A person cannot sponsor partner after partner. Regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994 blocks a partner sponsorship where more than one other person has already been granted permission to stay in Australia as the sponsor's partner, and imposes a five-year gap running from the date of the earlier application. The same gap applies where the sponsor was themselves sponsored as a partner. The text below was checked on 23 September 2026 against the Migration Regulations 1994.
What does regulation 1.20J say?
Regulation 1.20J is headed "Limitation on approval of sponsorships—spouse, partner, prospective marriage and interdependency visas". It covers Partner (Provisional) (Class UF), Prospective Marriage (Temporary) (Class TO), Extended Eligibility (Temporary) (Class TK) and Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visas — the 820 sits in Class UK. Where a person applies as the spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse of the sponsor, subregulation (1) says the Minister must not approve the sponsorship unless satisfied of three things:
| Limb | What the Minister must be satisfied of |
|---|---|
| (a) | Not more than 1 other person has been granted a relevant permission as the sponsor's spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination — or as a person who ceased such a relationship after experiencing family violence committed by the sponsor |
| (b) | If another person has been granted a relevant permission in those circumstances — not less than 5 years has passed since the date of making that application |
| (c) | If the sponsor was granted a relevant permission as another person's spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination — not less than 5 years has passed since the date of making that application |
Subregulation (1A) defines relevant permission: for an application made on or after 1 July 1997, permission granted under the Migration Act 1958 to remain indefinitely in Australia, a visa, or an entry permit. Subregulation (2) is the escape valve — the Minister may approve the sponsorship anyway if satisfied there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.
How many partners can one person sponsor?
Effectively two, counting the current application. The test in paragraph (a) is not "how many people have you sponsored" but whether not more than one other person has already been granted a relevant permission as the sponsor's partner.
- It counts grants: an earlier application refused or withdrawn does not add to the tally.
- It counts permission granted "on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination", so an old nomination counts, as does a subclass 300 visa granted on the sponsor's sponsorship.
- It also counts a partner who left after experiencing family violence committed by the sponsor.
How long has to pass between sponsorships?
Five years, and the clock starts at the date the earlier application was made, not the date the earlier visa was granted. Partner applications sit for a long time, so the five years can run out even where the grant is recent.
Paragraph (c) covers the sponsor's own history. Where the sponsor was granted a relevant permission as another person's partner or prospective spouse on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination, at least five years must have passed since that application was made — not since the separation, and not since the grant of their permanent visa.
Important
the five-year periods in paragraphs (b) and (c) run independently. A sponsor can be caught by (c) because of their own partner visa history even though they have never sponsored anyone.
Regulation 1.20KA adds a separate five-year bar for a sponsor granted a Subclass 143 or 864 contributory parent visa on or after 1 July 2009 while already the applicant's partner, with its own exception for compelling non-financial reasons.
Can the limitations be waived?
Yes, under subregulation 1.20J(2), where the Minister is satisfied there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor. The discretion covers all of subregulation (1) — the numerical limit and both five-year periods.
Regulation 1.20J does not define "compelling circumstances" or list the matters to be taken into account, so the weight given to any circumstance is for the delegate — a deliberate contrast with regulation 1.20KC(4), which does list factors. To see how the phrase is applied, look at the Department's published policy guidance on partner sponsorship and at decisions of the Administrative Review Tribunal reviewing partner visa refusals. What the wording does make clear is that the circumstances must affect the sponsor, not only the applicant.
What if the sponsor has a conviction?
Two further regulations restrict sponsorship on character grounds. Both sit alongside regulation 1.20J rather than replacing it; what the Department asks for is set out under sponsor character checks.
Regulation 1.20KC applies to every partner and prospective marriage sponsorship, whether or not children are involved. A relevant offence is an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or a foreign country involving violence against a person (including murder, assault, sexual assault and threats of violence); harassment, molestation, intimidation or stalking; breach of an apprehended violence order or similar order; firearms or dangerous weapons; people smuggling; human trafficking, slavery or slavery-like practices (including forced marriage); kidnapping; or unlawful confinement.
