Migration Changes Same-Sex Relationships
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From 1 July 2009 the following changes commenced.
Same-sex family relationships
- same-sex and opposite-sex de facto couples in a genuine and continuing relationship are recognised as de facto partners
- opposite-sex married couples in a genuine and continuing relationship are recognised as spouses
- the terms interdependent partner and de facto spouse are no longer used for new visa applications
- spouses and de facto partners may be jointly referred to as partners
- same-sex de facto partners and their children are recognised as family members when their partner is a primary visa applicant
- parent-child relationships including biological children, adopted children, children born via artificial conception procedures and children born into prescribed surrogacy arrangements can be recognised for migration purposes
- children of de facto partners (including same-sex partners) are recognised as step-children
Visa options for same-sex partners and family members
Partner visa options
- Partner Visas have replaced Spouse Visas and Interdependency Visas for spouses and de facto partners (including same-sex partners) of Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand Citizens.
See: Partner Visa Options
Other visa options
- Same-sex de facto partners and their children are recognised as family members of primary visa applicants and are eligible to apply for all visas available to opposite-sex partners, including student, business, skilled and humanitarian visas.
Questions and answers on migration changes
General information on the same-sex changes
More information about same-sex change changes is available on our general questions and answers information sheet.
See: Legislative Changes for Same-Sex Relationships: General Information – Questions and Answers (42KB PDF file)
Migration information on the same-sex changes
For further information regarding same-sex changes and migration, refer to our Migration questions and answers information sheet.
See: Migration Changes for Same-Sex De Facto Partners – Questions and Answers (69KB PDF file)
More information
Citizenship changes for same-sex relationships
More information about same-sex changes and citizenship is available on the department’s website.
See: Key Changes to Citizenship Same-Sex Relationships
Other Commonwealth law changes for same-sex relationships
More information about same-sex changes and other Commonwealth laws is available on the Attorney General’s website.
See: Same-Sex Reforms
General migration information
For more information about general migration, please contact the department.
See: Contact Us