This post is all about gathering your 820/801 Australian Partner Visa evidence. Although there is no “one-size-fits-all” document checklist, I’ll give you an overview of the 5 categories in which you need to provide evidence, as well as plenty of suggestions for satisfying the requirements in each. Use this information to determine the evidence you will submit to prove “a genuine and continuing relationship” with your partner, and then read my next posts to learn about completing the online application, organising your documents for upload, and finally hitting submit! Read my whole series on applying for the 820/801 Australian Partner Visa for more information about preparing your evidence, lodging your application, and the next steps. If you’re just beginning, start with this post to get an overview (and to read about our story). And, as always, please remember that I am not a migration agent or affiliated with Home Affairs in any way , so all the information provided in these posts and in the comments below is based entirely on my own experience and my own understanding of the application process.
What's in this travel guide ToggleAt the end of the day, your eligibility for the 820/801 Australian Partner Visa depends on your ability to prove a genuine, committed, and continuing relationship with your partner, on a written application that will by read by someone who has never met either of you. The process is somehow both incredibly personal, requiring intimate details of your circumstances, and impersonal, reducing your relationship to its constituent parts and requiring that your every romantic feeling be “supported” by evidence. The true irony of this system is that the more genuine your relationship, the less likely you actually are to have perfect evidence: you probably didn’t open joint bank accounts the day you started dating, keep every text message you ever exchanged, stress about having both names on the utility bills, or even save tickets from every event you attended together if you were just enjoying the natural progression of your relationship and not staging it as a means to migrate. The other pitfall of this process is that you are essentially asked to align every aspect of your relationship with an ideal situation, one in which you met, dated, became committed, moved in, and then never spent a second apart. Of course, the vast majority of people are unlikely to be able to shove a genuine, long-term relationship into a box this way, so you are left to “explain” and “justify” circumstances that really only you and your partner can understand. To an extent, I think Home Affairs does recognise both of these issues, though. This application process will likely always be invasive, but the purpose is to weed out those who are trying to cheat the system, not couples who have been too busy enjoying life together to keep detailed records from 5 years ago or those whose relationship has had a unique progression. Uploading evidence to your application is not just about ticking all their boxes, but about telling the story of your relationship. To that end, this is the most important part of the entire application, where you move beyond answering generic, prescribed questions that you may struggle to apply to your situation and instead have the opportunity to explain, in whatever way makes the most sense, the nature of your relationship.
Even though the upload section of the application isn’t organised in this way (see how it is organised in this post), this is definitely the best way to initially lay out your evidence to ensure that you provide sufficient information in all categories.
In other words, it won’t do you much good to provide only joint bank statements, proof of joint assets, and wills listing each other as beneficiaries, as you haven’t touched on the 4 other categories. Organising your evidence under these headings now will help you figure out what gaps you need to fill in your application before you start uploading.
A single piece of evidence can fit into multiple categories and tell a slightly different story in each. Although everyone has their own idea of where certain evidence “belongs”, there isn’t a right or wrong way to organise most of your evidence.
Cal and I, for instance, have been on dozens of trips together in more than 25 countries, so instead of including plane ticket after plane ticket as part of our commitment evidence, I started to include plane tickets in other areas:
I paid for both of our tickets to Bali, Iceland, and London, which could represent a financial aspect of our relationship. We also travelled twice to America to see my family, hiked through NZ with my parents, and spent time in South Africa with my mum, so those tickets really speak more to the social aspect of our relationship.
Most importantly, even though you can make a plane ticket tell a different story depending on what section you place it in and what details you highlight, your CO is not assessing your application in a vacuum— he or she will notice the cross-categorical implications! Organise your evidence in a way that makes sense to you, don’t duplicate across categories, and know that everything will eventually be considered.
As a final piece of advice, I think it’s really important to highlight any “irregularities” in your situation and then offer an explanation.
If you spent 2 months away from your partner, for instance, don’t try to exclude it from the application because it “looks bad”— the purpose of all this relationship evidence is to prove legitimacy, not perfection! (And it would look far worse if you were dishonest or misleading on your application, anyway.) Talk about this period in your stat dec, offer an explanation, and provide evidence during this time to show that you were still committed. Similarly, if you are worried about not having joint bank accounts or the fact that your partner hasn’t met your family, simply explain!
You won’t be rejected for not having every single piece of evidence suggested by Home Affairs, because every situation is unique. However, you WILL benefit from having an informed CO and submitting a comprehensive, honest application.
