Partner Visa Living Apart for Work

A partner visa living apart for work is a common situation, and it is not a reason in itself for refusal. Many genuine couples spend weeks or months apart because one partner works on a mine site, takes a regional posting, signs an overseas contract or goes to sea. The question for the Department of Home Affairs is not whether the couple share a roof every night. The question is whether the relationship is genuine and continuing, and whether the time apart is temporary.

This guide explains how the law treats a partner visa living apart for work, what the Department looks for when one partner is away, and how to document the arrangement so that the separation reads as part of a shared life rather than the end of one. It covers fly in fly out (FIFO) rosters, regional and interstate postings, overseas contracts, seafarers, defence postings, seasonal work, and couples where one partner works in another city while the other studies.

The article applies to the onshore Subclass 820 and 801 partner visa and to the offshore Subclass 309 and 100 partner visa. For the full framework, including the two stages of the visa and the sponsor's role, see the firm's complete guide to partner visas in Australia. This article is narrower. It deals with one partner visa living apart for work fact pattern that the Department sees often and that applicants often explain badly: couples who have lived together and still do, but who are physically apart for long periods because of work.

Can you get a partner visa if you live apart for work?

Yes. A couple can be granted a partner visa while living apart for work, provided the Department is satisfied that the relationship is genuine and continuing and that the couple are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis. The Migration Act 1958 does not require a couple to live under the same roof at every moment. It requires that any separation be temporary.

That is the central point in any partner visa living apart for work application. The law asks whether the couple live together, or, if they do not, whether their separation is permanent. A separation caused by a roster, a contract or a posting is usually temporary by its nature. It has a reason, it has an end date or a pattern, and the couple return to the same home when it ends.

The difficulty is evidence. When couples live together every day, much of the household evidence builds itself: a joint lease, shared bills, mail to the same address. When one partner works away, some of that evidence is thinner, and the application has to explain why. A well prepared partner visa living apart for work application does not hide the separation. It explains it, documents it and shows how the relationship continues through it.

The same rules apply whether the applicant or the Australian sponsor is the partner who works away. They also apply whether the couple are married or in a de facto relationship. The firm's Subclass 820 partner visa guide and its explainer on the Subclass 820 onshore partner visa set out the other criteria that every applicant must meet.

The Department of Home Affairs policy guidance on de facto relationships says that where a couple claim their separation is not permanent, the decision maker must consider the reasons for the separation and whether those reasons are consistent with a mutual commitment to each other. Work is one of the clearest reasons a couple can give. The task is to prove it.

What the law says about living together: sections 5F and 5CB

The Migration Act defines a married relationship in section 5F and a de facto relationship in section 5CB. Both definitions contain the same living arrangement requirement: the couple must live together, or not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.

Married couples: paragraph 5F(2)(d)

Under section 5F, two people are in a married relationship for migration purposes if they are married to each other under a marriage that is valid for the purposes of the Act, they have a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, the relationship between them is genuine and continuing, and they live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. The last of those requirements is paragraph 5F(2)(d).

The Department's policy on spouse relationships states that paragraph 5F(2)(d) explicitly requires any separation to be temporary. It also states that physical separation for work or other reasons does not necessarily mean that the parties have legally separated. That sentence is the policy foundation for every married couple's partner visa living apart for work case.

De facto couples: paragraph 5CB(2)(c)

Under section 5CB, two people who are not married to each other are in a de facto relationship if they have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others, the relationship is genuine and continuing, they live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis, and they are not related by family. The living arrangement requirement is paragraph 5CB(2)(c).

The firm's guide to the de facto partner visa and the 12-month rule explains the de facto pathway in more detail. Work separations raise a particular question for de facto couples, discussed later in this article, because the 12-month relationship requirement and the living arrangement requirement are often confused.

The SZOXP decision and what it means for couples apart for work

The Department's de facto policy refers to the Full Court of the Federal Court decision in SZOXP v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2015] FCAFC 69. The policy describes that judgment as binding on delegates. According to the policy, a delegate cannot find that the living arrangement requirement is not met solely because the couple never lived together before the application, were not living together when the application was made, or were not living together when it is decided.

For a partner visa living apart for work, this is important. A couple who are apart on the day of lodgement, or on the day of decision, because one partner is on a roster or contract, do not fail the living arrangement requirement for that reason alone. The policy adds a qualification. Whether the couple have lived together, and for how long, can still be relevant to whether the relationship is genuine and continuing. So the separation is not fatal, but it must be explained.

