# Evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship



## Australia2013 (Nov 4, 2011)

I am newbie in this forum. Can you help me digest the following statements from AU immigration site. What sort of documentation can we provide to satisfy the following requirements:

*Evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship *

There are four broad categories of evidence that you need to provide.
•	financial aspects of the relationship: 
o	such as joint ownership of your house or joint names on a lease, correspondence addressed to both of you at the same address, details of financial commitments including bank statements, and any joint liabilities
•	the nature of the household:
o	any joint responsibility for the care and support of children, your living arrangements including sharing responsibilities within the home
•	social context: 
o	evidence that you and your partner are generally accepted as a couple socially such as joint invitations, evidence of common friends, assessments by your friends and family of your relationship, joint travel or joint participation in sporting, social or cultural activities
•	your commitment: 
o	duration of your relationship including knowledge of each other, intention that your relationship will be long term through things such as the terms of your wills, and correspondence and telephone accounts to show that contact was maintained during any periods of separation.

Many thanks for yor help.


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## Zultan (Aug 4, 2009)

Here is what I submitted for my partner visa:

Certified (some by a magistrate/some by a local solicitor)

Confirmation of Death in Service payment from my partner to me
Confirmation of Death in Service payment from my me to partner
Partner's car insurance with me as named driver
My car insurance partner as named driver
Joint mortgage offer
Remortgage correspondence from conveyancing solicitor
First joint bank statement
Council Tax bill from 2008
Mine, my partner's and son's passport & birth certs


Uncertified

Numerous travel and holiday itineraries going back to 2002
Invoice from nursery addressed to both of us
Amex statement showing partner's supplementary card on my account
Stat decs (Our's, Both mums, A friend).
Partner's employer reference, job profile and a recent p60


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## nonny1983 (Jul 20, 2011)

Hi this catagory is a pain. We've just been through it sent in loads of evidence thinking it was enough and they still asked for more, so go all out! 
In the end we sent in statements detailing our relationship written by us, declerations from family ( certified by a nurse friend) council tax, utility bills, rent agreements going back 4 years, marriage certificate, birth certificates for our 2 children , adoption cert for my oldest son, concert ticket stubs bank statements. You have to be able to cover a good period of time, that's the main thing. Good luck!


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## jumpjump (Oct 27, 2011)

This was what we provided (defacto partner's):
- Joint Account statements (highlighting and describing the various transactions: e.g. utilities, joint contributions, groceries, etc.)
- A few pictures showing us with both sides family members
- Plane tickets/flight itinerary showing both as passengers travelling together
- Letters and bills with either names, sent to our common address
- Certified relationship statement from both of us
- Statutory declaration from 2 of our Australian neighbors and my sister
- Partners car insurance with me listed as passenger
- NSW Relationship Registration certificate

All the best and good luck with your application


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## _Sarah_ (Jun 27, 2011)

Hi,

This is what we provided for my husband's application, organised into each category (his visa was granted):

Financial aspect
-	Receipt for a computer we bought together
-	Documents showing joint bank account and online banking accounts
-	Bank statements showing transfers between accounts
-	Receipts from Australia Post, money spent on sending letters and packages to Vincent’s family
-	Receipt for registering domestic relationship
-	Receipt for Vincent’s English classes
-	Receipt for translation of Vincent’s documents
-	Receipt for Vincent’s working holiday visa
-	Selection of our Metcards, I paid for mine and Vincent's metcards

The nature of the household
-	Statutory declaration made by Sarah
-	Statutory declaration made by Sarah’s mother
-	Selection of letters received by us both and individually from Vincent’s family
-	Letters Vincent received at our address: Police check from France, bank statements, letters from Vic Roads, birth certificate (which Vincent’s mother sent got sent to our address), Myki letter, Tax File Number, letter from French consulate, National Police Check letter

Social context of the relationship
-	Statutory declaration from Sarah’s best friend
-	Statutory declarations from family: Sarah’s mother, father, sister
-	Joint activities together in Australia: ACMI Disney exhibition, Phillip Island Penguin Parade, Otway Fly Treetop Walk, Eureka Tower, Melbourne Zoo
-	Joint travel in France: Fencing world cup in Orleans, movies, site-seeing, time spent with family
-	Photos from France and Australia, us together and with family
-	Vincent’s learner driver logbook, showing my mother as supervising driver 
-	Christmas card from Vincent’s grand parents written to both of us
-	Card from Vincent’s family sent to Sarah for her birthday
-	Cards written to us for our marriage from Vincent’s and Sarah’s family, gifts sent to us from Vincent’s family
-	Receipt for hotel room at Bell City on wedding night
- Acceptance of intent to marry from the French consulate

The nature of our commitment to each other
-	Sarah’s superannuation beneficiary details
-	Skype history with dates of calls made from December 2008 till the 10th July 2010
-	Package and letter Vincent sent to Sarah 15th December 2009
-	Calls made from Sarah’s mobile to Vincent’s mobile during 26th February to 20th May 2010, after being together in France and before Vincent coming to Australia
-	Letter Vincent sent to Sarah 9th April 2010
-	Copy of Sarah’s will


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## Australia2013 (Nov 4, 2011)

thanks Sarah. Really appreciate it.