In each of the following 5 sections of this post, I will lay out the purpose of that particular category as I’ve come to understand it by reading official Immi documents and information from RMAs online (although it’s still my own opinion and I’m not in any way officially qualified!).
I’ll then provide a list of essential evidence that I find to be crucial in satisfying the requirements of that section, which will always include a statement from either you or your partner that will guide the CO through your evidence, explain your situation in more detail, and fill in any gaps.
Lastly, I’ll give a list of suggested evidence that will hopefully just get you thinking about what relevant information you might want to share and what potential documents to submit. These lists are based on my own submission and the extensive research I did in preparation, reading dozens of checklists written by other 820/801 “survivors” and by Home Affairs. It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll have everything on this list (we definitely didn’t, even after 5 years), but you don’t need more than a few good pieces of evidence to really tell your story.
The purpose of this section is to establish financial interdependency between you and your partner, which might be in the form of shared expenses, joint assets, beneficiary status, or monetary support.
Every relationship (particularly if you’ve only just fulfilled the 12 month de facto minimum to apply for this visa) will have varying degrees of interdependency, but it is still a key requirement of this visa that you and your partner share financial responsibility to some degree.
The purpose of this section is really just to show how you and your partner fulfil the requirement of cohabitation and how your joint household functions. This can be through a jointly-signed lease agreement, your division of cleaning and cooking, your shared bedroom, etc.
I personally found that this section had a lot less evidence than other sections of our application (how do you prove who does the cleaning?!), but as long as you can concretely establish a shared residence with a lease agreement, I think it’s safe to include most of the other required information in a statement.
The purpose of this section is to prove that your relationship is known to and accepted by others, most specifically your friends and family. This might mean attending events or travelling together, spending time together with friends, having a close relationship with one another’s families, or just generally making your relationship public (e.g. registered de facto, marriage, or even Facebook!).
While there are many applicants for this visa that have never met their partner’s family (based on what I’ve read in forums), I think it’s pretty crucial for this section of the application to at least show that people in your life (e.g. friends, colleagues) have spent time with you and your partner or that you have been very open about your relationship (e.g. posting on social media) so that it doesn’t look “secret”.
The purpose of this section is to demonstrate how you and your partner have committed to one another and to a continuing, long-term relationship together. This could mean having “knowledge of each other’s personal circumstances such as background and family situation”, listing one another as beneficiaries of your will, having joint assets, supporting each other emotionally, or making future plans together.
Again, the strength of this section is probably in the statement you will make about your commitment, as many of these things are difficult to “prove” with documents.
Home Affairs actually suggests just writing a statement for this section, which you might choose to sign as a stat dec (we just submitted signed statements in the end, one from each of us about the progression of our relationship). Quoting directly from their document checklist, include information about:
The next step is to gather a few additional pieces of personal information before finally sitting down to work on the online application and upload your evidence:
I hope this information has been helpful and I wish you so much luck on your Australian Partner Visa journey! Feel free to ask any questions below and I will do my very best to answer them.
* I am not a migration agent or affiliated with Home Affairs in any way , so all the information provided in these posts and in the comments below is based entirely on my own experience and my own understanding of the application process.
If you found this post helpful and want to contribute to some of the costs associated with running the blog, I would be infinitely grateful!
You can use the PayPal button below to donate whatever you feel this information is worth. If you aren’t able, don’t worry— I will always keep my posts free and accessible for everyone!
UPDATE: A MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who’s commented to let me know that you found these posts helpful— I can’t tell you how much it means to me to read your success stories! I worked incredibly hard to compile all of this information (while getting my PhD & teaching), but it’s genuinely been worth it to make even a small difference for my fellow immigrants.
More importantly, though, THANK YOU to everyone who has shared their own experience or answered questions for other readers in the comments below! We are building a wonderful & supportive community of Partner Visa applicants here, and every comment and question is a resource for others.
If you felt like these posts helped with your application, I’d encourage you to come back after your visa is granted (or even after various milestones) and let us all know what happened— it might mean the world to someone else struggling with this process! Best wishes to you all xx bb
I've spent the last decade exploring the world— everything from solo trekking in the Andes to overlanding in Zambia, all while completing a PhD in Biomechanics, teaching at a university & securing permanent residency in Australia. In 2020, I finally fulfilled my dream of becoming a full-time nomad! Whether it’s vanlife in Mexico, scuba diving in the Galápagos, ticking off incredible US National Parks, or climbing in the Dolomites, I hope this blog will inspire your future adventures & help you find wonder in every corner of the globe. xx bb
Hi Brooke, Just wanted to say a big thanks and let you know (as everyone else has shared) – that your blog was super super helpful for me as a reference point when I was applying for my visa.
