There is no compulsory requirement for you to be in a married relationship before lodging a Partner Visa (subclass 309/100 or subclass 820/801). To be eligible to apply for a partner visa, you can either be in a married relationship OR in a defacto relationship for 12 months before applying OR be in a relationship that is registered under a prescribed Australian state or territory legislation.

Quite often, couples are misled to believe that getting married will make it easy for them to be granted a visa. The Department of Immigration still requires evidence of various aspects of a couple's relationship including the financial aspects, social aspects, nature of household and nature of commitment to each other. A marriage certificate alone does not prove that your relationship is genuine and ongoing

The main difference between these two subclasses of partner visas is that the Subclass 820 can only be lodged within Australia and the Subclass 309 can only be lodged from outside Australia. The Subclass 820 visa application will result in a bridging visa which allows you to remain in Australia until the visa is decided whereas you will normally need to wait for the grant of the Subclass 309 visa before you can travel to Australia.

Which visa you lodge will depend on your physical location and personal situation, however, the application process for both is very similar in terms of the forms, application charge, documents, health and character checks

To be granted a Partner Visa as a de facto partner (opposite-sex or same-sex), you and your sponsor must show that you have been in a committed de facto relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging your application. You may still be eligible to apply if you and your partner were prevented from living together temporarily during that 12 month period.

For example: You lived with your partner for 9 months before your partner was suddenly required to move to another city for work. You were unable to move to the same city, because of a family situation, until 3 months later. The 3 months of living separately could be counted towards the 12 month period as it was a temporary separation outside of both your control and you remained committed to each other as a de facto couple.

If you have spent some time living apart from your partner, it is best to get professional advice as to whether you meet the 12 months de facto relationship requirement

A bridging visa is a visa that allows you to stay lawfully in Australia from after you have lodged a visa application until you are granted a substantive visa. For example, if you are holding a 3 month visitor visa and lodge a Partner Visa (Subclass 820/801) while in Australia, you will be granted a Bridging Visa A which will come into effect after the expiry of the visitor visa. You can stay in Australia on the bridging visa until your Partner Visa is granted.