Eligibility

At least one party must be a British national.  This means that they must be either:

• a British citizen
• a British Overseas Territories citizen
• a British Overseas citizen
• a British National (Overseas)
• a British subject or
• a British protected person within the meaning of the British Nationality Act 1981.

(Note: Civil Partnerships registered under the laws of Tasmania meet the requirement of the UK’s Civil Partnership Act. Therefore a British national who has registered their relationship in Tasmania does not need to also register under the UK scheme)

If one party is not British, the non-British party must:

• If an Australian citizen, produce a Single Status Certificate issued by State or Territory authorities.
• If a citizen of a third nation, produce a Certificate of No Impediment (or national equivalent) from their national authorities; or, if resident in Australia for at least 21 days, and if the Australian authorities are prepared to issue it, a Single Status Certificate issued by the State or Territory authorities.

The two parties must not be related within the prohibited relationship defined in the Civil Partnership Act 2004.

Both parties must be over the age of 18, or if aged 16 or 17 have obtained consent.

Both parties must have resided for at least seven days in the consular district in which the registration will occur, and produce evidence of this.  This could include an employer’s letter confirming a period of continuous work attendance, or bank or credit card statements showing recent local transactions. *

If one or both parties have been married or had a civil partnership previously, they must produce evidence that they are now free to register, ie a death certificate, decree absolut or nullity decree.

NOTE

*  Please note that, because it may take some time before we can arrange a registration appointment at our consular offices in Perth and Brisbane, the residence and notice requirements for Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia residents have been waived.