Do My Partner and I Need to Live Together to Prove a De Facto Relationship?
No. A couple does not necessarily have to have lived together to establish a de facto relationship for Australian migration purposes.
This is a question I am regularly asked by couples who are considering an Australian Partner visa, as well as by people who want to include their de facto partner in a skilled migration, employer-sponsored or National Innovation visa application.
The answer is important because relationships do not always follow the same path.
While living together can certainly be relevant when assessing a relationship, the fact that two people have never shared a home does not automatically mean that they cannot establish a genuine and continuing de facto relationship.
The circumstances of the relationship need to be considered as a whole.
Why might a genuine couple not live together?
There are many perfectly legitimate reasons why a couple may maintain separate homes.
For some couples, religious or cultural expectations may mean that living together before marriage is not appropriate.
For others, there may be legal or social circumstances that make living together difficult. This can be particularly relevant to some same-sex couples, depending on the countries in which they live and the circumstances surrounding their relationship.
There are also many much more ordinary reasons.
One partner may be working in another city. The other may be studying at university. One may have employment in another country. Immigration arrangements may prevent the couple from simply moving in together.
International couples can find themselves maintaining a relationship across borders for years before they have an opportunity to establish a shared home.
None of these circumstances automatically establishes a de facto relationship.
But neither does the absence of cohabitation automatically prevent one from being established.
What if we have never lived together?
This is where the circumstances of the individual relationship become important.
A couple who have never lived together may still have a genuine and continuing relationship. However, where the circumstances are outside the conventional pattern, the application may require careful consideration and substantial evidence.
I recently assisted with a successful Australian spouse migration application involving an applicant living in Singapore and their partner, who had never lived together for any period of time
The couple had been in a relationship for several years.
They met while on holiday and formed a bond. They subsequently returned to their respective home countries but continued to communicate and develop their relationship.
They travelled to each other's countries to spend time together, but these visits were generally only once or twice a year and lasted no more than approximately two weeks at a time.
They had never established a shared household.
Despite this, it was possible to demonstrate that the relationship was genuine, continuing and substantial.
The spouse migration visa was granted.
This is a good example of why I would caution couples against assuming that they cannot qualify simply because their relationship does not look like the conventional example of two people who have lived together for years.
At the same time, this type of application should not be approached casually.
The fact that one couple was successful does not mean that every couple who have never lived together will satisfy the requirements.
The circumstances need to be carefully assessed and the evidence needs to support the relationship being claimed.
Another Example: A De Facto Partner Included in a Skilled Migration Application
I have also assisted with a very different type of case involving a couple who wanted to establish their de facto relationship so that the partner could be included in a skilled migration visa application.
The couple were both Indian, but came from different religious and cultural backgrounds. Their personal, family and religious values meant that living together openly before marriage was not considered appropriate.
Their circumstances were unusual because, on paper, they maintained separate residences.
Each partner had their own apartment lease, and their individual residences had their own utility accounts and other documentary evidence showing that they maintained separate addresses.
In reality, however, the couple spent most of their time living together in one of the apartments. The second apartment was primarily used for storage and as a place where one partner could stay when family members were visiting, given the cultural and religious circumstances surrounding their relationship.
This presented an obvious evidentiary challenge.
If someone looked only at the leases, utility bills and other formal documentation, it could appear that the couple maintained completely separate lives.
That was not the reality of their relationship.
The cultural and religious circumstances provided an important part of the explanation, but they did not, by themselves, establish that the relationship was genuine and continuing.
There was still substantial evidence required to demonstrate the true nature of the relationship and the commitment between the couple.
The evidence available in every relationship will be different. In this case, it was necessary to look beyond the formal documentation showing separate addresses and consider the relationship as a whole.
Ultimately, the de facto relationship was accepted as genuine and the skilled migration visa was granted to both the primary applicant and their de facto partner.
This case illustrates another important point: the documents that exist on paper do not always tell the complete story of a relationship.
Cultural and religious circumstances can help explain why a couple's living arrangements may look unusual, but they are not a substitute for evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship.
The evidence still needs to support the circumstances being claimed.
Two Very Different Relationships — The Same Important Lesson
These two cases were very different.
In one, the couple had never lived together at all. They lived in different countries and saw each other only occasionally, yet it was possible to demonstrate that they had maintained a genuine and continuing relationship over a number of years.
In the other, the couple actually spent most of their time living together, but their formal documentary records showed separate residences because of their cultural and religious circumstances.
Both cases ultimately succeeded.
Neither case, however, succeeded simply because the couple provided an explanation for why they did not appear to live together.
In both cases, there was significant evidence supporting the genuine and continuing nature of the relationship.
That is an important distinction.
Explaining why a couple live apart — or why their living arrangements appear unusual — is only part of the assessment. The relationship itself still needs to be demonstrated.
This is why I do not recommend trying to determine your eligibility simply by comparing your circumstances with another couple's experience.
Every relationship is different, and the evidence available will be different.
If your circumstances are unusual, it is important to understand how the relevant migration requirements apply to your particular situation and what issues may need to be addressed in your application.
If you would like advice tailored to your individual circumstances, I would be pleased to help.
