An 820 visa can only be sponsored by the applicant's spouse or de facto partner, and that person must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. The Department of Home Affairs must approve the sponsorship, and the sponsorship must still be in force when the visa is decided.
Sponsorship Limitations: Previous Sponsorships and the Five-Year Rule
How regulation 1.20J limits partner visa sponsorship: two partners, five years between applications, the waiver, and the rules on sponsor convictions.
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Sponsor Character Checks and Police Certificates
What police checks an 820 sponsor can be asked for, which convictions stop a sponsorship being approved, and what the applicant is told.
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Eligible New Zealand Citizens as Partner Visa Sponsors
What an eligible New Zealand citizen is under regulation 1.03, how a sponsor proves that status, and the subclass 444 trap for 820 holders.
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Can a Sponsor Withdraw Sponsorship?
What happens if an 820 sponsor withdraws, why the sponsor cannot be changed, and the provisions that can still lead to a permanent partner visa.
Read the guide →Who can sponsor an 820 visa?
Three groups of people, and no others. The Department's own summary of the subclass 820 says the applicant must be in a genuine relationship with a spouse or de facto partner who is "an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen", and that the partner must sponsor them.
- Australian citizens. Citizenship by birth, by descent or by conferral all count. Evidence is usually an Australian passport, a citizenship certificate or a full Australian birth certificate.
- Australian permanent residents. Regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 defines an Australian permanent resident, for this purpose, as a non-citizen who, being usually resident in Australia, holds a permanent visa. The words "usually resident in Australia" matter: a permanent visa holder who has moved their life offshore may have difficulty establishing that they meet the definition.
- Eligible New Zealand citizens. This is a narrow category and it catches a lot of couples by surprise.
A temporary visa holder cannot sponsor, and neither can a friend or family member standing in for the partner. The only exception to "the partner sponsors" is where the applicant's spouse has not turned 18, which is dealt with below.
What makes a New Zealand citizen "eligible"?
Regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 defines an eligible New Zealand citizen as a New Zealand citizen who is a "protected SCV holder" within the meaning of section 7 of the Social Security Act 1991. SCV means the Special Category visa (subclass 444), the visa New Zealand citizens receive on arrival.
Section 7 of that Act sets out when a person is a protected SCV holder, and every limb of the test is anchored to 26 February 2001. In broad terms, a New Zealand citizen is a protected SCV holder if they were in Australia on 26 February 2001 holding a Special Category visa, or if they had been in Australia for 12 months in total during the two years immediately before that date and returned to Australia afterwards. Further limbs cover people who were residing in Australia but temporarily absent on that date, people who commenced or recommenced residing here in the three months beginning on 26 February 2001, and people holding a determination from the Secretary about their residence.
The practical effect is that a New Zealand citizen who first moved to Australia after February 2001 is usually not an eligible New Zealand citizen, even after many years of living and working here on a subclass 444 visa. That does not end the matter: they may still be able to sponsor once they hold a permanent visa or have become an Australian citizen. The detail, including how to work out which limb of the test applies, is set out on the page about eligible New Zealand citizen sponsors.
Watch out
the definition of an eligible New Zealand citizen has nothing to do with how long the sponsor has lived in Australia, whether they own a home here, or whether they pay Australian tax. It is a status test tied to a single date in 2001.
Does the Department have to approve the sponsor?
Yes. The Department states plainly that it must approve the sponsor, and that the applicant must have a sponsor both when the application is lodged and while they hold the visa. In the Migration Regulations 1994, the requirement appears twice in Part 820 of Schedule 2: the sponsorship must have been approved by the Minister, and at the time of decision it must have been "approved by the Minister and is still in force".
Approval is not a formality. Separate regulations limit the Minister's discretion to approve a partner sponsorship, and a sponsorship that is refused takes the visa application with it. One set of limits deals with previous sponsorships; the other deals with convictions, and is covered under sponsor character checks.
How is the sponsorship lodged?
Through a separate online form, not as part of the visa application. The form is called Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia, and the Department says the sponsor can lodge it through their own ImmiAccount or through the applicant's, using the applicant's TRN (Transaction Reference Number) or Application ID to attach it to the right file.
Timing depends on the applicant's visa status:
| Applicant's situation | When the sponsorship must be lodged |
|---|---|
| Holds a substantive visa | As soon as possible after the visa application is lodged |
| Does not hold a substantive visa | Completed and included when the visa application is lodged |
For an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa, the Department lists the completed sponsorship form among the things that must be included at lodgement, along with evidence of the sponsor's status and at least two statutory declarations made within the last six weeks. It warns that if that information is not included, the application "may be deemed invalid" — and an invalid application cannot be repaired after the event.
The mechanics of the form, and what the sponsor is asked, are set out on the sponsor's part of the application.
What evidence of status does the sponsor provide?
Documents that actually prove citizenship, permanent residence or eligible New Zealand citizen status. The Department gives a passport or a birth certificate as its examples, and says in terms that "a driver's licence or Medicare card is not sufficient evidence".
