Download the current Home Affairs Form 888 PDF and have each maker complete and sign it, with documentary evidence of their name and age and, where applicable, Australian citizenship or permanent residence.
Sources checked 3 October 2026.
Current PDF design date: 08/26; listed by Home Affairs as updated 27 August 2026. These dates come from Home Affairs’ Form 888 and its PDF forms listing.
Form 888
Form 888: who can write one for a partner visa, what it says and how many you need.
| Card label | Details |
|---|---|
| Who can complete Form 888 | Home Affairs’ Form 888 permits someone aged 18 or over who knows the applicant, their partner or fiancé(e), and the relationship history. It sets no citizenship or residence requirement. |
| What to cover in Form 888 | Suggested writing guidance: explain how the maker knows each partner, the relationship history they know, and specific observations. This is guidance, not a verbatim reproduction of Home Affairs’ Form 888 questions. |
| How many Form 888 statements | Home Affairs’ partner visa pages request statements from 2 witnesses. Home Affairs’ Form 888 says applicants may be asked for up to 3 separate statements; 3 is not a universal maximum. |
| Where Form 888 does not count | It does not replace either of the 2 statutory declarations required at lodgement where section 48 and Schedule 1 item 1124B(3)(e) of the Migration Regulations 1994 apply. |
| Official Form 888 download | Home Affairs Form 888 PDF, design date 08/26; source check: 3 October 2026. |
What is Form 888?
Form 888 is a supporting statement from someone who knows the couple and their relationship history, according to Home Affairs’ Form 888, design date 08/26.
The current Home Affairs Form 888 is a two-page PDF, confirmed at the source check. It records another person’s knowledge of the relationship: the maker completes and signs it, and the applicant or representative attaches it in ImmiAccount.
Read it alongside the wider relationship evidence, not as a standalone eligibility test. Regulations 1.09A and 1.15A of the Migration Regulations 1994 require consideration of all the circumstances, including financial aspects, the household, social aspects and commitment. The partner visa 4 pillars guide explains these evidence groups.
Use the official Home Affairs Form 888 PDF, rather than a third-party copy that may carry different instructions.
Who can fill out Form 888?
A person can fill out Form 888 if they are at least 18 and know the applicant, their partner or fiancé(e), and the relationship history; Home Affairs’ Form 888 sets no citizenship or residence requirement.
Home Affairs’ Form 888 gives these conditions and document requirements:
- Age. The maker is at least 18.
- Knowledge of the couple. The maker knows both people and the relationship history.
- Identity evidence. The maker supplies documentary evidence of their name and age.
- Status evidence where applicable. An Australian citizen or permanent resident also supplies evidence of that status.
Friends and family are examples, not the only permitted makers. These conditions concern the statement writer, not whether the applicant’s partner qualifies as a sponsor. Home Affairs’ Form 888 does not require every maker to prove Australian citizenship or permanent residence.
Can someone overseas complete Form 888?
Yes, someone overseas can complete Form 888 if they meet its age and relationship-knowledge conditions, because Home Affairs’ Form 888 sets no citizenship or residence requirement.
The maker still supplies the documentary evidence required by Home Affairs’ Form 888 and signs their own statement.
What should a Form 888 say?
A Form 888 should explain how the maker knows each partner and describe the relationship history they know, using specific observations rather than copied praise.
This is writing guidance, not a quotation of official questions or a legal completeness test.
- How you know the applicant. Describe the connection and when it began.
- How you know their partner. Explain that connection separately.
- Your contact with the couple. Describe the contact that gives you knowledge of their relationship.
- What you personally observed. Use real events, dates or periods, places and interactions that you genuinely remember.
- What you know and what you were told. Keep direct observations distinct from information supplied by either partner; do not fill gaps with assumptions.
Focus on your own account. If you cannot remember an exact date, explain the period you remember rather than inventing precision. Avoid turning the statement into a list of compliments without explaining what you actually know.
Separately, Home Affairs’ Form 888 requires the maker’s signature and documentary evidence of their name and age, plus citizenship or permanent residence where applicable. Its instructions say the applicant or representative attaches it in ImmiAccount.
Is there a Form 888 example to copy?
Use a Form 888 example to organise your own account, not to copy another person’s relationship history.
Writing prompts, not the official Form 888 fields.
- Connection to the applicant:
[Explain how and when you met.] - Connection to their partner:
[Explain how and when you met.] - Knowledge of the relationship:
[Describe what you know and how you know it.] - Specific observations:
[Add genuine dates, events or periods you remember.] - Limits of your knowledge:
[Identify anything you did not observe directly.]
Accuracy matters: Home Affairs’ Form 888 includes a declaration and warning referring to Migration Act 1958 s 234(1)(b), concerning false or misleading statements connected with a visa application.
