Married After Lodging a De Facto Partner Visa: Do You Need to Update Home Affairs?

If you lodge a Partner Visa as a de facto couple and later marry each other while the application is still processing, you should notify Home Affairs and upload the marriage evidence. You do not normally need to lodge a new Partner Visa application merely because the same couple changes from de facto partners to spouses.

The important limitation is that the application still needed to be valid and supported by the required relationship status when it was lodged. A later marriage does not necessarily cure a defective application that failed the de facto requirements at the application date.

Why the marriage must be reported

Home Affairs requires visa applicants to tell the Department if circumstances change before the application is finalised. Marriage is specifically listed as a change in circumstances that should be notified through ImmiAccount.

Does the 820/801 or 309/100 application remain the same?

Usually, yes. The Partner Visa categories allow applicants to qualify as either the spouse or de facto partner of the eligible sponsor. Home Affairs states that the relationship requirement applies when the application is made and when it is decided. If the same genuine relationship progresses from de facto to marriage, the existing combined application can generally continue with updated evidence.

What should be uploaded?

• Official marriage certificate.
• Updated relationship statement explaining the marriage.
• Wedding evidence where useful.
• Updated passport or name-change documents if either party changes name.
• Current relationship evidence showing the marriage remains genuine and continuing.

Can marriage fix a de facto relationship that was under 12 months at lodgement?

Do not assume so. If the applicant relied on de facto status at the time of application, the legal requirements applying at lodgement still matter. A later marriage can change the relationship category at decision, but it does not rewrite what existed on the application date. Where the original de facto duration was short, check whether a recognised exception applied at lodgement.

What if you applied under a registered relationship exception?

If the application was validly lodged as de facto because the relationship was registered under a recognised scheme, later marriage usually becomes an additional relationship development rather than a problem. Upload the marriage evidence and keep the relationship chronology consistent.

Illustrative case example: couple marries 10 months after 820 lodgement

Composite example: A couple lodged a valid 820/801 application as de facto partners and married 10 months later. They notified Home Affairs in ImmiAccount, uploaded the official marriage certificate and updated their relationship evidence. They did not withdraw and relodge the Partner Visa. The marriage became part of the continuing relationship chronology.

Home Affairs lists marriage as a change in circumstances that should be updated before decision. See its After you apply guidance. For the visa pathways, visit our 820/801 and 309/100 hubs.

General information only. A later marriage does not necessarily fix a problem that existed with de facto eligibility at the original application date.