It was so detailed and well put together (particularly the section with all the uploads and attachments). I basically had your blog open the entire time I was putting together my application (which was ages) and it was the most extensive and detailed resource I found. Thank you so much! It really helped to break down what seemed like a scary mammoth task (esp when all other resources are from agents who try to convince you that you need their help) into something less scary. I did my application in Oct ’23 and not much has changed except now you upload all your attachments before you pay and submit everything together…whuuut! I just got my visa approved yesterday (so quick!), and really had to thank you when I saw it come through. Great resource for anyone who needs help. Cheers!
Massive congratulations, Karen!! So exciting to receive the visa grant so quickly– it is amazing how much the pandemic helped reduce the immigration wait-times (one small silver lining to come out of that!). And I’m delighted to know this post was helpful to you 🙂 Wishing you all the best in Aus!!
xx bb
Hi Brooke, not sure if you’re still responding to these anymore but I had a quick question regarding your overseas family declarations. I used the link you provided for the formal statutory declarations but I didn’t ask them to get them signed/stamped by a notary. Were the letters your family wrote signed by notaries? If not did they use the same statutory declaration template or more just a less formal letter? Just trying to cross all my t’s and dot all my i’s before turning this baby in. And thanks so much for your incredible breadth of info regarding this mammoth application. I was very blasé about it as my wife and I are married and have lived together for 10 years, no kids, no weird circumstances and on the application the evidence we need is very vague so I started thinking this would be pretty cut and dry. As you well know it is so much more and been an eye opener for sure. I prefer to not use an immigration lawyer when possible so big thanks to kind souls like you who have dropped all this info for free. Thanks!
Hi Ben, I am so sorry for the slow reply, I’ve been totally overwhelmed by the volume of comments here lately… but I do have an answer to your question! Check out this post for more clarity on statements from overseas family: https://brookebeyond.com/820-801-visa-faq-top-10-most-common-questions-about-the-australian-partner-visa-with-full-answers#4_Statements_from_overseas_family_friends Hope that helps, I imagine in your situation that the application will be fairly smooth and speedy 🙂
xx bb
hello thank you for your information. i have one question which im worry about it. it is about shared financial obligations.
my partner live oversea. I’m Australia citizen. i am the one who is sending the money to her and not her sending me because of her dependency on me.
plus we don’t live in the same country. how could I provide evidence for shared financial obligation. or who is paying the bill. or address?
Hi Lay, in this instance, you would need to show proof that you are sending her money to support her, even while she is living overseas. That proves financial dependency and would help your application! Hope that helps 🙂
xx bb
Hi Brooke, Amazing work on your blog! Really helpful and made it very understandable. I am starting out my application and was wondering what type of format do the statements have to be in? Do you have an example? Also, what did your cover letters entail for each category? Did you attach the document as one separate file? Any support is greatly appreciated!!
Hi, I just wanted to leave a comment and say thank you so much.
I am from Scotland and my partner is from Austrailia.
We were lost when applying for a partner visa and looked for an agent to help, when we found this blog.
Thank you for taking the time to post such important imformantion in detail.
We followed all your advice.
I applied in January of this year and i can happily say i am now a permenant resdient. Both temp & perm (801/820) came through at the same time.
Only took 3 months for us.
We could not have done it without this guide and you saved us $3000 for an agent.
Anyone looking for PR via de facto partner, follow this guide and hopefully you will find the same sucess we did. Forever Thankful !
Thank you so much for leaving this comment, Chris, that truly means a lot! Heaps of time and energy went into these guides, so I always appreciate the positive feedback 🙂 Wishing you and your partner well, congratulations on such a quick and smooth grant process!
xx bb
Hi Brooke! I’ve stumbled onto your blog and it is a LIFESAVER as I begin to prep my materials to submit. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this all together!! Apologies if this is answered in one of your posts already, but I was wondering if you included photos within your relationship history statement, or uploaded them in a separate document (i.e. “2017 photos”) and simply referenced them in the statement. For example, if I’m mentioning that we spent Christmas at my family home after we started dating – did you include a photo below that blurb, or make reference to the photo in a separate upload. Hope that makes sense and thank you in advance!!
Emma
Hi Emma, I am so glad you found these posts helpful! I personally uploaded photos separately, but you can truly do whatever you want, whatever makes the most sense to you! xx bb
Hi,
My name is Marie i would like to know the Question 19-27.?
if anyone can help me that would be great and much appreciated.