Is Form 888 a statutory declaration?
No, Form 888 is not a statutory declaration, and Home Affairs’ current Form 888 requires the maker’s signature without an authorised witness or JP.
| Document or action | What applies |
|---|---|
| Form 888 supporting statement | Under Home Affairs’ Form 888, the maker completes and signs the form; no authorised witness or JP is required. |
| Form 888 declaration | Home Affairs’ Form 888 includes the maker’s declaration and a warning referring to Migration Act 1958 s 234(1)(b). This does not make it a statutory declaration. |
| A separate Commonwealth statutory declaration | This is a different document governed by the Statutory Declarations Act 1959. Its preparation and witnessing requirements must be considered separately. |
For the separate document, see statutory declaration partner visa sponsor.
A relationship “witness” provides their own knowledge of the couple. An authorised witness observing a statutory declaration performs a different role under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959. Do not apply old Form 888 witnessing instructions to the current PDF.
How many Form 888s does a partner visa need?
Home Affairs’ partner visa pages request statements from 2 witnesses aged 18 or over who know the couple and their relationship, and those witnesses can use Form 888.
Home Affairs’ Form 888 separately says, “You may be asked to submit up to 3 separate statements”. This describes a possible further request, not a universal minimum or maximum. Read any specific Departmental request separately from the routine document list.
Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 801) page also lists two witness statements using Form 888 for the permanent stage. Do not assume first-stage statements automatically satisfy that request; check the current instructions when preparing your partner visa PR evidence.
Where Form 888 does not count: the s 48 lodgement rule
Form 888 does not count as either of the 2 statutory declarations required at lodgement by Schedule 1 item 1124B(3)(e)(iii) of the Migration Regulations 1994 where section 48 applies.
Migration Act 1958 s 48 concerns a person in Australia without a substantive visa who has had a relevant visa refusal or cancellation since their last entry. Holding a bridging visa alone does not establish that this rule applies.
See what is section 48 bar for the trigger and its limits.
Schedule 1 item 1124B(3)(e) of the Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ subclass 820 page distinguish these lodgement documents from ordinary supporting statements:
| Section 48 lodgement requirement | What must be distinguished from Form 888 |
|---|---|
| Number | Two statutory declarations, not two Form 888s. |
| Declarants | Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens; neither declarant may be the applicant’s partner. |
| Content | Declarations that the applicant and partner are married or in a de facto relationship. |
| Timing | Made no more than 6 weeks before lodgement and provided with the application. |
| Status evidence | Home Affairs requires evidence of each declarant’s status; its subclass 820 page says a driver’s licence or Medicare card is not enough. |
| Other lodgement document | A sponsorship form signed by the partner is also required. |
The same Schedule 1 rule restricts lodgement where the applicant has had a previous partner, spouse or interdependency visa refusal since their last entry. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 page says missing required declarations may result in the application being deemed invalid, and expressly rejects both current and previous Form 888 versions as substitutes.
For this requirement, arrange separate Commonwealth statutory declarations witnessed by an authorised witness under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959. The 6-week limit in Schedule 1 item 1124B(3)(e)(iii) applies to those declarations; it is not a general validity period for ordinary Form 888 statements.
When the supporting statements need a lawyer
An Australian migration lawyer can check whether your supporting statements meet the current Form 888 instructions, are consistent with your other relationship evidence and have been kept separate from any section 48 statutory declarations.
A document review can include four checks:
- Maker and documents. Check age, relationship knowledge, identity evidence and applicable status evidence against Home Affairs’ Form 888.
- Evidence consistency. Compare names, dates and relationship events with the applicant’s and sponsor’s other material, and identify discrepancies to clarify.
- Document type. Identify whether ordinary Form 888 statements or separate statutory declarations are required.
- Lodgement requirements. Where section 48 applies, check the documents required by Schedule 1 item 1124B(3)(e) of the Migration Regulations 1994 and the 6-week declaration timing before lodgement.
Clarify the scope before instructing a lawyer: does the review cover only the statements, their attachments, or consistency with the wider application? The spouse visa lawyer fees guide explains how to discuss scope and costs.
A partner visa with Australian Migration Lawyers usually costs $14,000 plus GST, separate from the Home Affairs visa application charge.
This is a checking process, not an outcome prediction. Home Affairs’ Using a legal practitioner page says lawyers cannot fast-track processing or guarantee a visa.
PartnerVisaLawyer.com.au is an information guide, not a law practice. The shared enquiry form sends private questions to Australian Migration Lawyers.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check each Form 888 writer’s eligibility, the statement’s consistency and whether separate section 48 declarations are required.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer about your Form 888 statements