Article
Partner Visa With Less Than 12 Months Together? De Facto vs Married and the Exceptions
One of the most searched partner visa questions is some version of: do we need to get married first? The short answer is no — Australia’s partner visa framework treats married and de facto couples as parallel pathways to the same visas. But the pathways carry different threshold requirements, and the difference most couples trip over is the 12-month rule.
The two pathways, briefly
A partner visa — onshore 820/801 or offshore 309/100 — requires you to be either the spouse or the de facto partner of your Australian sponsor:
- Spouse: the marriage must be valid under Australian law, and the relationship must be genuine and continuing.
- De facto partner: you are not married, but live together (or do not live separately on a permanent basis) in a genuine, committed relationship to the exclusion of all others — and, generally, that relationship must have existed for at least 12 months before you apply.
There is a third door for couples who are engaged but not yet married and the applicant is offshore: the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa, which lets the applicant enter Australia and marry the sponsor within the visa period, then move onto the onshore partner pathway.
What the 12 months actually measures
The 12-month requirement is measured against the de facto relationship, not the romance. The clock does not start when you matched online, or even necessarily when you moved in together — it runs from when the relationship had the character of a de facto partnership: mutual commitment to a shared life, exclusivity, and the merging of lives that goes with it. Couples routinely miscount this in both directions: some undercount by assuming only formal cohabitation counts, others overcount by dating the relationship from the first date.
Because it is a threshold criterion tied to the application date, getting it wrong is expensive. If the relationship falls short at lodgement, later months together cannot cure the application — which is one reason relationship timing questions deserve advice before lodging, not after a refusal.
The exceptions
The 12-month requirement is not absolute. The exceptions most commonly relevant:
- Relationship registration. Several Australian states and territories allow couples to register their relationship. Under regulation 2.03A(5), the 12-month requirement does not apply to a registered relationship. Registration is a state/territory process with its own eligibility rules (including residence-related requirements that vary by jurisdiction), so check whether and where your circumstances allow it.
- Compelling and compassionate circumstances. The rules recognise limited circumstances in which the requirement does not apply — assessed on the specific facts, not on hardship in a general sense.
- Permanent humanitarian visa holders. The requirement also does not apply where the sponsor holds (or held) a permanent humanitarian visa and declared the relationship to the Department before that visa was granted, or where the sponsor is applying for one.
Relationship registers exist in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not have one.
What no exception does is lower the substantive bar. A registered one-month relationship still has to be proven genuine and continuing — and a young relationship, however real, simply has less history to evidence.
Married or de facto, the evidence burden is the same
This is the part that surprises people: marriage removes the duration requirement, but the Department assesses every partner relationship — married or de facto — against the same four areas: financial aspects, the nature of the household, social recognition of the relationship, and the nature of your commitment to each other. A wedding certificate proves a marriage occurred; it does not prove a shared life. Thin evidence is one of the most common reasons partner visas are refused, whichever pathway is used.
Our partner visa evidence checklist breaks down what belongs under each of the four pillars, and you can download the free partner visa checklist to start organising your documents against them.
So — should you marry, register, or wait?
There is no universally right answer. Marrying, registering the relationship, waiting out the 12 months, or applying under an exception each carry different timing, evidence and personal consequences — and the right sequencing depends on your visa status, where each of you is located, and how strong your evidence already is. That judgement is exactly what a consultation is for; no pathway choice guarantees a grant, and the relationship evidence carries the case in every scenario.
This article is general information only and is not migration advice for your circumstances. Migration advice is provided by Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) after a consultation — contact WIDEN to discuss which pathway fits your relationship and timing.
If the applicant is in Australia without a substantive visa, a separate set of rules can apply to the onshore application: see Schedule 3 and the onshore partner visa.
Get the timing right before you lodge
Partner visa charges are high and generally not refunded if the application fails, so the timing of marrying, registering or waiting matters. A consultation reviews your relationship history, visa status and evidence and tells you which option fits. Book a consultation — A$330 inc. GST, credited if you go ahead.
In other currencies: A$330 is about US$225, €205 or £170; A$550 is about US$380, €340 or £285 (approximate, November 2026).
Common questions
Can I apply for a partner visa if we have been together less than 12 months?
Yes, in some cases. If you are married, the 12-month rule does not apply. If you are de facto partners, the Migration Regulations (regulation 2.03A) require 12 months of de facto relationship immediately before you apply unless the relationship is registered with an Australian state or territory, you can establish compelling and compassionate circumstances, or a permanent humanitarian visa exception applies. Engaged couples with the applicant outside Australia can consider the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) instead.
Which Australian states let you register a relationship?
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT have relationship registers. Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not. Each register has its own rules, including residence requirements and, in some states, a waiting period, so check the registry in your state before relying on registration.
What visa can my fiancé get to come to Australia?
The Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) is for an applicant outside Australia who is engaged to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and intends to marry them in Australia within the visa period. After the marriage, the applicant can apply for the onshore partner visa (820/801).
Do I have to be married to get an Australian partner visa?
No. The partner visa is available to both married spouses and de facto partners of an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. The difference is in what each pathway must establish: a valid marriage for spouses, or a qualifying de facto relationship — generally of at least 12 months — for de facto applicants.
What is the 12-month rule for de facto partner visas?
De facto applicants generally need to show the de facto relationship existed for at least 12 months immediately before the application is lodged. It is measured against the relationship itself — commitment to a shared life together, to the exclusion of others — not simply the date you met or started dating.
How can the 12-month requirement not apply?
The main exception is registering the relationship with an Australian state or territory that offers relationship registration — a registered relationship generally removes the 12-month requirement. There are also limited compelling and compassionate circumstances recognised by the rules. None of the exceptions remove the need to prove the relationship is genuine and continuing.
Is it easier to get a partner visa if you're married?
Marriage removes the 12-month duration requirement, but it does not reduce the evidentiary burden. Married and de facto applicants alike must demonstrate a genuine and continuing relationship across the same assessment areas — financial, household, social, and commitment. A marriage certificate alone has never been enough.
Reading this because it's your situation? Book 30 minutes with Keshab: A$330 inc. GST, credited if you go ahead.
Book a partner visa consultation — A$330 inc. GST, credited In writing, no call — A$550Free resource
Partner Visa Evidence Checklist
Evidence organised by the four areas the Department assesses — financial, household, social, commitment — plus a 5-email series on common refusal patterns.
Book 30 minutes with Keshab.
Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536), reads your situation with you and tells you which route fits, what it costs and what happens next.
Video consultation. A$330 inc. GST for 30 minutes, credited in full if you go ahead. Advice on your own case is given in the consultation, and you leave it with a clear plan in writing.
What you get
- 30 minutes (A$330) or 60 minutes (A$550) by video with a registered migration agent, Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
- A written summary of your options and next steps after the session.
- What to bring: How long you have been together and living together, any registration or marriage certificate, the sponsor’s status, earlier visas of either partner.
- Prefer no call? The written pathway check is done in writing, A$550.
Book a partner visa consultation — A$330 inc. GST, credited In writing, no call — A$550
Need 60 minutes, or bringing a partner, employer or documents to go through? Extended consultation, A$550 inc. GST.
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