Written by Immigrad · Registered Migration Agent · MARN 1805710 · Last updated September 2026
Most partner visa files we are asked to review have the same problem, and it is almost never a lack of love. It is partner visa evidence collected by volume instead of by design — four hundred photographs, two years of chat logs, and very little that speaks to the four matters the Migration Regulations direct a decision-maker to weigh. This guide sets out what those four matters are, what carries real weight in each, and where applicants most often waste effort. Rules and figures are current as at September 2026.
What the law actually asks a case officer to consider
Partner visa decisions are made against the Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994, not a checklist invented by the Department. Section 5F of the Act defines a spouse and section 5CB defines a de facto partner. In both cases the relationship must be genuine and continuing, to the exclusion of all others, and the couple must live together or not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
Regulation 1.15A (married couples) and regulation 1.09A (de facto couples) then tell the decision-maker how to test that. The Minister must consider all of the circumstances of the relationship, including four groups of matters: the financial aspects, the nature of the household, the social aspects, and the nature of the couple’s commitment. Two words there do most of the work — all and including. It is a weighing of the whole picture, not a tally of documents, and a file that is strong in three categories and silent in the fourth invites questions.
The four categories of partner visa evidence, and what counts in each
Across all four, the same qualities separate evidence that helps from paper that fills a folder. Documents created by a third party — a bank, a landlord, an insurer, a school — carry more weight than anything you produce yourselves. Evidence spread evenly across the relationship reads as a real life; a burst in the weeks before lodgement reads as preparation.
1. Financial aspects
The regulation points to joint ownership of real estate or other major assets, joint liabilities, the extent of any pooling of financial resources, and how day-to-day expenses are shared. What carries weight: a mortgage or lease in both names, a joint loan, a genuinely used joint account with two-way traffic over a long period, superannuation or life insurance naming your partner as beneficiary, and each of you on the other’s private health cover. A joint account opened three weeks before lodgement with a token balance carries very little.
If you deliberately keep your finances separate, and plenty of couples do, do not hide it. Say so in your relationship statement, explain the arrangement, and show how you still share the cost of living together. An explained arrangement is far stronger than an unexplained gap.
2. The nature of your household
This covers joint responsibility for the care and support of children, your living arrangements, and how you share the housework. What carries weight: a lease or title with both names; utility, internet and council accounts split between you; mail addressed to each of you at the same address over a long stretch; a shared address on your licences, electoral enrolment and tax returns. Children’s birth certificates and school enrolment forms naming both of you are among the strongest documents in any file.
Housework sounds trivial, but the regulation names it. A short, specific paragraph in each of your statements — who cooks, who handles the bills, who does the school run — addresses it and costs you nothing.
3. The social aspects of your relationship
Here the decision-maker looks at whether you present yourselves to others as a couple, what friends and acquaintances think of the relationship, and how you plan and undertake joint social activities. What carries weight: statements from people who know you both well and can describe specific occasions; wedding or engagement invitations and the guest list; joint memberships; travel booked in both names; being named in each other’s family events.
What carries less weight than applicants expect is sheer volume of photographs. Ten photographs spread across four years, each captioned with the date, place, occasion and the names of the other people in the frame, do more than two hundred undated selfies.
4. The nature of your commitment to each other
The regulation lists the duration of the relationship, how long you have lived together, the companionship and emotional support you draw from each other, and whether you see the relationship as long-term. This is the category documents alone cannot carry, and it is where your two personal relationship statements do their work.
Write them separately, in your own words, covering how you met, how the relationship developed, how you decided to commit, and what your plans are. Your accounts should be consistent on the facts — dates, addresses, who was present — without being identical in wording; two statements that read as though one person wrote both are a well-known trigger for scrutiny. Forward-looking evidence belongs here too: wills naming each other, powers of attorney, or a lease signed for another twelve months.
Form 888: what it is, and what it is not
Form 888 is the Department’s supporting statement from a witness who knows you both. It is not a Commonwealth statutory declaration, and the Department treats the two as different documents — a Form 888 cannot be substituted where a statutory declaration is required. Download the current version from the Department’s form listing rather than reusing a copy someone sent you. Witnesses who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents can complete one, including from overseas, though statements from citizens and permanent residents are easier for the Department to verify.
