眾律國際法律事務所

Evidence that your relationship is genuine:

When you apply for a Partner visa, you must provide evidence that supports your claim of a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner. This include history of your relationship, evidence of your relationship, social and financial aspect of the relationship, the nature of the household and the nature of your commitment to each other.

The history of your relationship will include providing a statement between you and your partner regarding the history of your relationship. This include how, when and where you first met; how your relationship developed; when you decided to marry or commence a de facto partner relationship; your domestic arrangements (how you support each other financially, physically and emotionally and when this level of commitment began); any periods of separation (when and why the separation occurred, for how long and how you maintained your relationship during the period of separation); and your future plans. Please note that the statements written by you and your partner can be an ordinary writing paper or a statutory declaration form may be used. Each statement or statutory declaration must be signed and dated by the author.

There are four (4) broad categories of evidence that you need to provide including:

  (1) Financial aspects;

  (2) The nature of the household;

  (3) Social context of the relationship and;  

  (4) The nature of your commitment to each other.

Please note that all relationships are different, so you should provide as much evidence as you can that you believe will support your claims.

From the financial perspectives, evidence will be required that you and your partner share financial commitments and responsibilities including evidence of any joint ownership of real estate or other major assets (for example, cars, appliances) and any joint liabilities (for example, loans, insurance); sharing of finances; legal commitments that you and your partner have undertaken as a couple; evidence that you and your partner have operated joint bank accounts for a reasonable period of time; or sharing of household bills and expenses.

In order to provide evidence of the nature of the household, you and your partner will need to provide evidence of your living arrangements; a statement outlining the basis on which responsibility for housework is distributed; joint ownership or joint rental of the residence in which you live; joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone); joint responsibility for bills for day-to-day living expenses; joint responsibility for children; or correspondence addressed to both you and your partner at the same address.

In terms of the social aspect of the relationship, how your relationship with your partner is recognised socially will be considered including evidence that you and your partner are generally accepted as a couple socially (for example, joint invitations, going out together, friends and acquaintances in common); evidence that you and your partner have declared your relationship to government bodies, commercial/public institutions or authorities; information provided in statutory declarations made by you or your partner’s parents, family members, relatives, friends or acquaintances; joint membership of organisations or groups; evidence of joint participation in sporting, cultural or social activities; or joint travel.

Please note that providing only statutory declarations is not normally sufficient to evidence the social aspect of your relationship.

Factors that could assist in evidencing mutual commitment between you and your partner include knowledge of each other’s personal circumstances (for example, background and family situation, which could be established at interview); intention that your relationship will be long-term (for example, the extent to which you have combined your affairs); the terms of your wills; or correspondence and itemised phone accounts to show that contact was maintained during any period of separation.

Finally, after you apply for your visa, the department will receipt and acknowledge your application, assist you a case office, consider your application, arrange to interview you and/or your partner (where necessary); check the information that you provide and, if necessary, ask for more information; and to notify you in writing of the decision (and reasons if a refusal).

References:

Migration Regulations 1994

Migration Act 1958