Legal help: An Australian migration lawyer with Australian Migration Lawyers can check sponsor eligibility and the sponsorship answers before you lodge or reply. A partner visa with Australian Migration Lawyers usually costs $14,000 plus GST, separate from the Home Affairs visa application charge.
The sponsor lodges the no-cost “Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia” online form after the applicant lodges the visa application and provides its TRN or Application ID, as directed by Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor guidance.
The sponsor is usually the applicant’s partner. Under Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor guidance and the Migration Regulations 1994, status and age alone do not establish sponsorship eligibility: earlier sponsorships and applicable offence provisions also need checking. Not every conviction prevents sponsorship.
Home Affairs’ subclass 820 sponsor guidance and Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20(2)(c) also identify a 2-year undertaking to assist the applicant financially and with accommodation.
The card below is a preliminary guide, not a sponsorship approval or personalised assessment.
Information checked against supplied government sources on 3 October 2026.
Check the basic partner visa sponsor requirements
This static screening card describes checks to consider. It does not accept answers or calculate eligibility.
Display field label Information shown Screening outcome / next step Sponsor’s citizenship or residence status Australian citizen; Australian permanent resident; eligible New Zealand citizen; status not established A listed status requires evidence. New Zealand citizenship alone does not establish eligible New Zealand citizen status. Sponsor’s age Aged 18 or over; under 18 Check the actual sponsor’s age. Where a married partner is under 18, check the qualifying parent-or-guardian arrangement. Earlier partner sponsorships and sponsored visas Earlier relevant grants, application dates and whether the proposed sponsor previously received a sponsored partner visa Check the sponsorship-number and 5-year restrictions rather than counting applications alone. Relevant offences and police checks Relevant convictions, sentences, applicable child-protection issues and requested certificates Check offence provisions and disclosure requirements; do not assume automatic refusal. Screening outcome Basic requirements indicated; documents or dates need checking; a sponsor limitation needs legal assessment Sponsorship approval remains a Department decision and other criteria still apply. The card draws on Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor guidance and the Migration Regulations 1994, including regs 1.20J, 1.20KB, 1.20KC and 1.20KD.
This card explains preliminary checks; it does not determine your eligibility or approve a sponsorship.
Who can sponsor a partner visa?
A partner visa sponsor is usually the applicant’s partner and must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen aged 18 or over, according to Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor guidance.
Australian citizen. This is a qualifying sponsor status under Home Affairs’ subclass 820 sponsor guidance.
Australian permanent resident. Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.03 defines this as a permanent visa holder usually resident in Australia.
Eligible New Zealand citizen. This is a qualifying status under Home Affairs’ subclass 820 sponsor guidance; its specific definition is explained below.
The partner visa application is the applicant’s application for a visa, distinct from the sponsor’s sponsorship application.
This guide mainly covers sponsorship for subclasses 820/801 and 309/100. For subclass 300, the Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ Prospective Marriage visa guidance also require the prospective-spouse sponsor to be at least 18.
What if the married partner is under 18?
Where the married partner is under 18, the Migration Regulations 1994 provide for an eligible parent or guardian aged 18 or over to sponsor the applicant under the relevant 820 or 309 criteria.
Under those Migration Regulations 1994 criteria, the parent or guardian must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. The married partner’s age is distinct from the actual sponsor’s age. This arrangement does not extend to under-18 de facto relationships: reg 2.03A(2) requires both de facto partners to be at least 18 at application.
Partner visa sponsor requirements
Partner visa sponsor requirements cover the sponsor’s status and age, the relationship, sponsorship restrictions, approval and the required undertaking, under Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) guidance and the Migration Regulations 1994.
Status and age. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 sponsor guidance requires the qualifying status and age explained above.
Qualifying relationship. The Migration Act 1958 s 5F covers spouses in a valid marriage; s 5CB covers de facto partners who are not married to each other and are not related by family. Both require a genuine and continuing relationship, mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of others, and living together or not permanently apart. See de facto visa requirements for the de facto rules.
Sponsorship restrictions. Migration Regulations 1994 regs 1.20J–1.20KD address earlier sponsorships, the sponsor’s own sponsored-partner history and applicable offence restrictions, explained below.
Sponsorship approval. Under the Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ subclass 820 guidance, sponsorship is assessed alongside the visa application and must meet the applicable approval requirements at decision.
