Often the decision about when to lodge a partner visa application, will depend on practical things like visa expiry dates even if there isn’t much evidence. Often a lack of evidence can be due to a range of circumstances, such as the relationship being relatively new, not having established your own household together, your finances being separate, or even having lost certain types of evidence (such as photos, text or online contact).
There is no minimum requirement for evidence, but what you provide must be directed to the four pillars of evidence that every partner visa application will be assessed against. These four pillars are:
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Household
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Social recognition
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Commitment
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Financial
So how do you work out if you have enough evidence?
The Department allows you to upload 100 documents for each for the sponsor and applicant. Some of which will be basic identification documents such as passports, police clearances and birth certificates that are not related to your relationship. While you are not expected to upload 100 – 200 documents, in circumstances where you have more time for planning you should try and strike the right balance of evidence that reflects the reality of your relationship.
If you are able to provide evidence across the four pillars, then you have the baseline documents that are required. Keep in mind that while the Department must assess the documents and evidence of the four pillars that you provide, it ‘must also consider all of the circumstances of the relationship’. [2]
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for the Department, when making a partner visa refusal, to rely on a failure to provide enough evidence across the four pillars and are likely to focus on this when giving their reasons about why the application was refused. The requirement for the Department to consider all the circumstances of the relationship allows the Department to take into account how your relationship actually ‘works’ rather than being fixated on whether you have provided sufficient evidence across the four pillars.
As a rule of thumb, it’s useful to have evidence that covers as much of your relationship as possible. If you are in a long-term relationship, you should provide a snapshot across the various years. There is nothing wrong with providing greater evidence in one pillar over another but, as with any aspect of your relationship which may lead to an independent observer having questions or doubt, you should provide an explanation or flag what evidence will be available in the coming weeks or months to answer these questions.
An experienced partner visa lawyer will also be able to assist you to present the entire circumstances of your relationship, improving your chances of success and speedier processing.
[2] http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/mr1994227/s1.15a.html
