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Is a Australia Partner Visa Equivalent to Marriage?
Are these two concepts truly equivalent?
I’m 24 years old, and my girlfriend is 27.
We’ve been cohabiting for over two years now. I want to assist my girlfriend in her visa application process to migrate to Australia, but my parents are opposed to it.
They believe that I am too young to marry and that obtaining a visa is synonymous with marriage.
Isn’t a visa simply a means to allow the person I love to remain with me in Australia?
Moreover, isn’t marriage supposed to be officially registered?
What causes the confusion between these two terms in Australian migration discussions?
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1 Reply
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Hello Osman and welcome 👋🏻☺️
The Australian Partner Visa is not the same as marriage, but there is some overlap in how they are assessed.
A Partner Visa allows an applicant to stay in Australia based on their relationship with an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.
This applies to both married and de facto partners. Since you and your girlfriend have been living together for over two years, you may qualify as a de facto couple under Australian immigration law.
However, marriage and a Partner Visa are separate legal concepts:
- Marriage is a legally recognised union that is officially registered.
- A Partner Visa is an immigration pathway that can be based on either a marriage or a de facto relationship.
The confusion often arises because proving a de facto relationship for migration purposes requires similar evidence to a marriage, such as shared financial commitments, cohabitation, and social recognition of the relationship.
Your parents’ concerns about marriage are understandable, but applying for a Partner Visa does not mean you must get married. If you qualify as de facto partners, marriage is not required.
As a side note, It must be a day for de facto enquiries today so if you are looking for tips to provide evidence of your de facto relationship you might find this thread useful: https://ozvisaforum.com/discussion/partner-visa-tips-for-gathering-evidence-during-a-long-distance-relationship/
Please let me know if you have any further questions Osman.
All the best
Mark
ozvisaforum.com
Hi Everyone - First - what a great place - I'm very glad I found you! Secondly, sorry for the long post, though I hope you can help with some questions I have a
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