The policy also states that the onus is on the applicant to satisfy the delegate that the separation is temporary and that the couple will live together in the future. There is no fixed timeframe in which they must live together. Each case is considered on its own facts.

Temporary separation versus permanent separation

A temporary separation is one where both partners intend to keep living as a couple and expect to share a home again, and their conduct is consistent with that intention. A permanent separation is one where at least one partner has decided the relationship is over and acts on that decision.

The Department's spouse policy describes legal separation as occurring where either party forms the intention that the relationship is at an end and acts on that intention in a way that is inconsistent with its continuation. It notes that separation usually involves one party moving out of the shared home, but that physical separation for work does not necessarily mean the couple have separated.

In a partner visa living apart for work case, the decision maker is effectively asking three questions.

• Why are they apart? A clear, verifiable work reason supports a temporary separation. A vague reason, or one that changes over time, raises doubt.
• Is the separation structured? Rosters, contract terms and posting periods show that the separation has limits. Open-ended absences with no plan to reunite are harder to explain.
• Does the relationship continue during the separation? Visits, contact, shared money and joint decisions show a relationship that is still operating. Silence and separate lives suggest the opposite.

The answers to these questions are found in evidence, not in assertions. The rest of this guide explains which evidence answers each one.

Common partner visa living apart for work situations

The Department sees many kinds of work separation. Each one produces a different evidence pattern. Understanding which pattern applies helps a couple present a partner visa living apart for work case in a way that a decision maker can follow.

FIFO and mining rosters

Fly in fly out work is a typical partner visa living apart for work pattern. It is common in the resources sector, particularly in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. A worker typically spends a fixed number of days on site and a fixed number of days at home. The roster itself is strong evidence: it shows a predictable pattern of absence and return. Employer letters, roster printouts, flight bookings to and from site, and pay slips showing site allowances all support the claim.

The home base matters. In a FIFO partner visa living apart for work case, the couple's shared address is where the worker returns on rostered days off. Evidence that the worker returns to that address, rather than to a separate home, is central.

Regional and interstate postings

Some employers move staff to regional or interstate locations for months at a time. Health workers, teachers, engineers, police officers and public servants are often posted away from home. The posting letter, the posting period and any employer-provided accommodation should be documented. Where the employer pays for accommodation at the posting location, that helps show the worker has not set up a separate household of their own.

Overseas contracts and seafarers

Some partners work overseas on fixed-term contracts, or at sea for months at a time. Seafarers, offshore oil and gas workers, aviation crew and international project staff fall into this category. The contract, the employer's confirmation of duty periods, seaman's books or crew records where available, and passport stamps or travel records are the core evidence. Where the applicant is offshore and applying for a Subclass 309 visa, the work location and the couple's plans to live together in Australia should both be explained.

Defence postings

Members of the Australian Defence Force and some foreign armed forces are posted, deployed or sent on exercises for extended periods. Posting orders and deployment confirmation may be subject to security restrictions. Where full details cannot be released, a general confirmation from the unit or command that the member was on duty away from home for a stated period may be the best available evidence. The application should say why more detail is not available.

Seasonal and project work

Seasonal agricultural work, construction projects, film and event work and other project-based jobs can take a partner away for a defined season or the life of a project. The evidence is similar: contracts, employer letters, pay records and the dates of the project. Where work is casual or informal, the couple should gather whatever records exist, such as payment records and messages with the employer.

One partner working away while the other studies

Some couples live in different cities because one partner works in one place and the other is enrolled in a course in another. The study enrolment and the work arrangement together explain the separation. This is still a partner visa living apart for work situation, because the reason for the separation is that one partner's job is in a different place. The couple should show how and when they plan to live together again, for example when the course ends.

Same-sex couples face the same rules and the same evidence questions. The firm's page on LGBTI and same-sex partner visas covers the issues specific to those applications.

Partner visa living apart for work when the sponsor is the one away

A partner visa living apart for work case is assessed in the same way whether the person working away is the visa applicant or the Australian sponsor. In practice, the sponsor is often the partner with the FIFO role, the defence posting or the interstate contract, while the applicant stays at the shared home.