The Minister must refuse the sponsorship if the sponsor has been convicted of a relevant offence and has a significant criminal record for it — defined in regulation 1.20KD as a sentence of death, life imprisonment, a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more, or two or more terms totalling 12 months or more, with concurrent terms counted in full. Convictions quashed, nullified or pardoned in the relevant sense are disregarded. Subregulation (4) then lets the Minister approve the sponsorship anyway where that is reasonable, having regard to matters including the time since the sentence was completed, the best interests of any children of the sponsor and of the primary applicant, and the length of the relationship. That list is not exhaustive.
Regulation 1.20KB applies where the primary or secondary applicant was under 18 at the time of application. A registrable offence means an offence that is registrable or reportable under the State and Territory child sex offender registration and reporting schemes, or would be if committed in one of those jurisdictions. Where the sponsor has been charged with one, the Minister must refuse the sponsorship of all applicants unless none is under 18 when it is decided, or the charge was withdrawn, dismissed or otherwise disposed of without a conviction recorded. Where the sponsor has been convicted, the Minister must refuse unless none of the applicants is under 18 at that time, or the conviction has been quashed or set aside. The Minister may still approve where the sponsor completed the sentence more than five years before the sponsorship application, has not been charged since (or a later charge was disposed of without a conviction), and there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor or the applicant.
Police checks and disclosure to the applicant
Regulation 1.20KC(5) lets the Minister request a police check for the sponsor from any Australian jurisdiction named in the request, and from any foreign country named in it where the sponsor has lived for 12 months or more since the later of ten years before the request or the sponsor turning 16. Regulation 1.20KB(11) contains a similar power. Under both, the sponsorship may be refused if the check is not provided in a reasonable time.
Disclosure runs the other way too. Clause 820.221 of Schedule 2 requires, at the time of decision, that the sponsorship is approved and still in force, and that the sponsor has consented to the Department disclosing to each applicant covered by the sponsorship any conviction of the sponsor for a relevant offence. A sponsor who refuses that consent cannot satisfy the criterion.
An application prepared by a migration lawyer is more likely to succeed where any of these limitations apply. A waiver under regulation 1.20J(2) is a written submission with evidence, put in before the sponsorship is decided rather than raised after a refusal.
Next: if a conviction is involved, read sponsor character checks. Where an earlier partner left after violence, family violence provisions explains how those cases are treated. Otherwise go back to who can sponsor an 820 visa or the subclass 820 regulations.
Common questions
How many times can a person sponsor a partner visa?
Regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires the Minister to be satisfied that not more than one other person has already been granted permission to remain as the sponsor's spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination. In practice that usually means two partners in a lifetime, and the second is blocked unless the five-year condition is also met. The Minister may approve a sponsorship despite the limit if satisfied there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.
Is the five-year period counted from the grant of the earlier visa or the application?
From the application. Regulation 1.20J requires that not less than five years has passed since the date of making the application for the earlier permission. Because partner applications can take a long time to decide, the five years can already have run even though the earlier visa was granted quite recently.
My sponsor came to Australia on a partner visa themselves. Can they sponsor me?
Not within five years. Regulation 1.20J says that where the sponsor was granted permission to remain as the spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse of another person on the basis of a sponsorship or nomination, not less than five years must have passed since the date that earlier application was made. The compelling circumstances discretion can still be exercised.
Does a subclass 300 prospective marriage sponsorship count towards the limit?
Yes. Regulation 1.20J applies to Prospective Marriage (Temporary) (Class TO) visas as well as Partner (Provisional) (Class UF), Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) and Extended Eligibility (Temporary) (Class TK) visas, and the limit counts permission granted to a prospective spouse as well as to a spouse or de facto partner.
Does a sponsor with a criminal conviction always get refused?
No, but some convictions require refusal unless an exception applies. Regulation 1.20KC requires the Minister to refuse a partner sponsorship where the sponsor has been convicted of a relevant offence and has a significant criminal record for it, unless the Minister considers it reasonable to approve the sponsorship having regard to matters such as the time since the sentence was completed, the best interests of any children, and the length of the relationship. Regulation 1.20KB deals separately with registrable offences where an applicant is under 18.
Sources
Keep reading
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.
Read the guide →
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.
Read the guide →
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 →