As at 3 October 2026, Home Affairs’ PDF forms listing does not publish a Form 40SP download; IMMI 18/103 and the Department’s Partner visa frequently asked questions page restrict paper partner applications to written authorisation or invitation.
Sources checked: 3 October 2026
Sponsor form card
This is a non-interactive information card, not a government form or downloadable document.
| Label | Information |
|---|---|
| Legal form name | Form 40SP / Form 40SP (Internet), expressly approved for the section 48 signed-sponsorship requirement under IMMI 18/103 s 6(2). |
| Current online sponsorship form | Home Affairs names it Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia. |
| Online reference needed | Home Affairs’ sponsor instructions require the visa applicant’s TRN or Application ID. |
| Paper only by written invitation or authorisation | Under IMMI 18/103 and Home Affairs’ Partner visa frequently asked questions page, this restriction concerns paper partner visa applications. Follow the Department’s written directions, not an old public PDF workaround. |
| What is signed | Where section 48 applies, Schedule 1 item 1124B requires the partner-signed sponsorship form to accompany the application at lodgement. |
| Public Form 40SP PDF | Not published on Home Affairs’ PDF forms list as checked on 3 October 2026. |
What is Form 40SP?
Form 40SP is an approved sponsor form expressly named in section 6(2) of the Migration (IMMI 18/103: Arrangements for Partner and Prospective Marriage Visa Applications) Instrument 2018 for the section 48 onshore partner lodgement requirement.
Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor instructions instead direct ordinary sponsors to the online ‘Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia’ form.
It is sponsor-side paperwork, not the applicant’s visa application. LIN 24/077 inserted the provision naming both sponsor-form versions from 24 December 2024. For wider eligibility and obligations, see sponsor partner visa Australia.
Form 40SP or the online sponsorship application?
The online sponsorship application is the current practical route described on Home Affairs’ partner visa pages; its name is ‘Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia’.
IMMI 18/103 separately names Form 40SP and Form 40SP (Internet) for the section 48 lodgement requirement, but the checked Home Affairs pages do not identify the general online sponsorship by either label.
| Form or application | Person / purpose | Verified distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Form 40SP / Form 40SP (Internet) | Sponsor-side form. | IMMI 18/103 expressly names these for the section 48 signed-form requirement. |
| Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia | Sponsor’s online sponsorship. | Home Affairs names this application, using the applicant’s TRN or Application ID. |
| 47SP (Internet) | Visa applicant’s application. | Approved under IMMI 18/103; paper 47SP requires Department authorisation. |
The 47SP form concerns the applicant’s separate task under IMMI 18/103. Home Affairs’ Form 956 and Using a legal practitioner page explain lawyer appointment: the 956 form does not replace sponsorship.
Can I download Form 40SP as a PDF?
No public Form 40SP PDF was available from Home Affairs’ PDF forms listing when checked on 3 October 2026.
The Department’s usual Form 40SP PDF address also returned HTTP 404, but the sources do not establish when the download was removed.
“No longer published” does not mean legally abolished. Follow the online process below. Home Affairs’ Form 40 covers specified other family sponsorships, not partner sponsorship.
IMMI 18/103 and Home Affairs’ Partner visa frequently asked questions page require invitation or written authorisation for paper partner applications. Finding an old copy does not authorise paper lodgement; Home Affairs’ Apply on paper page directs applicants to current forms.
How do I lodge the online sponsorship?
Lodge the online sponsorship through ImmiAccount using the visa applicant’s TRN or Application ID, following Home Affairs’ Partner visa sponsor instructions.
Those instructions allow the sponsor to use their own ImmiAccount or the applicant’s ImmiAccount.
Under those Home Affairs instructions:
- Firstly, obtain the applicant’s TRN or Application ID after their visa application has been lodged.
- Secondly, sign in to the sponsor’s or applicant’s ImmiAccount.
- Thirdly, select
New application→Family→Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia. - Fourthly, complete and lodge the sponsorship, following the current prompts and declarations.
Home Affairs’ 820 instructions and the Migration Regulations 1994 provide for sponsorship assessment alongside the visa application, with approval in force at decision. Regulation 2.58 currently prescribes parent sponsors—not partner sponsors—for the Migration Act 1958’s separate family-sponsor approval framework.
What Form 40SP asks the sponsor
Form 40SP preparation centres on the sponsor’s status, relationship, sponsorship history, relevant convictions and undertaking, using the requirements on Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor page.
The current online questions have not been verified for this guide, so this checklist groups sponsorship requirements rather than reproducing the form.