Where the sponsor works away, the sponsor's own records become central. The sponsor's employer letter, roster, pay slips and travel records should show the shared address. The sponsor gives evidence through the sponsorship application and the relationship statement, not through a Form 888 statement. The sponsor must still be eligible to sponsor. The firm's page on partner visa sponsorship limitations and its article on when a sponsor cannot sponsor a partner visa explain those rules, which are separate from the living arrangement question.

Where the applicant is the partner who works away, two extra issues arise. The first is the applicant's own visa conditions, including any limits on work and travel. The second, for offshore applicants, is that the applicant's work location may be in a different country from the sponsor. A partner visa living apart for work case of that kind should show the period the couple lived together, the reason the work keeps them apart, and the plan for the applicant to join the sponsor in Australia. Couples who have never lived together face a different test, and the firm's general guidance on the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa may be more relevant to them.

For couples where one partner is a New Zealand citizen living in Australia, the Subclass 461 visa uses a different framework. This guide focuses on the partner visa itself.

How the four aspects of the relationship are assessed when one partner works away

For a partner visa, the decision maker must consider all the circumstances of the relationship, including four matters set out in the Migration Regulations 1994. For married couples the matters are in subregulation 1.15A(3). For de facto couples they are in subregulation 1.09A(3). The four matters are the financial aspects of the relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship, and the nature of the persons' commitment to each other.

The Department's policy is clear that these are circumstances to be weighed, not boxes to be ticked. The decision maker must not simply count how many are satisfied. They must weigh each one and take into account any other relevant information. That approach helps couples in a partner visa living apart for work situation, because one aspect that is thinner can be balanced by others that are strong.

• Financial aspects. When one partner works away, money often becomes the clearest evidence of the relationship. Wages paid into a joint account, transfers to the partner at home, shared payment of the mortgage or rent, and joint savings goals all show pooled finances.
• Nature of the household. This is the aspect most affected by work absences. It is discussed in detail in the next section.
• Social aspects. Couples who are apart still present themselves as a couple to family, friends, employers and government bodies. Employer records listing the partner as next of kin, shared social events during home periods and Form 888 statements from people who know the couple all help.
• Nature of the commitment. The policy lists the duration of the relationship, the length of time the parties have lived together, the degree of companionship and emotional support they draw from each other, and whether they see the relationship continuing long term. Regular contact during separations, and clear plans for the future, are direct evidence of commitment.

The firm's guides to partner visa relationship evidence and preparing evidence of a genuine relationship explain the four aspects generally. The sections that follow apply them to a partner visa living apart for work case specifically.

The nature of the household when one partner is away

The nature of the household is assessed by looking at the couple's living arrangements, any joint responsibility for children, and the sharing of housework. When one partner works away, the household still exists. It is the place both partners call home and return to.

The Department's policy gives examples of household evidence: joint ownership of a home, a joint lease, joint rental receipts, joint utility accounts, and correspondence addressed to either or both partners at the same address. In a partner visa living apart for work case, these documents still matter. The worker's payslips, tax records, bank statements and licence should show the shared address, not a work camp, a motel or a separate rental.

In a partner visa living apart for work case, couples should be ready to explain how the household runs while one partner is away. Questions a decision maker may consider include the following.

• Who pays the rent or mortgage, and from which account?
• Who manages the bills and the household admin?
• How are children cared for during the absence, and how does the working partner contribute?
• What does the working partner do at home during rostered days off or leave?
• Where are the working partner's belongings kept?

A partner visa living apart for work application that answers these questions directly, in the relationship statement and through documents, gives the decision maker a clear picture of a single household. An application that leaves them unanswered invites a request for more information.

Where the worker has accommodation at the work location, the type of accommodation matters. A mining camp room, a ship's cabin, employer-provided housing or a short-term shared room does not usually look like a second household. A separate long-term lease in the worker's own name, with a separate set of bills and a separate social life, can look like one. That risk is explained later in this guide.

Partner visa living apart for work evidence: what to provide

The evidence for a partner visa living apart for work case has two jobs. It must prove the work arrangement, and it must prove that the relationship continues through it. Most applications that run into difficulty prove one and not the other.

The firm's general partner visa document checklist and its 820 partner visa evidence checklist list the standard documents for any partner visa. The categories below are the additional evidence that a partner visa living apart for work application usually needs.

Employment evidence

• An employment contract or letter of offer showing the role, the work location and any roster or posting terms.
• A letter from the employer confirming the roster pattern, the posting period or the contract duration, the home address on the employer's records, and, where possible, the next of kin listed.
• Roster printouts or a summary of swings or hitches over the relevant period.
• Pay slips, including any site, travel, remote area or living away from home allowances.
• For seafarers and offshore workers, sign-on and sign-off records or crew records where available.

