I am planning to apply for this visa and want to include my wife and 22-year-old son. My son, however, has a longtime girlfriend but is not married or engaged to her. Is his girlfriend considered a “de facto partner,” which could make him ineligible to add to my application? Who is considered a de facto partner?
Generally, under Australian migration law, a de facto partner is one with which you co-habitate. If they don't live together and are not engaged or planning to marry, it should be fine. Your son is still a member of the family unit. However, the age limit for a member of the family unit is 23, so you will need to apply before your son's 23rd birthday in order to include him in the application.
Your son will not be satisfying the requirement of a dependent. A de facto partner is one who is in a relationship with the applicant and the relationship is not a married relationship.
Your son's girlfriend would only be considered de facto if she and he have lived together for a period of 12 months or more and are in a committed relationship at the exclusion of all others.
Please note "de facto" means "in fact". This is assessed by the factors included in s5CB of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). There are also specific policy guidance not accessible by the public.
For your son to be a dependent of you, and therefore eligible to be included in your application, he must meet certain criteria. This includes that he must not be married, engaged to be married, or have a de-facto partner. In addition, he must also be considered financially dependent upon you, e.g., a full-time student. Once he reaches 23 years of age, then the evidence requirement changes again.
A de-facto partner is recognized when the couple has been living together over a period of time and meets all the aspects of the relationship, which covers: nature of household aspect, social aspect, financial aspect, commitment aspect.
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