A couple sits across from us with a calendar problem. They moved in together seven months ago. One partner runs a small design consultancy and holds a temporary visa that ends in four months. The relationship is genuine, and both of them know it. On the dates alone, though, a partner visa lodged today would fail the 12-month requirement. This note sets out the three ways through, and how the migration team chooses between them.
In short: most de facto applicants must show the relationship had a de facto character for 12 months before lodging. A relationship registered under a state or territory law removes that duration test, and marriage avoids it. The charge of $11,710 stays the same on every route.
What the 12-month rule is actually testing
For visa purposes, a de facto couple lives together, or does not live separately on a permanent basis. The relationship must be genuine and continuing, mutually exclusive, and more than one of convenience. For most de facto applicants, that relationship must have existed for at least 12 months immediately before the application.
The clock does not start on the first date. It starts when the relationship took on a de facto character, which usually means a shared life under one roof. Casual dating before that point does not count. Couples who count from the night they met often find the officer counting from the lease instead.
Three ways through
We see three routes in practice. Which one fits depends on your dates, your plans and your visa position. Pick your situation below.
How long has the relationship had a de facto character?
Registering a relationship in Victoria
Victoria registers relationships through Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria. At least one partner must live in Victoria. Neither partner can be married or in another registered relationship. The process involves an application, identity documents and a statutory declaration period, and it ends with a certificate.
That certificate is the document that engages the exception. Where a relationship is registered under a prescribed state or territory law, the 12-month requirement does not apply. Other states and territories run their own schemes, and a registration under a prescribed law elsewhere works the same way for the visa.
Registration takes time, and the certificate must exist when you apply. We therefore raise it at the first consultation, not the last. The migration team treats the registration date as a lodgement milestone in its own right.
What each route still requires
The duration test falls away. Genuineness does not. You still prove a shared life across the financial, household, social and commitment aspects. A registered couple with thin evidence is still a refusal risk.
The 12-month rule applies only to de facto applicants, so marriage avoids it. The marriage must be valid under Australian law. The evidence standard is identical, and a recent marriage invites closer attention to the history before it.
You prove both duration and genuineness. The start date must be consistent across every form, statement and witness declaration. A date that shifts between documents is the fastest way to lose credibility.
When one partner runs a business
Many of our de facto clients are founders or sole directors. Their company records can fix a start date better than a photo album can. A partner added as a shareholder, a director or a signatory carries a date set by an independent register. A business address changed to the shared home does the same. Both partners signing personally for a business loan is strong financial evidence.
Two cautions apply. First, moving shares or a directorship to a partner is a commercial decision with tax and control consequences. We run it past our commercial practice before anyone signs. Second, the company's records and the visa forms must agree. If the ASIC extract shows one address and the application shows another, the officer will ask why. Our note on the four pillars of relationship evidence covers how these documents sit in the file.
Evidence that anchors the start date
Because the rule turns on dates, the evidence should timestamp the relationship. A joint lease is the classic anchor. Bank statements showing regular shared spending do the same job month by month. Travel bookings, joint insurance and mail to the same address all help. Gather them in date order, then state the start date the same way everywhere.
Periods apart should be explained rather than hidden. A discovered gap reads far worse than a candid paragraph about a work posting or a family illness.
What if our visa ends before the certificate arrives?
This is the situation we see most often, and it needs advice early. Registration is not instant, and a partner visa application must meet the criteria on the day it is lodged. The options depend on the current visa, its conditions and the dates. Sometimes a different visa holds the position while registration completes. We would rather plan that sequence than lodge an application that cannot succeed. Our note on choosing between the 820/801 and 309/100 pathways explains how location on lodgement day changes the analysis.
How we sequence it
We fix the start date first, then choose the route, then build the evidence around that choice. Where registration is the answer, it begins immediately. Where the couple is close to 12 months, waiting a short time can be cleaner than registering. Where marriage is already planned, the wedding date becomes part of the visa plan. The migration practice runs this as one file, and where a company is involved the commercial team joins the same file.
If your dates are tight, contact us before your current visa ends rather than after.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does one of us have to live in Victoria to register there?
Yes. Registration through Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria is open where at least one partner lives in Victoria, subject to the scheme's other requirements. Couples elsewhere use their own state or territory scheme where one exists.
Can we register if one of us is still married to someone else?
No. Neither partner can be married or in another registered relationship. The earlier marriage must end first, or the couple relies on the 12-month route with a clear explanation of the history.
Does time living apart for work stop the 12-month clock?
Not necessarily. A de facto couple lives together or does not live separately on a permanent basis. A temporary work posting can be explained, provided the evidence shows the relationship continued through it.
Is registration a shortcut that lowers the evidence we need?
No. Registration answers the duration question only. You still prove a genuine and continuing relationship across the financial, household, social and commitment aspects.
We registered years ago. Do we still need 12 months of evidence?
The duration test does not apply to a registered relationship. The officer still assesses genuineness over the whole relationship, so evidence spanning those years remains the strongest file you can lodge.
General information as at 2 September 2026. Not legal advice. Speak to the migration team about your own circumstances before you act.