evidence of joint loans
  • Sharing of household expenses

The Nature of the Household

  • What documents can you provide to demonstrate you live together
  • Joint leases/rental receipts
  • Joint ownership of property
  • Correspondence addressed to either or both parties at the same address
  • Shared responsibility for childcare or housework

The Social aspects of the relationship

  • Registered relationship certificates
  • Statements of parents, family members, relatives, friends and other interested parties. Statements in the form of statutory declarations should be encouraged on the basis that, as a legal document, they carry more weight. (Note:
    The department provides a specific form for this purpose (form 888 Statutory declaration by a supporting witness in relation to a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa application) however, any statement that meets statutory declaration requirements is acceptable).
  • Joint membership of organisations or groups, documentary evidence of joint participation in sporting, cultural, social or other activities.
  • Joint travel and plans for the future.
  • Whether the parties present themselves as a couple socially.

The Nature of the Commitment

  • the duration of the de facto relationship
  • the length of time the parties have lived together
  • the degree of companionship and emotional support that the parties draw from each other
  • whether the parties refer to the relationship as for the long term.
  • Superannuation Beneficiaries

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The De Facto Relationship Requirement was last modified: December 30th, 2022 by Nick Yock