Undertaking and disclosures. The Migration Regulations 1994 require the financial/accommodation undertaking and consent to relevant-offence disclosure under the applicable partner-visa criteria.
Is English testing required for sponsors?
No partner-sponsor English-testing requirement has been made under the Migration Regulations 1994 as at 3 October 2026; reg 2.58(2) still prescribes only the parent-sponsor class for the family-sponsor approval framework.
The sponsorship application
The sponsorship application is lodged online after the applicant’s visa application, using the applicant’s TRN or Application ID, according to Home Affairs’ Partner visa sponsor guidance.
Home Affairs’ subclass 820, 309 and 300 sponsor guidance gives this sequence:
Firstly, obtain the applicant’s TRN or Application ID after visa lodgement.
Secondly, open the sponsor’s own or the applicant’s ImmiAccount.
Thirdly, select New application → Family → Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia.
Fourthly, complete and lodge that sponsorship application.
See form 40SP for partner visa for the Form 40SP terminology and current online sponsorship route, rather than a downloadable form.
Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor guidance states that the sponsorship itself has no cost; this does not mean the applicant’s visa application or related checks are free.
Home Affairs currently names the online form “Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia”. Its guidance does not establish that this generally used form is formally identical to the instrument’s “40SP (Internet)”. Paper Form 40SP was absent from Home Affairs’ public PDF forms list, and its former PDF returned 404, on 3 October 2026.
The Migration (IMMI 18/103: Arrangements for Partner and Prospective Marriage Visa Applications) Instrument 2018, as amended by LIN 24/077, retains Form 40SP and Form 40SP (Internet) for the specified s 48 lodgement situation. The linked guide explains that separate rule.
Must sponsorship be approved before the visa application?
No separate partner-sponsor approval before visa lodgement is required by the family-sponsor framework as at 3 October 2026, because Migration Regulations 1994 reg 2.58(2) prescribes only parent sponsors for that framework.
The family-sponsor framework added to the Migration Act 1958 commenced on 17 April 2019. Partner sponsorship remains assessed alongside the visa application under the Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ subclass 820 guidance. “Not approved first” does not mean “does not require approval”.
The sponsor’s obligations
The sponsor’s obligations include an undertaking to assist the applicant financially and with accommodation for 2 years, under Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20(2)(c).
When does the 2-year undertaking start?
Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20(2)(c) and Home Affairs’ subclass 820 sponsor guidance distinguish the starting point by the applicant’s location:
Applicant’s location Starting point for the undertaking In Australia Grant of the temporary partner visa. Outside Australia First entry to Australia. Does an immediate permanent visa end the undertaking?
No—the 2-year undertaking still applies even if the permanent partner visa is granted straight after the temporary visa, according to Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor guidance.
New Zealand citizen sponsors
An eligible New Zealand citizen sponsor is a New Zealand citizen who is a protected Special Category Visa holder, as defined by Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.03 by reference to Social Security Act 1991 s 7.
Under that Migration Regulations 1994 definition, New Zealand citizenship or holding a Special Category Visa does not, by itself, establish the required protected status. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 sponsor guidance also requires the sponsor to meet the other sponsorship requirements.
Limits on sponsoring: earlier sponsorships and violence offences
Limits on sponsoring include earlier partner sponsorships, a sponsor’s own sponsored-partner history and specified offence restrictions under Migration Regulations 1994 regs 1.20J, 1.20KB, 1.20KC and 1.20KD.
How do earlier sponsorships affect eligibility?
Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20J sets three checks:
Relevant earlier grants: not more than one other person has received a relevant permission as the sponsor’s spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse on the specified sponsorship basis, or in the regulation’s family-violence circumstances.
Earlier person’s application date: at least 5 years have passed since that person’s application—not their visa grant.
Sponsor’s own application date: if the sponsor previously received a visa as a sponsored partner, at least 5 years have passed since their own application.
Regulation 1.20J concerns relevant grants and statutory circumstances, not “only two applications in a lifetime”. Regulation 1.20J(2) permits approval despite these restrictions where the Minister is satisfied there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 guidance gives examples including a dependent child of both partners or the death of a previous partner; neither guarantees approval.
Which offences affect sponsorship?
Under Migration Regulations 1994 regs 1.20KC and 1.20KD, sponsorship must be refused where the sponsor has a relevant-offence conviction and a significant criminal record for relevant offences, unless the Minister considers approval reasonable under the prescribed assessment.
