Who Can Help Me Respond When Home Affairs Asks for More Relationship Evidence?

Why has Home Affairs asked for more relationship evidence?

Home Affairs asks for more relationship evidence when the case officer is not yet satisfied that the relationship is genuine and continuing, or when the evidence on file is out of date. Partner visas are assessed over a long period, so evidence from the time of lodgement may not show the current position. A request can also follow a change, such as a new address or a period apart. Our guide to partner visa relationship evidence explains what the Department looks for.

Which parts of the relationship does the Department assess?

The Department assesses four aspects of the relationship: financial aspects, the nature of the household, social aspects and the nature of the commitment. A request for further evidence often focuses on one or two aspects where the file is thin. Our article on the four assessed aspects of the relationship explains each one, and our articles on financial evidence and commitment evidence cover two aspects that are frequently tested.

Should we update our relationship statement?

A couple should consider updating their relationship statement when the request suggests the Department needs a clearer account of how the relationship has developed. The partner visa has one relationship statement, which may be written jointly or contributed to by each partner, and an update should be consistent with what was said before. Our article on the partner visa relationship statement explains how to write it well.

Do Form 888 statements help with a request for relationship evidence?

Form 888 statements help with a request for relationship evidence when they come from people who know the couple well and give specific, first-hand detail of the relationship. They support documentary evidence rather than replace it. Our article on Form 888 for a partner visa explains who can make one and what it should say.

What mistakes should we avoid in our response?

The mistakes a couple should avoid in a response to a request for relationship evidence are sending large volumes of unsorted material, sending photographs without dates or context, contradicting earlier statements and missing the deadline. Each document should be labelled and linked to the aspect of the relationship it proves. Where something has changed since lodgement, such as a period of living apart, the response should explain it rather than leave the case officer to discover it from the documents. Our article on partner visa photo evidence shows how photographs should be presented.

How does My Migration Lawyers respond to requests for relationship evidence?

My Migration Lawyers responds to requests for relationship evidence by reading the request against the original evidence to locate the exact gap, then asking the couple for the records most likely to fill it rather than everything they own. The firm updates the relationship statement where needed, arranges focused Form 888 statements and lodges a response organised by the four assessed aspects. Principal Lawyer Weiwei Zhang leads the firm, which can consult in Mandarin, and couples can engage our partner visa lawyers to handle the reply.