A partner visa sponsor has one substantive obligation and several procedural ones. The substantive obligation is the undertaking in regulation 1.20 of the Migration Regulations 1994: 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. The rest is about keeping the Department informed and cooperating with it. The provisions here were read on the Federal Register of Legislation on 23 September 2026.
What exactly did you undertake?
Regulation 1.20(1) defines a sponsor as a person who undertakes the obligations in subregulation (2). Subregulation 1.20(2)(c) is the one that applies to the 820 and 801, lodged as a concurrent application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa and a Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa. The sponsor undertakes to assist the applicant, to the extent necessary, financially and in relation to accommodation:
- if the applicant is in Australia — during the period of two years immediately following the grant of the temporary visa; or
- if the applicant is outside Australia — during the period of two years immediately following their first entry into Australia after the grant.
Subregulation 1.20(3) adds the formality: an approved sponsor must enter into the sponsorship by completing the approved form and giving it to the Minister within a reasonable period after approval.
Three things follow from the wording that sponsors often get wrong.
The clock starts at grant, not at lodgement. If the application takes years to decide — and the Department warns of longer processing times than expected — the undertaking period has not begun during that wait.
"To the extent necessary" is doing real work. The undertaking is to assist to the extent necessary, not to maintain someone regardless of their own means. An applicant on a granted 820 has full work rights, as set out under work rights, and many earn more than their sponsor. Necessity is measured against the actual situation.
Accommodation is part of it. The obligation is financial and in relation to accommodation — a commitment that your partner will have somewhere to live, not only that they will have money.
Is it a bond, or an assurance of support?
Neither, and the difference matters because both ideas circulate widely.
An assurance of support is a creature of the Social Security Act 1991. Regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations defines it as an assurance of support under Chapter 2C of that Act: an undertaking to repay certain social security payments made to the visa holder, which the Secretary of Social Services must accept and which can involve a bank security. The Migration Regulations impose it by writing it into a subclass's criteria, and a number of subclasses in Schedule 2 do.
Parts 820 and 801 do not. The words "assurance of support" do not appear in either Part, checked on 23 September 2026 against the Migration Regulations 1994. There is no bond and no money lodged with the Commonwealth.
Important
if anyone tells you that sponsoring a partner requires an assurance of support or a refundable bond, check the criteria yourself. Being asked to pay money to a third party on that basis is a warning sign.
Whether an 820 holder can claim a payment, and what the sponsor's income means for that claim, is decided by Services Australia under social security law rather than under the undertaking. See Centrelink payments.
What are the procedural obligations?
Three, and they run for as long as the application does.
Keep the Department informed. Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958 requires a person to inform an officer in writing, as soon as practicable, if circumstances change so that an answer on their application form is no longer correct. That bites on the sponsor's own details as much as the applicant's: address, phone number or email, marital or relationship status, the birth of a child. The forms and timing are dealt with under telling Home Affairs about changes.
Cooperate with requests. The Department may ask for more documents, ask you to attend an interview, or request a police check, and sponsorship can be refused where a requested check is not provided within a reasonable time. Requests come with deadlines, and a missed deadline can mean a decision is made on what is already on the file.
Consent to the disclosure. Clause 820.221 of Schedule 2 requires, at the time of decision, that the sponsor has consented to the Department disclosing to each applicant any conviction of the sponsor for a relevant offence. Withholding that consent is not a neutral choice; the criterion cannot be met without it. See sponsor character checks.
What if your own circumstances change?
Changes of circumstance do not automatically break a sponsorship, but some need handling.
You move overseas. Whether that is a problem depends on your status. An Australian citizen's status does not depend on residence. An Australian permanent resident is defined in regulation 1.03 as a non-citizen who, "being usually resident in Australia", holds a permanent visa — so a permanent resident who has moved their life offshore may have difficulty establishing that they still meet the definition. See sponsoring from overseas.