Hi Brooke, Just starting the application process now and wondering what formatting you used for your documents? I’m struggling to actually lay it all out – I’ve seen your blog post on the sections you did and what order, I’m just wondering did you do it basic black and white text in word or use any special templates? Also how long from when you started gathering your documents to submitting your application did you spend?
Hi Brooke… I just got notified that my 820 was granted today!! So now I have to wait *another* 18 months or so for the 801. My question is what documentation will immigration want after the 18 months have passed? I was on the home affairs web site and that is what they advised on their timeline. Also, I’m so curious why both weren’t granted at the same time. We are registered in NSW, drawn up wills, tons of evidence and 888 decs…will I have to wait the entire 18 months to be granted the 801?
Hi Sybil, SO sorry for the slow reply, I wonder if you’ve had the 801 granted yet? If you had 2+ years as a de facto couple prior to applying, you are ENTITLED to a simultaneous grant, but sometimes you do need to follow up with your CO to have that pushed through. Let us know how you went!
xx bb
Hey Brooke, thanks for all the helpful information!
Just one question with regards to making a statement from either the applicant or the sponsor. Each aspect of the relationship, you’ve written a statement from either applicant or sponsor describing said aspect. Is the word document describing in detail the aspect the statement? Like if we just have in detail our financial situation with myself writing it (eg; I pay for this this, the sponsor pays for that) in the word document, is that suitable? Or should we have an extra document with a more formal statement? Thanks again! so very helpful.
Thanks again for your blog: it’s a source of comfort and advice in a stressful process! I have run into a problem: I was granted the 801 after 5 months, and now immi account won’t allow me to upload any more documents! It says my application is “finalised”. I had the impression from your blog that most people continue to upload documents throughout the process, so after applying I was busy preparing a six month update, etc. (We have only been together two years so I wanted to show lots of proof we are a thriving couple.)
DOHA technical support says simply “you can’t upload to an application that has been finalised” but no further advice.
Have you ever heard of that before? In case of interest to others: after applying mid 2021, I got a request for medical checks within 2 weeks, and did that promptly; and within 4 months I had a request for the “personal particulars” and “sponsorship form” (which did not come through at the beginning for some reason). After 5 months the 801 was granted. So begins the two year wait period – and it seems that I can’t provide further info during that time unless/until DOHA request it. Any tips appreciated!
Hi Tom, Can you clarify, were you granted the 801 (permanent visa) or the 820 (temporary visa)? If it was actually the 801 like you stated here, there’s actually no need to upload anything further, since you’ve already received PR! This was the case for me– both visas were approved simultaneously, so I never had to submit additional evidence to move from the 820 to 801.
Hi brook. Thank for this blog to help people like me. Just want to know that i am goong to start my 820/801 application. My sponsor using her immi account to aplly for me. So do we have to aplky first stage 1 820/801 or sponsor to migrate australia ? As some people said that stage 1 done by applicant and sponsor to migrate australia 820/801 done by sponer. Which confuse me . Can you please explain where to strat?
Hi Mehul, You first need to complete your application and THEN your partner can complete her application as the sponsor. Check out these posts for more info: https://brookebeyond.com/completing-the-820-801-australian-partner-visa
https://brookebeyond.com/sponsorship-for-a-partner-to-migrate-to-australia-820-visa
Hi, This article is super informative! Thank you for taking the time to make it!
I just have a question, does a statement have to be signed/witnessed by a justice of the peace? I know a statutory declaration does but I can’t seem to find information regarding statements. Thanks in advance!
Hi Caroline, You do not need to have any of your statements certified, nor any of your other documents (unless a CO specifically requested it). The only upload for the entire application that you are required to have witnessed is the Form 888, and these are done by your witnesses. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Brooke amazing help with all the info you’ve supplied. Thanks, heaps! I’ve got one quick question though… in terms of writing and illustrating my partner and I’s aspects is there a certain word limit or count? I understand that on the actual immi page I think theirs a word count but to include the whole statement as a separate document would you advise a page or word limit? I feel i could really ramble on and explain a lot of detail for some aspects and am unsure if it’s too much?
Hi Tim, No official word limit, so provide as much detail as you want! Like you said, though, uploading a dozen typed pages for a statement is probably going to create a lot of unnecessary work for the CO.