Travel and visit records

• Flight bookings and boarding passes to and from site, posting locations or overseas contracts.
• Travel history showing returns to the shared home, or visits by the partner at home to the work location.
• For international separations, passport stamps and international movement records.
• Records of holidays or leave spent together.

Communication

• A representative sample of messages, call logs and video call records across the period apart. The aim is to show regular contact, not to file every message.
• Communication that shows the couple making joint decisions, discussing household matters or planning time together carries more weight than general messages.

Financial evidence

• Joint bank account statements showing the working partner's wages paid in and household costs paid out.
• Regular transfers between the partners.
• Joint loans, a joint mortgage, joint insurance or shared ownership of assets.
• Evidence that each partner is a beneficiary of the other's superannuation or will, where that applies.

Shared address and household

• The lease or title deed in both names, or evidence that both partners live at the property.
• Utility, internet and council accounts.
• Government records, tax returns, Medicare, licence and electoral details showing the shared address for both partners.
• Mail addressed to each partner at the shared home.

Joint decisions and future plans

• Evidence of plans to buy a home, start a family, change jobs or relocate together.
• Evidence that the work arrangement was a joint decision, for example messages discussing the job offer before it was accepted.
• An end date or review point for the arrangement, where there is one.

Quality and consistency matter more than volume in partner visa living apart for work evidence. A smaller set of documents that tells a clear and consistent story is more persuasive than a large, unsorted bundle. The firm's articles on how to complete Form 80 and the Subclass 820 application process explain why every date and address must match across all documents lodged.

Describing the arrangement in the relationship statement

The relationship statement is where the couple explain the work arrangement in their own words. It is the client's own evidence. In a partner visa living apart for work case, it should cover the arrangement directly rather than leaving the decision maker to discover it from pay slips or travel records.

A useful statement usually covers the following points about the work separation.

• When the arrangement started and why. The job, the employer, the reason the role is away from home, and how the couple decided it was right for them.
• The pattern. The roster, the posting period, the contract length or the season.
• How the household runs. Who manages what, how money moves, how children are cared for, where the worker's belongings are kept.
• How the couple stay connected. How often they speak, how they spend time together during home periods, and how they support each other.
• What happens next. Whether the arrangement is ongoing, when it is expected to end, and what the couple plan for the future.

The statement must be accurate and consistent with every other document. If the employer letter says the roster is two weeks on and one week off, the statement should not say three weeks on. If the travel records show a long overseas contract, the statement should not describe short trips. A decision maker who finds a gap between the statement and the documents may question the whole relationship.

The firm's guide to the partner visa relationship statement explains how the statement is structured. In a partner visa living apart for work case, the work arrangement should appear in the part of the statement that covers the nature of the household and in the part that covers the couple's commitment and future plans.

Form 888 statements for a partner visa living apart for work case

Form 888 statements from people who know the couple are one of the most useful forms of evidence where a partner visa living apart for work case involves long absences. A witness who has seen the couple together during home periods, or who knows the working partner's roster, can confirm what the documents cannot show.

Useful witnesses may include family members who have stayed with the couple, friends who socialise with them during the worker's time at home, and neighbours who see the working partner come and go. Each witness must meet the eligibility requirements set out on Form 888 itself, which should be checked before the statement is prepared. A colleague who knows the worker talks about their partner, or a supervisor who has met the partner, can also be useful where they are eligible.

Each statement should be the witness's own account of what they have seen. It should mention the work arrangement where the witness knows about it, and describe specific occasions rather than general praise. The firm's guides to what a Form 888 should say and Form 888 example answers and common mistakes explain the form in detail.

When the arrangement changes after lodgement: Form 1022

Form 1022 is the Department's form for notifying a change in circumstances under section 104 of the Migration Act. An applicant must notify the Department of any change in circumstances that affects an answer given in the application, including a change of residential address.

For a partner visa living apart for work, changes can happen during processing. The working partner may start a new roster, take a posting in another state, sign an overseas contract or come home permanently. The couple may move house. If the change affects an answer in the application, such as an address or the couple's living arrangements, it should be notified.

