Proving a partner or de facto relationship for a Subclass 202 application in 2026
For a Global Special Humanitarian visa (Subclass 202) application, you prove a partner relationship in one of two ways: provide your current marriage certificate, or provide documents showing you have been in a de facto relationship with your partner for at least 12 months before you apply. That either/or rule comes from the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Global Special Humanitarian visa (Subclass 202) page, as of the August 2026 version of that page.
This article is general information about published documentary requirements, not advice tailored to any individual case. Relationship evidence is assessed against your own circumstances and against the rules in force when you apply, so treat the Department's current page as the controlling reference and seek professional advice if your situation is unusual.
Who counts as a partner on a Subclass 202 application?
The Department treats your partner as family for this visa, alongside your dependent children, your partner's dependent children, and other relatives who are dependants. You can include family in your application when you apply, and you can add certain family members at any time before the Department decides your application.
The inclusion step carries a lasting consequence. You must declare all family members even if they are not applying with you, and if you fail to declare someone, you may not be able to propose them for a Humanitarian visa after you arrive in Australia. That matters most in exactly the situation this article covers: a partner whose relationship documents you have not yet gathered.
Do I need a marriage certificate, or will 12 months of de facto evidence do?
Either one satisfies the partner document requirement. The published instruction is to provide either your current marriage certificate, or documents proving a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before you apply.
Two details are worth separating. "Current" applies to the marriage certificate — an older certificate that no longer reflects your legal status is not what is asked for. The 12-month period applies to the de facto route and is measured backwards from the date you apply, not from the date the Department assesses the file. If you married recently and cannot yet show 12 months of de facto history, the marriage certificate is the document that fits; if you are not married, the 12-month de facto file is the one you build.
Which documents can prove a de facto relationship?
The Department's page lists four categories of acceptable de facto evidence:
- joint bank account statements
- billing accounts in joint names
- joint leases or mortgages
- documents that show your partner has lived at the same address as you
These are listed as examples of what de facto evidence can include, not as a fixed checklist where each item is compulsory. For a couple with no formal lease or no joint accounts — common where people have been displaced or are living outside their country of origin — the practical work is to assemble whatever independent records exist showing the same address and a shared household over the relevant period.
Assume a couple has lived in rented accommodation under one name only and pays utilities from a single account. The fourth category still applies: any document showing the partner lived at the same address can carry the point, even without a joint name on the lease or the bill.
What else does the Department ask for about a partner?
Relationship proof is one part of the partner's document set. For a partner included in the application, you also provide identity documents, character documents, documents about other relationships if applicable, any visas or residence permits they hold, and a photograph meeting the same standard as the main applicant's — one scanned photograph per applicant, showing the whole face against a plain background.
Separately, and easy to miss, the Department asks for certified copies of marriage certificates or relationship registrations for you and anyone else included in your application, even if those people are not joining you in Australia. A partner staying behind still needs the relationship document lodged.
If your name has changed, the identity section of the document list treats a marriage or divorce certificate as proof of change of name, which is another reason the certificate matters beyond relationship proof alone.
Does partner evidence affect priority or later sponsorship?
Partner relationships sit at the centre of the Subclass 202 priority structure, so the way you document the relationship can affect how the application is ranked.
Applications for family reunion are more likely to be successful where the proposer is an immediate or close family member, because those cases receive higher priority. The top priority group is where your proposer is an immediate family member — a partner or dependent child, or, if the proposer is under 18, the proposer's parent — who has been granted a Class XB visa or is an Australian citizen who held a Protection or Resolution of Status visa, and where you also meet the split-family criteria. Those criteria require that your proposer was a member of your immediate family when the Department granted their visa, that they told the Department about your relationship before that grant, and that they proposed your application within five years of the grant.
One further published rule is relevant to couples: women granted a Woman at Risk (subclass 204) visa, or prioritised under the Special Humanitarian Program on the basis of vulnerability, should sponsor any existing or new spouses under the Family Stream of the Migration Program rather than through this visa.
Two procedural points apply regardless of priority group. The Department states that processing is lengthy, varies by applicant circumstances, that it does not give processing updates, and that most applications will be unsuccessful because more applications are received each year than there are visas available. And if you are applying as an immediate family member of a person granted this visa, your proposer must be that person, and the qualifying relationship is membership of the immediate family of someone granted the visa in the last five years.
What if the relationship changes after I apply?
Changes to your marital or de facto status are on the Department's list of things you must report after you have applied. If you entered an incorrect answer, the published mechanism is Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers, and if you need to add a family member before a decision is made, the published mechanism is Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement.
Where family members are applying for their own visas at the same time, the Department asks you to submit the applications together and to list in your application all family who are also applying. Submitting together gives the Department a clear picture of everyone applying, which is the practical argument for assembling partner documents before lodgement rather than afterwards.
Does including a partner change the health, character or cost position?
Family members who apply for the visa must meet the health and character requirements, and family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet them. There is no visa application charge for this visa unless you are proposed under the Community Support Program by an Approved Proposing Organisation. Where a second instalment applies, the Department sends an invoice after all other requirements are met, and you pay only after that invoice arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my partner be included if we are not married?
Yes. A partner is family for this visa whether or not you are married. Instead of a marriage certificate, you provide documents proving a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before you apply, such as joint bank account statements, joint billing accounts, joint leases or mortgages, or documents showing your partner lived at the same address as you.
Does the 12 months have to be continuous cohabitation?
The published requirement is proof that you have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before you apply, measured from your application date. The Department does not publish a separate day-count cohabitation test on this page, so the safest reading is to evidence the relationship across the full 12-month period with dated documents.
Do I need relationship documents for a partner who is not coming to Australia?
Yes. The Department asks for certified copies of marriage certificates or relationship registrations for you and anyone else included in the application, even if they are not joining you in Australia. A partner who stays behind still needs the relationship document lodged with the application.
What should I do if I marry after lodging the application?
Report it, because changes to marital or de facto status are on the Department's list of changes you must notify after applying. If an answer in the application has become incorrect, use Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers, and if you want to add a family member before a decision, use Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement.
Is there a fee for including a partner on a Subclass 202 application?
There is no visa application charge for this visa unless you are proposed under the Community Support Program by an Approved Proposing Organisation. Where a second instalment applies, the Department issues an invoice once all other requirements are met, and payment is made after that invoice is received.
Will strong partner evidence make the application faster?
No. The Department states it does not give processing updates and that processing time is lengthy and varies with each applicant's circumstances. Relationship evidence affects whether the partner relationship is accepted and, through the priority groups, how a family reunion case is ranked — not the speed at which you receive updates.