You lose income, or your work changes. Regulation 1.20 sets no income threshold and no figure, so a drop in income is not a breach of the undertaking. It can still matter indirectly, because the financial aspects of the relationship are among the matters the decision maker considers, and a change in how the two of you manage money is better explained than left to inference. See sponsor income.
You are charged with an offence. A new charge engages the section 104 obligation, and the limitations dealing with convictions operate at the time the sponsorship is decided. Get advice before answering. See sponsorship limitations.
You separate. That is not merely a change of circumstances; it goes to the criteria. It must be notified, and the consequences are covered under if the relationship ends.
What happens if you withdraw?
The application usually ends. Clause 820.221 requires that at the time of decision the sponsorship has been approved and is still in force, and there is no mechanism to substitute a different sponsor. Limited alternatives survive a withdrawal — death of the sponsoring partner, family violence committed by the sponsoring partner where the relationship has ceased, and certain custody or child maintenance arrangements — and they are set out on withdrawing sponsorship.
The undertaking itself is not enforced against sponsors the way a work-related sponsorship obligation is. Division 1.4 of the Migration Regulations, which contains regulation 1.20, is headed "Sponsorship not applicable to Division 3A of Part 2 of the Act" — the sanctions machinery in that Division of the Migration Act 1958 sits outside it. That is a reason to understand what the undertaking is, not a reason to treat it as decorative.
Can you sponsor someone else afterwards?
Usually not for a long time. Regulation 1.20J prevents approval of a partner sponsorship unless not more than one other person has already been granted permission to remain as the sponsor's partner, and at least five years have passed since the date that earlier application was made — the earlier application, not the earlier grant. There is a discretion to approve anyway where there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.
An application prepared by a migration lawyer is more likely to succeed where a sponsor's circumstances have changed mid-application. A fact that must be disclosed under section 104 is often also a fact that needs a submission attached to it, and sending the bare notification first can be the more expensive order.
Next: go back to the sponsor's guide for the rest of the sponsor's side of the application.
Common questions
Is the partner visa sponsorship undertaking a financial bond?
No. Regulation 1.20 of the Migration Regulations 1994 describes an undertaking 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. No money is lodged, nothing is held by the Commonwealth, and the regulation names no figure. It is a commitment made on the sponsorship form, not a security deposit.
Does a partner visa need an assurance of support?
No. An assurance of support is an undertaking under Chapter 2C of the Social Security Act 1991 to repay certain social security payments, and the Migration Regulations 1994 require it for some visa subclasses by writing it into the criteria for those subclasses. Parts 820 and 801 of Schedule 2 contain no assurance of support criterion, checked on 23 September 2026. A sponsor should not be asked to lodge one for a partner visa.
What happens if I withdraw my sponsorship?
A pending application usually fails. Clause 820.221 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 requires, at the time of decision, that the sponsorship has been approved by the Minister and is still in force, and there is no mechanism to substitute a different sponsor. Narrow exceptions exist where the sponsoring partner has died, where the relationship has ceased and family violence by the sponsoring partner is established, or where certain custody and child maintenance arrangements apply.
Do I have to tell the Department if my circumstances change?
Yes, and it is a legal obligation rather than a courtesy. Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958 requires a person to inform an officer in writing, as soon as practicable, when circumstances change so that an answer given on an application form is no longer correct. That covers a change of address, a change of contact details, a separation, a new criminal charge and the birth of a child.
Can I sponsor another partner after this one?
Rarely, and rarely soon. Regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994 prevents approval of a partner sponsorship unless not more than one other person has already been granted permission to remain as the sponsor's partner, and unless at least five years have passed since the date that earlier application was made. The Minister may approve anyway where satisfied there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.
Sources
Keep reading
Sponsoring When You Live Overseas
Can you sponsor an 820 partner visa while living overseas? What the regulations require of the sponsor, what the applicant's location means, and when the 309 fits better.
Read the guide →
Does the Sponsor Need an Income?
There is no income threshold for a partner visa sponsor and no assurance of support, but the financial side of the relationship is still assessed. What that means.
Read the guide →