Can common-law partner status be proven if the couple has never lived continuously under the same roof?

Possibly, yes — common-law partner status generally requires showing a marriage-like relationship along with some meaningful period of living together, but a break in continuous cohabitation does not automatically rule it out. Where cohabitation was interrupted for reasons like work commitments, immigration or travel restrictions, or family obligations, it can potentially still be recognized as long as the couple can show that the relationship itself continued throughout the interruption, rather than pausing or ending.

This is a genuinely fact-specific area rather than one with a fixed formula, so what counts as enough continuity varies with the couple's actual circumstances and the evidence available. Useful evidence tends to include communication during the time apart, visits where possible, financial interdependence, and confirmation from family or friends that the relationship carried on as normal despite the couple being apart. Where a couple genuinely cannot show meaningful cohabitation at all, rather than an interruption to an otherwise cohabiting relationship, it may be worth discussing the conjugal partner category with a lawyer, since that category exists for couples who cannot live together due to circumstances beyond their control, though its specific current eligibility criteria should be confirmed rather than assumed. Given how fact-dependent this area is, getting individualized legal advice before applying is particularly valuable here.