{"id":4179,"date":"2021-06-21T15:47:36","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T05:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blmigration.com.au\/?p=4179"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:01:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T05:01:51","slug":"living-together-partner-visa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blmigration.com.au\/en\/living-together-partner-visa\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you have to be living together for partner visa?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"4179\" class=\"elementor elementor-4179\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-116d663f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"116d663f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7ea85c83\" data-id=\"7ea85c83\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3943e33 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"3943e33\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"711\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/www.blmigration.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/living-together-partner-visa.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-4202\" alt=\"living together partner visa\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.blmigration.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/living-together-partner-visa.jpg 711w, https:\/\/www.blmigration.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/living-together-partner-visa-300x98.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.blmigration.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/living-together-partner-visa-16x5.jpg 16w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2217885e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2217885e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>The basic answer is<strong> No<\/strong> &#8211; You do not have to be living together to apply for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blmigration.com.au\/service\/i-have-a-partner-or-family-in-australia\/partner-visa\/\">partner visa<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There is a misconception amongst many people that you have to be living together for 12 months before you can apply for the partner visa. This is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">INCORRECT<\/span>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www8.austlii.edu.au\/cgi-bin\/viewdoc\/au\/legis\/cth\/consol_act\/ma1958118\/s5cb.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">legal requirements for a de facto partner or spousal relationship<\/a> is that you EITHER:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>live together; or\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>do not <strong>live separately and apart on a permanent basis<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In fact, we have had many successful experiences dealing with long-distance relationships or relationships where cultural or religious traditions means they are unable to live together until after marriage. The fact they have not been living together does not prevent them from applying for a partner visa.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There have been cases where the courts have clarified this legal definition. In one famous case, the term &#8216;live separate and apart&#8217; was interpreted not to mean &#8216;cohabitation&#8217; but rather where the couple lives their <em>lives<\/em> together. There is no requirement that the couple physically reside in the same premises prior to the application.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The factors that should be assessed for &#8216;living together&#8217; in a partner visa application are:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Physical and mental elements of living their\u00a0<em>lives<\/em> together and combined; and\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Whether there is any information indicating that they are living their lives separately as separate households.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>These are then demonstrated through the 4 factors of the relationship; financial, nature of household, social and nature of commitment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you feel unsure whether you qualify for the partner visa, you should enquire with us for a free assessment on your eligibility. If you do qualify, then we can book in a consultation where will then form an opinion on the degree of difficulty you may face with an application and provide you with further advice and strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You may\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blmigration.com.au\/service\/book-a-consultation-with-us\/\">consult<\/a> with us to find out more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9088b1f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9088b1f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-575c902\" data-id=\"575c902\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd3bd8f elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"bd3bd8f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-135bc9f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"135bc9f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>This article was prepared and written by our immigration lawyer team at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blmigration.com.au\/\">Brightstone Migration<\/a> and reviewed by one of our Partner Lawyers and the Head of Immigration. It aims to provide professional insights and commentary. The content is for reference only and does not constitute specific legal advice.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last updated: <span style=\"color: #7b7b7b;\">21\/06\/2021<\/span><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The basic answer is No &#8211; You do not have to be living together to apply for the partner visa.\u00a0&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-4179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-partner-visa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>De Facto Partner Visa Australia | Do You Need to Live Together?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Confused about the de facto partner visa? 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