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.

Visas in which you must meet the de facto requirement include:
Partner Visa (Subclass 801/820) or (310/100)
NZ Citizen Family Member (Subclass 461)
Or being added to your de facto partners visa

Relevant Links:

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.

To meet the de facto requirement you must prove that:
you and your partner are in a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others
are in a genuine and continuing relationship
live together and do not live separately on a permanent basis'

Some of the requirements that immigration will judge your de facto relationship include:
The Financial Aspect
The Nature of the household
The social aspect of the relationship
The couple's commitment to each other

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.

The Financial Aspect of the relationship
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 t[bookly-cancellation-confirmation]o the relationship as for the long term.
Superannuation Beneficiaries

If you have any questions about partner visas to Australia or meeting the de facto relationship requirement, feel free to contact Pathway to Aus:

W: PATHWAYTOAUS.COM
P: [phone]
FB: FACEBOOK.COM/PATHWAYTOAUS

[petercannavo]

Well done champion, Thanks for explaining that in simple terms!!
Legend!!!

[agreablewallets]

I was confused between de facto and prospective marriage.
I guess prospective marriage is suitable more
Thank you

[sandy]

how do you meat the requirement if your partner lives overseas

[obaro]

Great content . What if you have kids but in long distance relationship

[Tsunamicombinedmartialart]

thanks you very much for a good knowlage i hope soon will contact with you sir when i talk with my partner

[riyajakhu]

We have to show any kind of funds for that visa ?

[chutchadapornthongon]

I would like to know if, besides registering a defecto relationship, can I apply for a marriage certificate before applying for a partner visa? Thanks for the advice ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️

[kidsexercise]

God Video..Great...I am married I am International Student and I have an Australian Partner too. Our relationship is now I thinks 10 months ...Can I Apply Partner Visa Australia ....

[benhartart]

Regarding Marriage - Women are in Business Men are in Love ;)

[stellablue]

Its not financially viable for my partner and i to live for extended periods of time in the same country before being accepted for a partner visa. What can we do about this?

[rebeccacuthbertson]

Do you know how I can register my relationship in SA in a way that is recognized by the immigration authorities?

[michaelkay]

How can we provide that much info for a partner visa when we have been together for 5 months and my visa Runs out in 7 months ? We are married and living Together and my visa was for 90 days but can stay for 365

[roodvigamranian]

Thank you very much. But I have a question. What if we say "de facto" in EOI but after that we get married before the lodgment? Thanks

[jorgeperalta]

Hola ! No hablo inglés pero podrías quitarme una duda? Me han pedido el formulario s56 y Me piden que cuente como se desarrolló mi relación ? Esto quiere decir que tengo que contar todo desde un principio? Desde que lo conocí hasta la fecha?

[TotalArtAddict]

Hi, thanks for the helpful info! would be much appreciated if you could clarify, 820 visa application holds a question "Date applicant and sponsor committed to a shared life
together to the exclusion of all
others" - in case of married couple, does that refer to the marriage date or the date when we for example moved in together/entered into relationship? Thanks in advance! the form asks sort of same question in different forms, making it all so confusing.

[lukekennedy]

How can I wave the visa requirements....is it in Northern Territory

[joyravelas]

Hello! I was in Melbourne and lived with my partner from July 2019 up until February 2020. My visa was expiring and needed to go back home in the Philippines. I was supposed to go back July this year and register our relationship before lodging our defacto application but then the border closed due to Covid.
Do we have to be both present in Victoria to register our relationship? TIA!

[darraghobrien]

That was very helpful, just one question - a Police Certificate is required as a Character Document, I can get one but I don't think I will have it by the time of application due to delays in processing caused by Covid. Will it be okay to add this to the application a couple of weeks after I first submit

[sarahbrenner]

Hi Nick, if my partner is on a sponsor visa with his company until October 2025, can he cancel that sponsorship visa and go onto the bridging visa? Or if he was let go from the company, would this also bring him onto the bridging visa? Thank you.

[Lordkeggles]

I’m a 49yr old Australian born man. I met my now fiancé online August 2019. She is from Holland. She came out here 24th February 2020. We lived together for 3 months and as coronavirus hit around March..she was granted a BVE but needed to return home and is now back in Holland. I want her back ASAP. We have made plans to marry and build a home here in the Brisbane area. HOW CAN I GET HER BACK during the coronavirus border ban. We don’t want to wait for months and months if we can find a way to get her here. Any advice would be a great help.