Do you count as de facto for a partner visa?
Answer a few quick questions to check the 12-month de facto rule and see your options, including registering your relationship. Free, and takes about two minutes.What counts as de facto for a partner visa
What counts as de facto for a partner visa?
Married and de facto couples apply for the same visa subclasses, pay the same fee, and go through the same processing, so being de facto rather than married makes almost no practical difference to your application. The one real difference is timing: married couples can apply as soon as they marry, while de facto couples generally need to show 12 months in the relationship first, most commonly proven by living together the whole time.The 12-month relationship rule
The clock starts when your relationship became committed and exclusive, not when you first met or started dating, and it's measured against the relationship itself, not specifically against living together. Living together for that whole period is the strongest way to prove it: joint leases, shared bills, bank statements showing shared expenses, and statements from people who've seen you living together. The rule is applied at the date you apply, so falling short by even a few weeks means the application is assessed as ineligible on this ground, regardless of how genuine the relationship is.Registering your relationship
Registering your relationship with an Australian state or territory waives the 12-month rule, and it's available in every state and territory except Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It typically costs around $100 to $200, with a cooling-off period of about 28 days before it's finalised.Married vs de facto: what actually differs in your evidence
Once you're past the 12-month question, the evidence required is identical either way. Both married and de facto couples have to prove their relationship is genuine and continuing across the same four areas the Department assesses: financial, household, social, and commitment. The only documents that differ are the ones proving your relationship status itself: a marriage certificate for married couples, or proof of living together, or a registration certificate, for de facto couples.Common questions
How long do we need to live together to count as de facto?
There's no set amount of time you need to have lived together. The 12 months applies to the relationship, not to time under one roof. Most couples do prove it by living together, and if you haven't, it's a much harder case to make.
Does registering our relationship waive the 12-month rule?
Yes, and it's the most reliable way around it. Registering with an Australian state or territory waives the 12-month requirement. It's available everywhere except Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where you'd register interstate instead, if you're eligible.
Can we register after we apply?
You can register at any time, but do it before you apply. If the relationship wasn't registered when you applied, there's a real risk the Department argues the requirement wasn't met, and that can lead to a refusal. If you've already applied, get the certificate onto your file as soon as it arrives.
Can we still qualify as de facto if we've spent time living apart?
Possibly. The law only requires that you haven't separated on a permanent basis, not that you've lived together every single day. A relationship with some time apart, or with less than 12 months actually spent under the same roof, isn't automatically ruled out, but it becomes a circumstantial case that needs a lawyer's judgement rather than a guess.
Does having a child together help us meet the de facto requirement?
Yes. A dependent child you share, whether biological or adopted, waives the 12-month requirement entirely. The child has to be a child of both of you, not one partner's child from an earlier relationship.
Is a de facto application harder to prove than a married one?
No. Both married and de facto couples have to prove their relationship is genuine using the same evidence, across the same four areas the Department assesses. A marriage certificate proves a wedding happened, not that the relationship is genuine, so married couples still need to show the same depth of evidence as de facto couples do.
What evidence actually proves we're living together as de facto partners?
Joint leases or mortgage documents, shared utility bills, bank statements showing shared expenses, and mail addressed to you both at the same address all help establish the 12 months. Statements from people who've observed you living together add further support. A registration certificate, where you have one, serves as strong primary evidence on its own.