Contact us today to arrange a consultation:
📧 Email: enquiries@graham-nguyen.com
👉 Contact Us: https://www.graham-nguyen.com/contact
This is not just a Partner visa issue
The question of whether someone is genuinely a de facto partner is not limited to Partner visas.
It can also become relevant where someone wants to include their partner in another Australian visa application.
This can include certain skilled migration visas, employer-sponsored visas and the National Innovation visa (subclass 858), as well as other visa pathways that allow eligible members of the applicant's family unit to be included.
The precise requirements can vary depending on the visa.
That is why it is important not to assume that the answer for a Partner visa will necessarily be identical to the answer for a skilled migration or National Innovation visa application.
The question is not simply:
"Have you lived together?"
The more important question is whether the relationship satisfies the requirements that apply to the particular visa and whether the circumstances can be demonstrated convincingly.
What if we live in different countries?
This is increasingly common.
People meet while travelling, through work or study, online or through family and friends. One person may then return to their home country while the other remains overseas.
A relationship can continue despite that physical separation.
Couples may communicate regularly, travel to see each other when circumstances permit, become involved in each other's families and social lives, and make plans for their future together.
The fact that they cannot simply move into the same home does not, by itself, determine whether the relationship is genuine.
However, long-distance relationships can present more complicated evidentiary issues, particularly where visits are relatively infrequent or the couple have never shared a household.
This is where professional assessment can make a significant difference.
Every relationship is different
One of the problems with migration advice found online is that it can sometimes make relationships sound like a checklist.
Real relationships are much more complicated than that.
Some couples meet and move in together almost immediately.
Others spend years living apart.
Some couples marry before they have ever shared a home.
Others remain unmarried because of personal, cultural, religious or legal circumstances.
Some couples live in the same city but maintain separate homes because of work or family commitments.
Others live on opposite sides of the world.
There is no single relationship pattern that applies to everyone.
What matters for an Australian visa application is whether the particular relationship meets the relevant legal requirements and whether the circumstances can be demonstrated with appropriate evidence.
Don't assume that "never lived together" means "not eligible"
If you and your partner have never lived together, I would not recommend simply assuming that you cannot establish a de facto relationship.
Equally, I would not recommend assuming that being in a long-term relationship is automatically enough.
These cases can be complex.
The circumstances need to be examined carefully, particularly where there are long periods living apart, limited opportunities to meet, cultural or religious considerations, previous relationships, different countries of residence or other factors that may require explanation.
I have assisted clients with relationship applications where the circumstances were far from conventional.
In some cases, the right approach is not to try to make the relationship look like something it isn't. It is to understand the actual circumstances, identify the relevant migration requirements and present the genuine relationship clearly and honestly.
If your relationship does not fit the conventional pattern, that does not necessarily mean that Australian migration is impossible. But it does mean that you should obtain advice about your particular circumstances.
If you would like advice tailored to your individual circumstances, I would be pleased to help.
Contact us today to arrange a consultation:
📧 Email: enquiries@graham-nguyen.com
👉 Contact Us: https://www.graham-nguyen.com/contact
About the Author
Andrew Graham is the Principal of Graham-Nguyen & Associates and a Registered Australian Migration Agent (MARN 1067354). Based in Singapore, he advises clients throughout Singapore, Asia and around the world on Australian skilled migration, employer-sponsored visas, partner visas, Australian citizenship and other Australian migration matters.
Andrew regularly publishes practical guidance on Australian migration law and policy to help prospective migrants make informed decisions. His articles combine current Australian migration legislation and policy with the practical insights gained from many years of assisting individuals and families with Australian migration matters.
You Might Also Be Interested In...
If you found this article helpful, you may also be interested in these articles:
• Australian Partner Visas: Understanding Spouse and De Facto Migration to Australia — information about Australian Partner visas
• Why Evidence Matters in Australian Visa Applications — why evidence matters in Australian migration applications
• Who Can Be Included in an Australian Visa Application? Understanding Dependents and Family Members — understanding family members and eligible partners
• Australian Skilled Migration: A Comprehensive Guide to Australia's Permanent Skilled Visa Program — information about Australia's skilled migration pathways
• Understanding Australia's National Innovation Visa (Subclass 858) — information about Australia's National Innovation visa (subclass 858)
Final Thoughts
You do not necessarily have to have lived with your partner to establish a de facto relationship for Australian migration purposes.
Couples may live apart for many reasons, including work, study, distance, cultural or religious expectations, legal circumstances and the particular circumstances of a same-sex relationship.
The important thing is that the relationship must satisfy the requirements that apply to the particular visa and the circumstances must be supported by appropriate evidence.
My recent successful case involving a couple who had never lived together demonstrates that relationships do not always have to follow a conventional pattern to be recognised for Australian migration purposes.
However, cases like this can be complex. The fact that a couple have never lived together is only one part of the overall circumstances, and every application needs to be assessed on its own facts.
If you are unsure whether your relationship can satisfy the requirements for an Australian visa, I recommend obtaining advice before you lodge an application.
At Graham-Nguyen & Associates, we believe informed clients make better migration decisions.
If you would like advice tailored to your individual circumstances, I would be pleased to help.
Contact us today to arrange a consultation:
📧 Email: enquiries@graham-nguyen.com
👉 Contact Us: https://www.graham-nguyen.com/contact
