Requisitos, tasas y presentación
The 12-month de facto rule, and the three exceptions
This is an eligibility rule rather than an evidence question, and it catches couples out because the exceptions are much less widely known than the rule itself. All of it sits in one regulation.
Actualizado el 28 August 2026Fuentes revisadas el 25 August 20267 min de lectura
The requirement
Regulation 1.09A of the Migration Regulations 1994 defines de facto relationships for partner visa purposes, and its first note points elsewhere for eligibility: “See regulation 2.03A for the prescribed criteria applicable to de facto partners.” Regulation 2.03A is where the 12-month requirement lives.
This applies to de facto applicants. Married applicants are assessed under the spouse definition in section 5F of the Migration Act and regulation 1.15A, where no equivalent 12-month period appears.
The three exceptions
Regulation 2.03A names three circumstances in which the 12-month requirement does not apply:
- Compelling and compassionate circumstances — reg 2.03A(3)(b), where the applicant establishes them.
- Where the relationship involves the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa — reg 2.03A(4).
- Where the de facto relationship is a registered relationship within the meaning of section 2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 — reg 2.03A(5).
Registration schemes are run by states and territories, not the Commonwealth, and their own eligibility rules — residency, minimum age, whether both people must attend — vary by jurisdiction and are set by that jurisdiction, not by migration law. Not every state and territory operates a scheme. The registering authority for the relevant jurisdiction is the source for how its scheme works.
What the exception does and does not change
Regulation 2.03A governs one thing: whether the 12-month period must be established. It does not touch the four-aspects assessment in regulation 1.09A(3), which applies regardless. A relationship shorter than 12 months that falls within an exception is still assessed on its financial aspects, the nature of the household, its social aspects and the nature of the couple's commitment, in exactly the same way as any other.
The two provisions also measure different things. Regulation 2.03A asks how long the relationship has run; regulation 1.09A(3)(d)(i) and (ii) list the duration of the relationship and the length of time the couple have lived together among the matters considered under the commitment aspect. A relationship can satisfy the first and still have little documented under the second.
Preguntas frecuentes
- Does the 12-month de facto requirement apply to married applicants?
- No. Regulation 2.03A sets criteria applicable to de facto partners. Married applicants are assessed under section 5F of the Migration Act and regulation 1.15A, which contain no equivalent 12-month period.
- When is the 12 months measured to?
- Regulation 2.03A(3) refers to the period of 12 months ending immediately before the date of the application — the application date, not the decision date.
- Does registering a relationship remove the 12-month requirement?
- Regulation 2.03A(5) provides that the requirement does not apply where the de facto relationship is a registered relationship within the meaning of section 2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. Whether a couple can register, and how, is governed by the state or territory scheme rather than by migration law, and not every jurisdiction operates one.
- Does an exception change what evidence is assessed?
- No. Regulation 2.03A concerns only the 12-month period. The four aspects listed in regulation 1.09A(3) are considered regardless.
Fuentes
Cada dato anterior remite a una de estas fuentes. La legislación se cita de la compilación vigente en la fecha indicada; se citan las guías publicadas allí donde un dato está comúnmente documentado y no confirmado en el texto original.