The Form 1022 itself warns that a failure to comply with section 104 can make a visa liable to cancellation. Notifying a change is also an opportunity: it allows the couple to explain the new arrangement before the Department asks. The firm's article on Form 1022 change of circumstances explains when and how it is lodged. Documents and notifications are uploaded through ImmiAccount, and the guide on how to create an ImmiAccount explains the system.

Where a work arrangement prompts the Department to ask questions, it may send a request under section 56 of the Migration Act or a natural justice letter under section 57. The firm's articles on responding to a section 56 request and responding to a section 57 natural justice letter for a partner visa explain these requests. A response in a partner visa living apart for work case should address the decision maker's concern directly, with documents, rather than repeating the original application.

Common mistakes in a partner visa living apart for work application

Most problems in a partner visa living apart for work application come from a small number of avoidable mistakes. Each one leaves the decision maker to fill a gap with an assumption, and the assumption is rarely favourable.

• Not mentioning the separation at all. Some couples describe their life as if they live together every day, and the Department later finds the roster or the overseas travel. An unexplained separation looks worse than an explained one.
• Describing the arrangement differently in different places. The application form, the relationship statement, Form 80 and the employer letter must all describe the same arrangement. A partner visa living apart for work case with three versions of the roster invites doubt.
• Relying only on messages. Communication evidence helps, but it does not prove a shared household or pooled finances. It should support documents, not replace them.
• Leaving the worker's address off the household evidence. If the working partner's pay slips, tax records and licence all show another address, the shared home is hard to prove.
• Forgetting the period before lodgement. The relationship history matters, not only the current position. A partner visa living apart for work application should cover the whole relationship, including earlier periods of cohabitation.
• Not updating the Department. Arrangements change during processing, and processing can take a long time. The firm's article on Subclass 820 processing times explains why couples should plan for change. A new posting that is not notified can look like concealment when it is discovered.

Each of these mistakes can be avoided by preparing the partner visa living apart for work evidence with the same care as the rest of the application. The firm's guides for partner visa lawyers and the partner visa lawyer in Australia explain how legal help is structured, and its article on partner visa lawyers in Australia, fees and how to choose explains how to compare options.

Tribunal decisions on work, travel and periods of cohabitation

The Administrative Review Tribunal, and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal before it, has considered many partner visa matters involving work, travel and periods apart. The decisions below are matters the Tribunal remitted. Each is described only by the issues recorded. They illustrate the kinds of facts that arise in a partner visa living apart for work case. They are not a prediction of any outcome.

• Varhelyi (Migration) [2024] AATA 320 was a Subclass 820 matter that the Tribunal remitted. The issues recorded were the relationship existing for 12 months before the application was made, international travel and work, and considerable documentary evidence and supporting statements.
• HO (Migration) [2023] AATA 2247 was a Subclass 309 matter that the Tribunal remitted. The issues recorded were a genuine spousal relationship, financial aspects, periods of cohabitation and social aspects.
• Kaneva (Migration) [2019] AATA 388 was a Subclass 820 matter that the Tribunal remitted. The issues recorded were a shared life, the couple having travelled and lived together overseas and in Australia, and managing financial commitments.
• Qi (Migration) [2023] AATA 432 was a Subclass 820 matter that the Tribunal remitted. The issues recorded were a binding financial deed, lengthy cohabitation and shared farm management.
• Rachmayati (Migration) [2024] AATA 1678 was a Subclass 820 matter that the Tribunal remitted. The issues recorded were remaining together continuously for 8 years, sharing expenses and pooling finances, and building and selling a business together.

Read together, the recorded issues show the themes that matter in a partner visa living apart for work case: travel and work explained by documents and supporting statements, periods of cohabitation identified clearly, and financial arrangements that show a shared life. Each decision turns on its own facts.

For readers who are deciding whether to prepare their own application, the firm's comparison of a partner visa lawyer and doing it yourself and its article on when you need an immigration lawyer for a partner visa explain where legal help adds value.

Risks that turn a work separation into a refusal issue

Most work separations are accepted once they are explained and documented. Some are not. The risks below are the ones most likely to turn a partner visa living apart for work application into a refusal issue. The firm's articles on why partner visas get refused and the most common reasons Subclass 820 visas are refused cover refusal grounds more broadly.

When the separation looks permanent

A separation looks permanent when there is no clear end to it, no regular reunion and no shared plan. A worker who takes a job in another city with no end date, rarely comes home and has no plan to bring the couple back together may find it hard to show that the separation is temporary. The policy is clear that the onus is on the applicant to show that the couple intend to live together in the future.