The relevant-offence categories under Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20KC include:
- violence;
- harassment or stalking;
- protection-order breaches;
- weapons;
- people smuggling;
- trafficking, slavery or forced marriage;
- kidnapping;
- attempts and accessories.
Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20KD defines a significant criminal record here as death or life imprisonment, or imprisonment totalling at least 12 months for relevant offences. The prescribed assessment includes time since completion of the sentence, children’s best interests and relationship length. This is a sponsor-specific test, not the applicant’s s 501 character test.
What police checks and disclosures are required?
Requested certificates. Under Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20KC, requested checks cover Australia and countries where the sponsor lived for at least 12 months since the later of 10 years ago or turning 16. Failure to provide requested checks is a possible refusal ground, not automatic refusal.
Australian certificate. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 sponsor guidance requires a complete-disclosure AFP National Police Certificate; state or territory certificates are not accepted. See partner visa police check.
Disclosure consent. The Migration Regulations 1994 partner-visa criteria require consent for the Department to disclose relevant-offence convictions to each applicant covered by the sponsorship. Quashed or pardoned convictions are disregarded under the specified provisions.
Do other sponsor limitations apply?
Contributory parent visa holders. Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20KA restricts certain subclass 143/864 holders from sponsoring a partner they were with before their own grant for 5 years after that grant. A narrow exception concerns compelling non-financial reasons why the partner did not apply with them or withdrew.
Woman at Risk visa holders. The Migration Regulations 1994 applicable subclass criteria restrict subclass 204 holders from sponsoring a former partner, or a partner not declared before grant, within 5 years of their visa grant.
Applications including a child under 18. Migration Regulations 1994 reg 1.20KB requires refusal where the sponsor is charged with or convicted of a registrable child offence, subject to narrow prescribed exceptions for convictions. Home Affairs’ Measures for the protection of children guidance explains this separate restriction; it is not the significant-criminal-record test above.
The sponsor cannot be changed
No—the sponsor cannot be changed, according to Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) guidance.
Home Affairs’ subclass 820 guidance states that the person sponsoring at application must sponsor for 2 years after the 820 grant. A new partner cannot replace the original sponsor on that existing application.
Replacement is distinct from withdrawal. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 guidance and Information for partner visa sponsors permit withdrawal before the permanent partner visa decision, subject to stage-specific rules: sponsorship for the 820 itself cannot be withdrawn after its grant. Removing sponsorship from ImmiAccount is not written withdrawal.
Withdrawal does not itself establish the final visa outcome. Home Affairs’ subclass 820 guidance states that the applicant may still be eligible; the sponsor does not cancel the visa.
When the sponsor needs legal advice
A sponsor should seek advice from an Australian migration lawyer before lodging or responding where earlier sponsorships, uncertain status, offence records or a proposed withdrawal require individual assessment.
Sponsor’s issue Concrete check an Australian migration lawyer can perform Earlier partner sponsorship or the sponsor’s own sponsored-partner visa Check relevant grants, application dates and whether a statutory exception needs supporting evidence. Uncertain permanent-resident or eligible New Zealand citizen status Check the status relied on against the applicable definition and available documents. Conviction, sentence or child-protection issue Check the applicable provision, sentence records, requested certificates and disclosure requirements. Sponsorship application being prepared Check consistency between sponsorship answers, the applicant’s answers and supporting documents before lodgement. Sponsorship withdrawal or disagreement with the applicant Check the current visa stage, proposed written notice and whether separate advice is required. For earlier sponsorships, ask the lawyer to check the statutory restriction and any evidence needed for an exception. Read sponsorship limitation partner visa for that issue.
For withdrawal, ask the lawyer to distinguish ending sponsorship from replacing a sponsor and check the current stage before any written notice. Separate advice may be necessary where the sponsor and applicant disagree. Read withdraw sponsorship for that issue.
Migration Act 1958 s 276(2) includes preparing or advising on a sponsorship application within immigration assistance. Home Affairs’ Using a legal practitioner page states that a lawyer cannot guarantee a visa or fast-track processing.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check sponsor status, any earlier sponsorships or relevant offences, and the online sponsorship answers before lodgement. The Australian partner visa lawyer homepage explains the scope of legal help; its enquiry form sends private questions to Australian Migration Lawyers.