Hi Brooke, Thanks so much for sharing all of this information. I just wanted to know, do the forms 1221 and 820 can be typed and signed electronically? Also, would you photocopy all documents or from what you know, we can take photos and attach Jpeg documents in the application. Thanks a lot for your time.
Hi Genevieve, I think that would be fine, but I wrote mine just in case. As for photocopying, a good quality photo of a document should be equally good, just make sure it’s still legible if you compress any documents.
Just discovered this site… So much good info as I wade through this process and prep all my evidence from our over 6 year marriage with 2 kids. It’s SO much info I’m concerned I’ll run out of allowed MB space when uploading to my immi account. I see you are from Seattle. Me too!! Currently in Kirkland. Cheers!
Thanks Brooke – I actually just submitted my 801 form and a few pics as a placeholder, got an email 48 hours later that visa had been approved. Thanks for your help. Group is a great resource.
Hi Tom, massive congratulations, what wonderful news!! Hope you and your partner get a chance to celebrate 🙂 -Brooke
Hey Brooke – thanks so much for sharing this it is incredibly useful. Me and my wife spent hours collating the original 820 application and didn’t realize at the time there was an second stage we would have to complete. As the requirements are largely the same, do you know if I can build on the original application (taking this as read) and provide updates specific to the last few years e.g. buying a house together and starting a family. This seems more relevant to me than re-sharing old wedding photos or talking about how we met 10+ years ago but I worry that DHS will require a full rewrite? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks
Tom
Hi Tom, I would imagine that your assumption is correct, but unfortunately I don’t have any personal knowledge of this, as both my 820 and 801 were granted together (so I never did the second application). Any others readers care to share their experience or insight?? -Brooke
Before anything else, thank you for writing this article! It has been a big help to me and my husband. We have been married for 1 year and 8 months, but I have only recently moved here to Australia since I was strongly advised against traveling last year due to my intricate pregnancy. I would like to ask, in case you have any idea, if it’s alright for me to skip the “Relationship – Spouse, De facto Partner, Evidence of” and “Registered relationship, Evidence of” dropdowns if I upload my evidences under the “Marriage, Evidence of” section? Since I believe I would be uploading the same evidences under that section too if it was necessary?
Hi Therese, Yes, you only need to upload marriage evidence OR de facto evidence, not both. Sounds like you’re on the right track! Best of luck with the application 🙂
-Brooke
Wow thank you for taking the time to write this extremely helpful post! I’m just starting my visa journey and this has helped me start to organise everything without being extremely overwhelmed! Thank you X
Thank you so much for this. My partner and I are in a LDR so it’s really hard to provide evidences. I guess we really have to prove them that we’re really a couple and it’s not all about papers etc. You gave us hope.
Hey Brooke, Thank you so much for this post is so helpful. In the part 4: Nature of the commitment, you joint a Word file for a stat dec. Is that the correct format for this type of declaration or is there an official paper from immi that looks like form 888 but for non australians? Thanks 🙂
Hi Louise, If you’re referring to the “Stat dec/signed letter from any non-Australian friends or family who have been involved in your relationship”, there is no official form. Your family can just write a letter and sign it, but know that it DOES NOT count towards your minimum Form 888s. It’s just extra 🙂 -Brooke
My partner and I have just started the application process and it was incredibly useful to read through your very detailed explanation. Thank you! I have two questions – how long did it take for your visa to be granted from when you submitted it? How long did you have before you were required to move to Australia?
Cheers,
Dan
Hi Dan, glad you’ve found these posts helpful! I have been waiting 19 months without any communication from Home Affairs– I’m hoping it will be granted soon, but I have no idea. I did apply onshore, though, so I’m not sure about how the deadline for moving to Australia works for those applying offshore. Perhaps another reader will see this comment and be able to provide a more helpful answer! -Brooke
One tiny more question xx to format everything.. what did you use?? Did you scan all documents, tickets, etc. Then having explanations and titles with all of them with google docs or word??
Thanks again xx Sage
Hi again Sage, I scanned documents and combined things (as appropriate) into PDF documents, usually using Word and exporting to PDF or just merging PDFs. Hope that helps xx
-Brooke
Hi lovely! Thank goodness for souls like you xx. My partner and I are just starting a step by step process towards our application for the partner visa. In all honesty what a hell storm!! I know its gonna be a lengthy and expensive process but everyone here knows its gonna be worth it in the end. We are all here for the same reason, to be with whom we love! My partner is Australian and I am Canadian. I guess I would say our step 1 is registering our relationship with the state so even though we have been living together for 12 months it will take stress off of all the evidence for that because to be honest our situation I think is a bit different.. Ill explain below.