The answer is not to invent a plan. It is to explain the real plan. If the couple intend to live together when a contract ends, when a posting finishes, or when one partner can transfer, the statement and supporting documents should say so.

When one partner has a separate household

A second household can suggest that the couple have organised their lives separately. Examples include a long-term lease in the worker's name alone at the work location, a separate set of bills, a separate social circle with no mention of the partner, or a separate address on government and tax records.

A worker who needs accommodation near work is not, for that reason, running a separate household. The difference lies in how the accommodation is used. If the worker rents a room near work, returns home on every break, keeps belongings at the shared home and pays into the joint household, the evidence should show that. In a partner visa living apart for work case with a second address, the reason for it should be explained before the Department asks.

Inconsistent addresses and dates

Inconsistency is one of the most common problems in a partner visa living apart for work application. A worker's tax return lists one address, the bank lists another, the employer lists a third and the relationship statement lists the shared home. Each record may have an innocent explanation, but together they can suggest separate lives.

Before lodgement, every address on every document should be checked. Where an address is out of date, it should be updated if possible and explained if not. Where the travel history does not match the roster described, the difference should be explained.

Long absences without contact

In a partner visa living apart for work case, long periods apart with little contact can raise doubt about the companionship and emotional support the couple draw from each other. Seafarers and remote workers sometimes have limited communication. Where that is the case, the limits should be explained, and the contact that did happen should be documented.

Department interviews and home visits

The Department may interview the applicant, the sponsor or both, and may in some cases visit the couple's home. In a partner visa living apart for work case, an interview may focus on the work arrangement, the household and how the couple stay connected.

Each partner should be able to describe the roster or posting, the shared home, how bills are paid and the couple's plans in a way that matches the other partner's account and the documents. Interviews are not tests of memory for trivial details, but significant differences between the partners' accounts can cause concern. Preparation means reviewing the application and the evidence lodged, not rehearsing answers.

Where a home visit occurs while one partner is away at work, the partner at home should be able to explain the arrangement and show that the working partner lives there. Clothing, belongings and mail at the home help. A copy of the current roster or posting letter kept at home can also help.

Onshore applicants: bridging visas, travel and conditions

An onshore partner visa applicant who is in Australia when the Subclass 820 application is lodged may be granted a bridging visa. The conditions of that bridging visa affect travel and work. A partner visa living apart for work arrangement that involves international travel needs to be checked against those conditions first.

A Bridging visa A does not generally allow the holder to travel outside Australia and return on it. A Bridging visa B may permit travel for a specified period. The firm's guides to the Bridging visa A, the Bridging visa B and bridging visas in Australia explain the differences. The article on work rights while waiting for a Subclass 820 visa explains when the applicant can work.

Applicants who hold a visa with a no further stay condition, or who are unlawful, have additional issues. The firm's articles on the Subclass 820 and the 8503 condition, Schedule 3 partner visa waivers and the Schedule 3 waiver service explain those situations. Applicants who are in Australia on a visitor visa should read the article on moving from a tourist visa to a partner visa.

Where the applicant is the partner who works away, the applicant's own visa conditions also matter. Work that requires leaving Australia, or that breaches a work limitation, can create problems separate from the relationship assessment. Advice should be obtained before accepting the work.

The 12-month de facto requirement and work separation

De facto applicants in a partner visa living apart for work case must generally show that the de facto relationship existed for at least 12 months before the application was made, unless an exception applies. A work separation during that period does not, on its own, stop the relationship from counting.

The 12-month requirement is about the existence of the de facto relationship, not about uninterrupted cohabitation. A couple who lived together and then spent part of the period apart because of work may still meet it, provided the separation was temporary and the relationship continued. The firm's article on whether you need 12 months of de facto relationship for a Subclass 820 visa explains the requirement and the exceptions, including relationship registration.

In a partner visa living apart for work case, the period before lodgement should be documented with the same care as the period after it. A clear timeline of when the couple lived together, when work took one partner away, and how they stayed connected is usually the strongest way to show that the relationship existed throughout.

Living apart for work at the permanent stage

The relationship must still be genuine and continuing when the permanent visa is decided. For onshore applicants, that is the Subclass 801 stage. For offshore applicants, it is the Subclass 100 stage. The firm's article on the difference between Subclass 820 and Subclass 801 explains how the stages fit together.