The content decides whether the form helps at all. “They are a lovely couple” adds nothing. A statement saying how the writer met each of you, how often they see you, which events they have attended with you, and what they have observed about how you live together is evidence. Four to six strong statements beat a dozen weak ones, and you should not draft them for your witnesses — matching phrasing across several forms is obvious and damaging.
The 12-month de facto rule, and when it does not apply
De facto applicants generally need to show the relationship existed for at least 12 months immediately before lodgement. That is usually the first thing a case officer checks, so your evidence needs to demonstrate it rather than assert it.
The requirement can be waived where the relationship is registered with an Australian state or territory relationships register — registers operate in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. Registration with a foreign authority does not have this effect. A waiver is also available where compelling and compassionate circumstances exist. Registration removes the 12-month requirement; it does not remove the need to show the relationship is genuine and continuing, so all four categories still apply. Married applicants are not subject to the rule, but do need a marriage valid for Australian purposes, which for overseas marriages means a properly translated and certified certificate.
Four mistakes we see most often
Lodging with a plan to send evidence later. The Department expects applications to be decision-ready at lodgement. Ignoring the gaps. Long periods apart for work or family reasons are normal, but unexplained they look like separation — give the reason, the dates, and how you stayed connected. Treating photographs and chat logs as the core of the file. They cannot carry the financial, household or social categories on their own. Stopping once the application is lodged. Onshore, the subclass 820 is only the first stage and the permanent 801 is assessed later; offshore applicants move from 309 to 100 the same way. Keep building the file, and tell the Department about material changes.
Where evidence fits in the wider application
Evidence is one part of a picture that also includes health and character requirements, sponsorship eligibility and the application charge. The combined partner visa charge rose to AUD 11,710 for the primary applicant from 1 July 2026, covering both the temporary and permanent stages, with additional charges for family members included in the application. Our guide to partner visa costs and timelines in 2026 sets out the full breakdown.
Processing times are published by the Department and move month to month, so check its global visa processing times tool rather than relying on figures quoted in blog posts, including ours. If you are still working out which pathway applies, see our pages on the onshore partner visa (subclass 820 and 801), the offshore partner visa (subclass 309 and 100) and the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa, or the overview of all partner visa options.
Frequently asked questions
How much partner visa evidence is enough?
There is no prescribed number of documents. The test is whether the material as a whole addresses the financial, household, social and commitment matters in the regulations. A well-indexed file of thirty well-chosen documents spread evenly across the relationship is usually more persuasive than several hundred assembled at the last minute.
Do photographs and chat messages count as evidence?
They count, but as support rather than substance. Captioned photographs showing you with each other’s families across the life of the relationship help demonstrate the social aspects, and messages can show continuing contact during periods apart. Neither substitutes for financial, household or third-party evidence.
How many Form 888 statements should I include?
There is no minimum in the regulations. Four to six detailed statements from people who genuinely know you both is a common and sensible range, and witnesses should write in their own words about what they have personally observed.
Can I still apply if we keep our finances completely separate?
Yes. The regulation asks the decision-maker to consider the extent of any pooling of financial resources, not to require joint accounts. Explain the arrangement in your statements and show how you share the cost of living together in other ways — splitting rent and bills, one partner covering a major expense, or documented transfers between you.
Does registering our relationship remove the need for evidence?
No. Registration with an Australian state or territory register can remove the 12-month de facto requirement, but the relationship must still be shown to be genuine and continuing across all four categories.
Getting a second opinion before you lodge
This article is general information only. Partner visa decisions turn on the specific facts of your relationship, and matters involving prior refusals, visa cancellations, family violence or complex living arrangements need personal advice from a registered migration agent. Immigrad is a MARA-registered practice in Sydney, working with clients Australia-wide by video.
Unsure whether your evidence covers the four categories properly? Book a consultation with Immigrad and we will review your situation and tell you what your file still needs.