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## Australia2013 (Nov 4, 2011)

thanks Zultan.


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## Nettle (Jul 21, 2011)

This is what we sent:

Forms 47
Stat decs approx 5 aus and 4 uk
Our personal statements
Joint bank account opening and recent statement
Joint credit card
Car, home and health insurance certificates for 3 years showing us as partners
Joint rental agreement
Joint bills - gas, electric and council tax
Postcards, wedding invites, thank you cards to us both and to each other (all had dates or postmarks) inc some from my nieces calling him uncle. 
Photos of us in different destinations and with each others family members 

We didn't bother with receipts as I didn't think it was easy to identify we bought things together but we did furnish our home so we can find some. We also didn't provide travel docs, the photos showed we were in different places together, we tried to pick one from each trip. 

Hopefully that's enough, it seems enough for most people!


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## rebel smith (Aug 23, 2013)

wow... im australian, my boyfriend is french, we have been travelling apart and together for the past 2 years. we met in nepal, separated a few months, met again in new zealand where we lived in a van together for 8 months... but it was his van. we are sort of hippies i guess... we busk in the street and we pay cash for groceris and petrol. he has no insurance, i have personal travel insurance. no joint acounts etc. after nz, he went to south america and i went home to australia for 6 months, we have some emails and maybe a skype history we could use. in australia we lived with my parents and didnt pay any bills. i was getting the dole for a time as a single person because it was less complicated. then we hitchiked and free camped our way around... we dont have joint anything. after australia we spent some weeks in malaysia, and have been in france now for 5 months. we have lived at his parents house, paying no bills, and we bout a camping car together but we paid cash and its in his name. the mobile is in his name. wow.

so when my visa (working holiday visa) runs out im going to try to get another one in europe (sweden or estonia or the netherlands) to get an extra 6 or 7 months, then head through asia on the way back to australia. We were thinking for him to get a working holiday visa and then maybe get married about 8 months into the visa. Do you think stacks of our photos from nepal, nz, oz, malaysia and france and oz again, with both families, plus statements from families and friends and a marriage certificate would be enough? and old flight confirmation emails that show us going the same place on similar dates, plus the emails from when we were apart? i suppose we would probably buy a van or bus in australia and could do that in both names to help... i suppose i could get pregnant! would that help?


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2013)

No getting pregnant wouldnt help, even having a child already born doesnt help if the other evidence isn't there. nor would getting married help unless you can prove an ongoing relationship. 

The working holiday visa would help if you lived together as a couple with both names on the tenancy/hotel bill etc. Your photos over the time youve known each other are good just not enough on their own without living together & shared life evidence. 

Where ever you travel get bills in joint names for hostels etc. As soon as you have real evidence, preferably official and checkable, covering 12 months you can apply.


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## rebel smith (Aug 23, 2013)

_shel said:


> No getting pregnant wouldnt help, even having a child already born doesnt help if the other evidence isn't there. nor would getting married help unless you can prove an ongoing relationship.
> 
> The working holiday visa would help if you lived together as a couple with both names on the tenancy/hotel bill etc. Your photos over the time youve known each other are good just not enough on their own without living together & shared life evidence.
> 
> Where ever you travel get bills in joint names for hostels etc. As soon as you have real evidence, preferably official and checkable, covering 12 months you can apply.


i guess thats what i've been trying to explain... we dont live what people might call a normal life. we are travellers....nomads... but we dont stay in hostels, except for in nepal and south america where we didnt get receipts. we dont rent houses. we camp in free places and sleep in our van on the side of the road, or at the beach or in the forest - never in campgrounds., we wwoof on communities (staying for free, exchanging a few hours work for food and accomodation). this is not a trip  this is our lives and we intend to continue this way. we work for a few months at a time, sometimes, eg fruit picking, if it falls into our laps with the free or cheap accommodation included in the job (ie sleep on the floor of the bosses house, or park the van on the farm) but often we pay and get paid cash. when i said we stayed with the parents (in oz and france) i just meant for a few months because they hadnt seen us for years.

