Evidence of partnership may be provided by:

• marriage certificate (if married)
• civil union certificate (if in a civil union)
• proof of shared residence (such as joint mortgage or tenancy agreements or rent book)
• financial dependence or interdependence (proof of shared income or bank accounts, or accounts that show money transfers to or from your account to your partner’s account)
• birth certificates of your children
• any documents showing public or family recognition of your relationship
• correspondence (including postmarked envelopes) to you and your partner at the same address
• photographs of you and your partner together
• evidence of the duration of your relationship
• the degree of commitment to a shared life
• evidence of communication between you both
• evidence of you being committed to each other emotionally and exclusively, such as evidence of joint decision making, an exclusive sexual relationship, and the sharing of household duties, parental responsibility, and spare time.

We may verify any documents you provide. 

Note: If you have been living apart from your partner for any significant period during your relationship, you must also provide evidence of the length of any periods of separation, the reasons for them, and how your relationship was maintained during these periods.