That wording is worth reading twice, because licences and Medicare cards are the documents Australians reach for first. A full birth certificate, an Australian passport or a citizenship certificate is what the Department is looking for. A permanent resident normally provides their passport plus evidence of the permanent visa, which can be produced through VEVO.
How old does a sponsor have to be?
The Migration Regulations 1994 do not set a general minimum age for a partner sponsor, but they do say who must do the sponsoring. Under clause 820.211 of Schedule 2, if the applicant's spouse or de facto partner has turned 18, the applicant is sponsored by that spouse or de facto partner. If the applicant's spouse has not turned 18, the applicant must instead be sponsored by a parent or guardian of the spouse who has turned 18 and who is themselves an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
Separately, the Department says married applicants must in most cases be 18 or older when they apply, because that is the usual minimum age to marry under Australian law, and that applicants in de facto relationships must be 18 or older when they apply.
Can the sponsor be changed later?
No. The Department's position is unambiguous: "You cannot change your sponsor." The person who sponsors the applicant when the visa application is made must be the same person who sponsors them for two years after the temporary subclass 820 visa is granted.
If the relationship with the sponsor ends, or the sponsor dies, the question is not whether someone else can step in — it is whether the application can continue at all under the limited provisions that deal with those situations. Those are covered on if the relationship ends and if your sponsor dies.
What does the sponsor actually undertake to do?
Regulation 1.20 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets out the undertaking. For a concurrent application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa and a Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa — which is the 820 and 801 pair — the sponsor undertakes to assist the applicant, "to the extent necessary, financially and in relation to accommodation", for the two years immediately following the grant of the temporary visa where the applicant is in Australia.
The undertaking is an obligation to assist to the extent necessary, not an income threshold, and regulation 1.20 names no figure. What that means in practice is discussed under sponsor income.
What happens if the sponsor withdraws?
The sponsorship has to be approved and still in force at the time of decision, so a withdrawn sponsorship is fatal to a pending 820 application in most cases. There are narrow exceptions built into Part 820 of Schedule 2, principally where the sponsoring partner has died, or where the relationship has ceased and family violence committed by the sponsoring partner is established, or where there are children and certain court orders are in place. The consequences, the timing and the notification obligations are set out on withdrawing sponsorship.
How often can one person sponsor a partner?
Rarely more than twice, and rarely within five years. Regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994 prevents the Minister from approving a partner sponsorship unless no more than one other person has already been granted permission to stay as the sponsor's partner, and at least five years have passed since that earlier application was made. The same five-year period applies where the sponsor was themselves sponsored as someone's partner. There is a discretion to approve anyway where there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.
An application prepared by an immigration lawyer is more likely to succeed, and sponsorship is one of the places where that shows. The sponsorship form is treated as an afterthought, yet it carries the validity of the whole application when the applicant has no substantive visa, and it is where a previous sponsorship or an old conviction has to be disclosed. None of that can be fixed after a decision.
Next: if the sponsor has brought a previous partner to Australia, or was sponsored as a partner themselves, read sponsorship limitations before lodging anything. If the sponsorship is straightforward, work through the rest of the criteria under subclass 820 partner visa.
Unregistered agents
An unregistered agent who gives immigration assistance is acting illegally (Migration Act 1958 s 280). They carry no professional indemnity insurance, so if their mistake costs you a refusal, your fees or your pathway, there is no insurer to claim against. A practising Australian lawyer must hold that insurance.
Common questions
Can someone on a temporary visa sponsor an 820 partner visa?
No. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. A person holding a student visa, a working holiday visa, a skilled temporary visa or a bridging visa cannot sponsor a partner for the subclass 820, no matter how long they have lived in Australia.
Can a New Zealand citizen sponsor a partner visa?
Only if they are an eligible New Zealand citizen, or they have become an Australian permanent resident or an Australian citizen. The Migration Regulations 1994 define an eligible New Zealand citizen as a New Zealand citizen who is a protected SCV holder within the meaning of section 7 of the Social Security Act 1991, which turns on the person's presence in Australia around 26 February 2001. A New Zealand citizen who first moved to Australia after that date usually does not meet the test and would need a permanent visa or citizenship first.
Can I change my sponsor after I apply for the 820?
No. The Department of Home Affairs says you cannot change your sponsor, and that the person who sponsors you when you apply must be the same person who sponsors you for two years after the temporary subclass 820 visa is granted. If the relationship ends, the answer is not a new sponsor but a different set of rules about whether the application can continue.
When does the sponsor lodge their part of the application?
As soon as possible after the visa application is lodged. Sponsorship is a separate online form called Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia, and it is linked to the visa application using the applicant's TRN or Application ID. If the applicant does not hold a substantive visa, the completed sponsorship form has to be included when the visa application is lodged, or the application may be deemed invalid.
What documents prove that the sponsor is an Australian citizen or permanent resident?
The Department accepts documents such as an Australian passport or a birth certificate. It states specifically that a driver's licence or a Medicare card is not sufficient evidence of status. A permanent resident usually provides their passport together with evidence of the permanent visa.