it really annoys me how all this beaurocracy is geared towards people who live in a house and borrow money, work, consume and watch tv and take holidays, which is just not our style... no offense to anyone who does that. we dont really fit into their boxes... but just because we try to stay outside the system and not be controlled or spied on, doesnt mean our relationship is not real. aarrhg! so frustrating. we plan to stay together, keep travelling, maybe stop for a year to have a baby on a community, then keep going, spending time in australia and france and travelling the places inbetween (ie everywhere). we dont really believe in marriage, but all the crap and bother and expense with visas for france and australia, esp when we're gonna stay together and have childeren and i love france and speak french and he loves australia and speaks great english, it just seems like really excessive, and would be great if it could be simplified by having our relationship recognised. unfortunately we dont fit into box a, b, or c. we dont believe in working our lives away to pay an arm and a leg for shelter which is a basic human right and a primary human need.

oh well. we still have probably a year and a half or more before we have to worry about that... i guess we'll have to stick it out, work hard at consuming jointly and keeping receipts for anything we do. Im sure we can ask for some hostel bills on paper in asia on the way back to australia. maybe even get a joint bank account in oz.

hey does anyone know? if we get married in france and then go to australia already married, can he get in on a tourist visa while being married to an ozzie? and then apply for the partener visa from within the country? its just that onshore application is free but offshore application is more that $2000!!!

cheers


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2013)

He may be granted a tourist visa but then he may not if they feel he may overstay being married to a citizen. The fact he lives the life he does would go against him sadly because they will want evidence he intends to return home ie a job, home etc that demands his return. Without that he is a liability to stay illegally to them especially with an ossie spouse. 

I agree its a lot of red tape but its the hoops you have to jump through due to the amount of scammers, people marrying for money event their cousins or best friends sister etc just so they can get a visa. 

Although being married helps it is still not the only proof they will want of a relationship same as if a couple have kids, married or not. Because any two people can have kids or walk into a register office and get married without their being a genuine, committed and continuing relationship. 

Sadly this means you need evidence that you have been together that goes further than a few photos. Again, so many people set up photos as part of a marriage of convenience much harder to to so that with say a tenancy agreement, hostel bill etc. But any bit of paper will do, joint bank account? You must keep your cash somewhere. Mail box or forwarding service in joint names? 

If he can get a working holiday visa go to Aus, register your relationship with the state asap, plan a wedding if you want but not essential if you dont want as registering your relationship if strong evidence. Then apply for the visa, yes it costs more and it also takes longer to be granted but it is probably the only way you would do it if you dont get the sort of evidence you need where you are living. Though you will need to show as his sponsor you can willing to support him for 2 years whilst he is subject to the temporary spouse visa before he gets PR. Might be hard to show that depending on if you plan to or can find work in Aus.


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## rebel smith (Aug 23, 2013)

ah well... thanks for the advice  we'll do our best


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## Vincentluf (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm about to lodge my 189 visa and want to add my partner (defacto), we are actually gathering all evidences. 
- Can someone share with me a sample of the statutory declaration?
- If my partner visa is not accepted will mine also be refused although I met all the criterias?

Please help on that...


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2013)

No people cant share statutory declarations. Do you realise a statutory declaration is a personal and legal document?
You are meant to write about your own relationship not someone elses! 

If the CO does not believe you to be in a genuine relationship there are a few possible outcomes.
1, they ask you if you want to remove them and if you do your visa will be decided without them. 
2, you so not remove them and both visas will be refused.
3, if they belive there to be an attempt at visa fraud both visas refused with a ban from entering Australia for both.


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## Vincentluf (Jun 10, 2013)

_shel said:


> No people cant share statutory declarations. Do you realise a statutory declaration is a personal and legal document?
> You are meant to write about your own relationship not someone elses!
> 
> If the CO does not believe you to be in a genuine relationship there are a few possible outcomes.
> ...


Hi Shel, thks a lot for these info. I'm quite a bit lost where to start for adding partner being in a defacto relationship. If you have any advices or tips please let me know.

Thks in advanced


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## Faris_ksa (Aug 3, 2014)

Well this is crazy, you know the culture differs between nations and some communities like Arabs there is the concept of arranged marriage..where you may not know very much about your partner before marriage. 

if i decide to get married to a girl that i met for few times with the blessing of my family, i take it that marriage certificate + wedding photos won't be enough to prove that the relationship is genuine ? is there any official requirements to prove the genuine relationship for new prides?


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## Kanigargk (Jan 16, 2020)

I have submitted my EOI in skillselect claiming 10 points for being single. But now I’m planning to married to my boyfriend. We got his skill assessment and PTE score done so that i will be able to add him in my EOI as skilled partner. I’m expecting my invitation in next fhree - four months.

But in my case , I’m working in Hyderabad (India) and my husband would be working in Gurgaon (India) because our jobs are in two different cities. Hence , we will be living in two different cities. But we keep flying to each other’s place , so air tickets would prove sufficient evidence? I’m concerned that due to this scenario, DHA might get suspicious of recent marriage and may reject my application. Please suggest.


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