Many couples first face a partner visa living apart for work question at the permanent stage. One partner may have taken a FIFO role, a posting or an overseas contract after the temporary visa was granted. The Department will want updated evidence that the relationship continues, including the work arrangement. The same evidence categories apply: employment records, travel, communication, finances and the shared home, with updated Form 888 statements where needed.

Where the relationship itself has ended, the position is different. The firm's article on what happens if the relationship breaks down during a Subclass 820 application explains the options. Where a relationship has ended because of family violence, special provisions may apply, and the firm's page on family violence and partner visas explains them. A work separation should never be described as a relationship breakdown, or the reverse.

Partner visa refused because of living apart for work: what next

If a partner visa is refused because the decision maker was not satisfied that a work separation was temporary, or that the relationship was genuine and continuing, review may be available at the Administrative Review Tribunal. Review deadlines are short and strictly applied, so advice should be obtained immediately after a refusal.

At the Tribunal, the applicant can provide new evidence and explain the work arrangement again. A partner visa living apart for work case at review often turns on evidence that was missing or poorly organised at the primary stage: employer confirmation, travel records, a timeline of home periods and supporting statements from people who saw the couple together.

The firm's pages on partner visa refusals and visa refusals and ART review describe its review work. Its articles on partner visa refusal appeal options, what to expect at an ART review and when you need a visa appeal lawyer explain the process. Where an application was prepared elsewhere, a second opinion from an immigration lawyer can identify gaps before a decision is made, and the article on hiring an immigration lawyer after lodging your own application explains how that works.

Partner visa help for couples living apart for work across Australia

Partner visa living apart for work questions arise in every part of Australia, and the firm's partner visa work is national. Consultations are held by video, so a couple can obtain advice wherever the working partner is based. Many FIFO families live in Perth and regional Western Australia, and read about the firm's partner visa lawyers in Perth and immigration lawyers in Perth. Couples in Queensland mining and resources communities often read about partner visa lawyers in Brisbane and partner visa lawyers on the Gold Coast.

The firm also acts for clients in New South Wales and Victoria, through its pages for partner visa lawyers in Sydney, partner visa lawyers in Parramatta and partner visa lawyers in Melbourne. Clients in South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania read about partner visa lawyers in Adelaide, partner visa lawyers in Canberra and partner visa lawyers in Hobart. Couples comparing options can read the guides on how to choose a partner visa lawyer in Australia and booking an immigration lawyer consultation.

How My Migration Lawyers helps with a partner visa living apart for work

My Migration Lawyers acts in many partner visa matters where the couple live apart for work, including complex cases involving FIFO rosters, interstate and overseas postings, seafarers, defence members, second addresses near work, long absences and changes in work arrangements during processing. The firm deals with complex matters of this type and is capable of handling them from the first application through to any review.

The firm's work on a partner visa living apart for work case is directed at one goal: presenting the couple's real arrangement, and their own evidence, in the form the law requires.

• Mapping the arrangement. The firm takes instructions on the work pattern, the shared home, the couple's history together and their plans, and identifies how the separation will be assessed under section 5F or section 5CB.
• Building the timeline. The firm prepares a single timeline of cohabitation, work periods, home periods and visits, and checks it against rosters, travel records, pay slips and the addresses on every document.
• Identifying evidence gaps. The firm identifies where the household or financial evidence is thin because of the work arrangement, and advises on the documents that can fill those gaps, such as employer letters and records of home periods.
• Reviewing the relationship statement. The statement is the client's own evidence. The firm advises on the matters it must address, including the work arrangement, and the client reviews and corrects it so that it is accurate and consistent with the documents.
• Advising on Form 888 statements. The firm advises on which witnesses can speak to the couple's life during home periods and what their statements should address.
• Managing changes. Where the arrangement changes during processing, the firm prepares the Form 1022 notification and the supporting explanation.
• Responding to requests and refusals. Where the Department raises concerns about the separation, the firm prepares the response. Where a refusal has been made, it prepares the Tribunal application and submissions.

The firm's partner visa practice is described on the partner visa lawyers page, and its Principal Lawyer, Weiwei Zhang, oversees that practice. More about the firm is on the about page.

If you and your partner live apart for work and are preparing a partner visa, or the Department has raised questions about your arrangement, book a consultation to have your partner visa living apart for work case reviewed. You can also call 1300 040 300.