Who this may suit
Couples without a joint lease who are preparing a Partner visa application.
Key considerations
- A joint lease is one possible document, not a substitute for proving a genuine relationship.
- Explain why the lease is absent and support your actual living arrangements with suitable records.
- The usual 12-month de facto requirement concerns the relationship, not simply the length of a lease.
Start with eligibility, then organise the evidence
For a spouse or de facto Partner application, the relationship must be genuine and continuing, involve mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of others, and meet the applicable living-arrangements requirements. Couples must live together or not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. Marriage must be legally recognised in Australia.
De facto applicants usually need to establish at least 12 months in that relationship immediately before applying. Recognised relationship registration and certain other circumstances can affect this requirement. Dating for 12 months is not automatically the same as being de facto. Registration does not remove the need to establish the relationship itself.
Explain why there is no joint lease
Explain the arrangement: perhaps one partner owns the home, you joined an existing tenancy, or you live with relatives. Identify the address, owner or tenant, move-in dates and other residents.
If only one person is named on the lease, provide the genuine document and explain the arrangement. Do not alter it to add another name. A clear explanation is more useful than leaving the reader to guess why the housing records differ.
Choose alternatives that fit your home
Build an evidence trail across the relevant period. Consider what each existing record actually establishes.
- Same-address records: dated bank, insurance, government or other reliable correspondence for each partner at the shared address.
- Household payments: relevant rent transfers, board payments, bills or purchases that fit your explanation of shared costs.
- Living with family: a factual statement from the host identifying the address, dates and arrangements they personally know.
- One partner owns the home: ownership records plus evidence connecting the other partner to living there.
- Daily household arrangements: your explanation of chores, meals, caring responsibilities and other shared domestic matters.
Cover the rest of the relationship as well
A housing document cannot tell the whole story. Organise evidence about finances, household arrangements, social recognition and commitment. Examples may include genuine expense-sharing records, invitations or travel together, and an account of important decisions and support you give each other.
Home Affairs uses Form 888 supporting statements to help assess social aspects. The current form is completed by someone aged at least 18 who knows both partners and the relationship history. Follow its identity-document instructions. A witness should describe first-hand knowledge, not repeat a script. The current Form 888 is a supporting statement, not a statutory declaration.
If you have lived apart, address the period honestly
Temporary separation does not automatically mean a relationship has ended. Explain the reason, dates, where each person stayed and how your shared life continued. Relevant material might include visits, travel bookings, communication and actual financial support. Distinguish short visits from periods of living together.
Never having lived together may require closer examination of whether a de facto relationship exists at all. A large collection of messages cannot simply replace that assessment. Seek advice before relying on an explanation of separation as the answer to an eligibility issue.
Make the documents easy to understand
Prepare a relationship timeline and a simple index connecting each document to the fact and date range it supports. Label gaps instead of filling them with assumptions. Check that both partners’ accounts agree on important dates, while allowing each person to write in their own words.
Use the current visa checklist, translate non-English documents as required and respond to specific Home Affairs requests. If you cannot supply something requested, explain the problem. Collecting more files is not always the solution to an unclear or inconsistent account.
How we can help
Ausdirect can assess the relationship pathway, review why standard housing documents are unavailable and help build an evidence plan suited to your circumstances. The aim is a clear, accurate application; no particular document combination guarantees approval.
Questions to consider
Can we apply if we live with our parents?
Potentially. Explain the arrangement and provide suitable evidence that you actually share a household. Living with parents does not establish or defeat Partner visa eligibility on its own.
Will a letter from the landlord be enough?
It may help explain who lives at the property and when, but there is no promise that one letter will be sufficient. Consider it alongside the full relationship evidence and any specific document request.
Do we need 12 months on the same lease?
There is no universal requirement for 12 months on a joint lease. De facto applicants usually need the qualifying relationship to have existed for 12 months before applying, unless an applicable exception is established.
Your next step
Prepare your address history, the reason a joint lease is unavailable and a list of existing evidence, then book a consultation to identify gaps before lodging.