Six areas to prepare
-
Sponsor identity and status. Prepare citizenship, permanent residence or eligible New Zealand citizenship evidence under Home Affairs’ 820 sponsor instructions. Regulation 1.03 defines eligible New Zealand citizenship; a New Zealand passport alone does not establish it.
-
Relationship information. Reconcile names and dates with the applicant’s evidence. Migration Regulations 1994 regulations 1.09A and 1.15A identify financial, household, social and commitment assessment categories—not online field labels.
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Previous sponsorships and the sponsor’s own partner visa history. Check both histories against regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994. Its limitations have conditions and a compelling-circumstances exception, not a universal five-year ban.
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Relevant convictions and disclosure consent. Migration Regulations 1994 regulations 1.20KC and 1.20KD address relevant offences and significant criminal records. Consent to disclosure is a separate requirement explained on Home Affairs’ 820 page; not every conviction prevents sponsorship.
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Police certificates where required. Regulation 1.20KC permits the Minister to request checks; it does not make every certificate a mandatory lodgement attachment. Home Affairs’ 820 instructions require complete-disclosure AFP certificates for Australian checks.
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The assistance undertaking. Prepare for financial and accommodation assistance under regulation 1.20(2)(c) of the Migration Regulations 1994, explained next.
The sponsor’s undertaking
For 820/801 and 309/100 sponsorships, the sponsor’s undertaking is to assist financially and with accommodation for 2 years, under regulation 1.20(2)(c) of the Migration Regulations 1994.
Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 820) sponsor page says this undertaking still applies if the permanent partner visa is granted immediately after the temporary visa.
Regulation 1.20(2)(c) sets these starting points:
| Applicant’s location | Starting point for the 2-year assistance period |
|---|---|
| In Australia. | Grant of the temporary partner visa. |
| Outside Australia. | First entry into Australia. |
When the signed sponsorship form is a lodgement requirement
A signed sponsorship form is a lodgement requirement under Schedule 1 item 1124B(3)(e)(ii) of the Migration Regulations 1994 when section 48 applies to an onshore partner applicant.
Item 1124B(3)(e)(iii) also requires 2 statutory declarations from qualifying people other than the partner, made no more than 6 weeks before lodgement.
| Check | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Section 48 trigger. | Migration Act 1958 s 48 involves no substantive visa and specified refusal or cancellation history since last entry—not everyone without a substantive visa. |
| Partner visa classes remain prescribed. | Migration Regulations 1994 regulation 2.12 prescribes onshore partner classes, subject to additional valid-application requirements—not automatic eligibility. |
| Previous partner refusal. | Item 1124B(3A) prevents this route following refusal since last entry of subclass 100, 110, 309, 310, 801, 814, 820 or 826. |
| Signed sponsorship form. | Item 1124B requires the partner-signed form at lodgement; IMMI 18/103 s 6(2) names Form 40SP and Form 40SP (Internet). |
| Two statutory declarations. | Item 1124B requires citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens other than the partner to declare the couple married or de facto. Declarations must be no more than 6 weeks old at lodgement. |
| Form 888 is not a substitute. | Home Affairs’ 820 page says neither current nor previous versions satisfy this statutory-declaration requirement. |
| Proof of declarant status. | Home Affairs’ 820 page requires appropriate status evidence; a driver licence or Medicare card is insufficient. |
See the s48 bar for the full trigger and refusal/cancellation analysis.
Home Affairs’ 820 page says an application missing these documents “may be deemed invalid”. The checked instructions do not establish how to obtain and supply the partner-signed sponsorship form without a public PDF. Have the accepted form mechanism and document timing checked before lodgement.
Sponsor questions for a lawyer
Sponsor questions for a lawyer should focus on eligibility, consistency with the applicant’s information and documents required at lodgement.
Home Affairs’ Using a legal practitioner page states that a lawyer cannot fast-track processing or guarantee a visa.
Ask:
- Does my previous sponsorship or sponsored-partner history require closer checking?
- Are the sponsor’s answers consistent with the applicant’s relationship history and evidence?
- Do relevant convictions, disclosure consent or requested police certificates need further work?
- If section 48 applies, how will the partner-signed sponsorship form and two statutory declarations accompany lodgement?
An Australian migration lawyer can check the applicable requirements, supporting records, inconsistencies and document timing against the Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ 820 instructions.
For an explanation of partner visa advice, use that guide; the shared enquiry form sends private questions to Australian Migration Lawyers. Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check sponsor eligibility, the online sponsorship answers and any signed-form requirement before a section 48 lodgement.