My partner and I have been living together back and forth between two houses. I am an au pair and I work 4 days on and 4 days off. On my days on my partner and I both live at the house I am au pairing for. And on my days off we are living at his house (there most of the time) with his family(now just his mom and dad). We are always together, never apart going back and forth together. His (our)house is 10 minutes from the house I work at. While my second job at a café is down the street from his(our) house. So the only problem Im afraid of is that neither of our names are really present in either houses because we both in all honesty aren’t paying many bills. His parents have said that in order to satisfy the visa requirements and for proof that they can put our names on some of the bills and Im sure the family I au pair for would do the same. We are a few steps away from registering our relationship and we are opening our joint bank account tonight where we will have all our joint savings for the visa, upcoming trips, and our big goal is a house of our own.
I saw in earlier comments Brooke, that you said that written statements from family or people whom you’ve been living with stating you are living there and the circumstances would be okay, right?? Im thinking we will be alright if we have the chance to explain the circumstances because of my job and with putting our names onto bills etc putting both our names onto my partners car etc. And also a big one of course is registering our relationship. We could get written statements from his parents and from the family I work for. As for everything else I think we are absolutely covered with trips and pictures.. Getting statements from friends, family, and each other.. Im so sorry this is so long!! With living in the way we are living at the moment its catapulting us with the ability to save up money towards everything we want in the future. One more thing, at the moment I am on a bridging visa A. I was on a working holiday about a year ago and got told the wrong info from someone over a call from the government telling me I could apply on shore without leaving for a tourist visa right off the bat to be able to stay longer when my WHV was coming to an end! Gosh if only I knew as much then as I know now. Terribly wrong and got the tourist visa refused… Instead of leaving through more research I found a loop hole in getting more time to stay here. I applied for a merits review of the decision. I know very well It will probably get refused again but I knew it was worth everything to try and stay and I still hope theres the chance it could get granted. The only fight back I have towards it is that I was professionally told the wrong thing. I know, not strong. But anyway the whole reason I did that is because you are then allowed to stay in the country on the BVA while they process the review which they said to my luck takes a minimum of 12 months maximum 18 now 19 because of the pandemic. So here I am still lawfully in Australia working and in that time met my partner, etc. Best decision I ever made! The fallback is though that to apply for the partner visa you have to be on a substantive visa.. bridging visa is not one! So it worried me.. but at the same time I thought no harm in leaving, applying for a tourist outside of Australia cause then already my circumstances have changed and zero reason for it to get denied again. So ill apply for an ETA since im Canadian, then apply for the partner visa off of that so I am applying on shore.. Covid makes that a bit complicated because of travel restrictions but with our registered relationship I should be fine coming back to Aus because having your de facto partner in aus and coming to see them is classified as an exemption!
Any who sorry again for the long post but Im just wondering what you think of all of this would love your opinion xxx Sorry again for all of this
Hi Sage, so sorry it’s taken me this long to respond! I am incredibly happy to hear this guide has been helpful to you, I totally agree the process is insanely overwhelming — but worth it 🙂 I would think a stat dec from the family you live with and your partner’s mum & dad would be totally sufficient evidence for living together. In fact, my partner and I have been living in an apartment that his parents own for the last 6 months, so we don’t have a lease and we just pay rent directly to them. We’ve included bank statements and a stat dec from his mum to confirm we are living here together. You can 1000% explain the situation, there’s NOTHING wrong with not being on a lease together or owning a house together. You still live together, which is more than a lot of other couples! The fact your partner actually lives with you even with your au pair family seems pretty major to me!! And yes, I definitely recommend registering your relationship just as an extra bit of evidence 🙂 It certainly sounds like there’s been some visa drama, and I totally sympathise because often when you call up Home Affairs they have no idea and end up telling you the wrong thing. You’re right that you do qualify for a travel exemption as a de facto partner of an Aussie, but you still have to apply (I’m sure you know this), so I’d want to be bloody sure of getting that exemption approved before I left for North America. Given the complicated nature of your current visa status, it might be worth speaking to a migration agent– they will know far better than anyone on the phone at Home Affairs and might be able to offer some guidance. It’s annoying to have to pay someone, but when there’s this much on the line, might be worth a short zoom consultation or something. Just a thought! Best of luck to you guys!!
-Brooke
Brooke, Thanks so much for writing this up! I wanted to quickly ask if you included the full lease, joint bank accounts, etc or did you screenshot the important bits?
