Partner Visa: Legal ways to live with your partner

Registering your de facto relationship

Applying a visa with your partner would require at least 12-month of cohabitation before the visa application is made. These are the following visas that needs to show 12 months of de facto relationship or when including your spouse on a visa application:

·        Permanent Visas

·        Business Skills (Provisional)

·        Student Visas

·        Partner Visas

·        General Skilled Migration Visas

On the other hand, there is a legal way that will not require you to demonstrate that you have at least 12 months of living together with your de facto partner. Formalising your de facto status through relationship registration will give you an exemption for this particular requirement.  With this, you can now apply for a visa with your Relationship Registration Certificate and evidence that you are living together regardless of how long has your relationship.

Registration of Relationship is open to all couples with same and different sexual preferences. 

Registration criteria:

•  Must be 18 years old and above

•  Must not be in another relationship with another person such as marriage, de facto, and must not have a Relationship Registration with other person

•  Must not be family-related

States that authorise relationship registration:

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New South Wales

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Applying for Registration of Relationship does not require the couple to live together to register their relationship, at least one of them lives in NSW at the time of application and must provide proof of identity Couples can register through NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Processing time will take up to 6 weeks to register.

Eligibility and Requirements

ELIGIBILITY	REQUIREMENTS
Both Partners must be: over 18 years of age not married to each other or anyone else not already in a registered relationship under this Act or in another state or territory in Australia not in a relationship with another person not related by family	At least one of you live in NSW at the time of application Proof of identity (both partners)

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Victoria

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To register a domestic relationship, both couples are required to take part in registering the relationship, prove your identity, and one of you will need to provide evidence you live in Victoria at the time of applying. You can register through Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria. It takes at least 28 days (4 weeks) after the Department receive a complete and valid application. 

Eligibility and Requirements

ELIGIBILITY	REQUIREMENTS
Both Partners must be: at least 18 years old at least one of you lives in Victoria at the time you apply you're not already: you provide domestic support to each other you're committed to each other both personally and financially	You both need to take part in registering the relationship You both need to prove your identity One of you will need to provide evidence you live in Victoria at the time of applying.

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Queensland

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Couples can register their relationship as a civil partnership, by completing an application, without having a declaration ceremony. You need to be 18 or older, and at least 1 partner must live in Queensland. You can submit you application by post or in person by requesting an appointment. Processing time to register is not earlier than 10 full days after you submit your compliant application. An application is compliant when it has been completed in full and submitted with all required supporting documents.

Eligibility and Requirements

ELIGIBILITY

REQUIREMENTS

Both Partners must be: over 18 years old not be married or already in a civil partnership can’t be a prohibited relationship You must provide evidence that you are no longer married (e.g. a divorce or death certificate) if you have ever been married All documents must be in English, or supplied with accredited translations as well as the original document. You and your partner must read the legal effects of a civil partnership.

Proof of ID for both of you Evidence that at least 1 of the partners lives in Queensland Evidence of any previous divorce or death of any former spouse, if applicable—such as an original divorce or death certificate.

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Tasmania

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Registering your significant relationship is not mandatory but it would be beneficial and useful to have a certificate to prove that you have genuine and on-going relationship with your partner especially when dealing with government agencies or emergency situations. You can register your relationship in Births, Deaths, Marriages (Tasmania). It takes at least 28 days from the date we receive a complete and valid application to register the relationship.

Eligibility and Requirements

ELIGIBILITY	REQUIREMENT
Both Partners must be:  lives in Tasmania are not married not related by family	Evidence of Identity Evidence that you both live in Tasmania

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Australian Capital Territory

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To apply for Registration of civil partnership, at least one couple lives in ACT for more than 3 months and must prove your ACT residency. Application could be submitted online or in person after completing the registration forms through Access Canberra. Access Canberra will process your request within 15 business days of receiving all required documents. This timeframe does not include Australia Post delivery times.

Eligibility and Requirements

ELIGIBILITY	REQUIREMENTS
Both Partners must be: adults at least one of you lives in the ACT neither one of you is already: you aren’t biologically related	Proof at least one of you lives in ACT and has for more than 3 months (2 forms of proof of residency) Proof of Identity Evidence that any previous registered relationship has ended. This could include a paperwork proving divorce, termination of a civil partnership, or the death of the other person.

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South Australia

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Register your relationship with Consumer and Business Services (CBS) to be legally recognized. It can make it easier to access entitlements and assert your rights, including in medical situations. Couples may apply irrespective of their sex or gender identity. The earliest your relationship can be registered is 28 days after your application has been processed.

Eligibility and Requirements

ELIGIBILITY	REQUIREMENTS
Both Partners must be: at least 18 years old or older at least one of you must live in South Australia not married not in a relationship with another person or corresponding law registered relationship not related by family	Certified copies of identity documents for both people in the relationship Certified copy of a document that proves at least one person is currently living in SA If either party has previously been married, in a registered relationship or corresponding law registered relationship, you must upload a certified copy of evidence that the previous relationship has ended

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Northern Territory

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Not available

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For more information, contact our team and book a consult via consulting@xmmigration.com.au

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