1418 (Design date 06/18) - Page 2 © COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, 2018
Who cannot be a sponsor?
There are no provisions for fiancé(e)s, cousins, friends, in-laws
or New Zealand citizens to sponsor.
If your sponsor has already provided sponsorship for another
relative, and that other relative has been granted a Visitor visa
– Sponsored Family stream (subclass 600), and that visa is still
in effect, then your sponsor will not normally be eligible to
sponsor you until the other relative has departed Australia and
complied with all visa conditions, or until their visa has
expired.
If your sponsor has already provided a sponsorship for
another relative, and that other relative has breached a
condition of that visa, for example, they did not depart
Australia before the expiry of their visa, then your sponsor will
not be eligible to provide further sponsorship in this visa class
for a period of 5 years.
The only exception is where the visa condition that the other
relative breached was condition 8531 (must leave before visa
expiry) and your sponsor is able to satisfy the Department that
they breached this condition due to circumstances that:
• were beyond the visa holder’s control; and
• arose after their arrival in Australia.
If your sponsor is found to be not eligible after your visa
application has been lodged, then your application will
normally be refused, on the basis that the sponsorship cannot
be approved.
Security bond
Your sponsor may be asked to arrange for the lodgement of a
security bond in support of your Visitor visa – Sponsored
Family stream application. The amount of the security bond is
determined on a case by case basis by the delegated overseas
officer and is generally between AUD5,000 and AUD15,000 per
person.
It should be noted, however, under the Migration Act 1958
the decision to request a security bond is at the discretion of
the delegated officer. Therefore, depending on the
circumstances of the individual case, the delegated officer may
ask for a security bond of any amount that they see as
appropriate. The purpose of the security bond is to give the
decision-maker assessing your application additional
assurance that you will comply with all visa conditions and
that you will leave Australia on or before the expiry of your
Visitor visa – Sponsored Family stream.
If the delegated officer determines that a security bond needs
to be lodged in support of your application, your sponsor will
be sent details of how and where to lodge the security bond.
The time limit for lodging the security bond is 35 days. Once
the bond has been lodged, the decision-maker will be notified,
and will be able to finalise the processing of your application.
If a security bond is requested and not lodged, your
application will normally be refused.
If a security bond is lodged, and you are granted a Visitor visa
– Sponsored Family stream, and you breach any visa
conditions, in particular if you do not leave Australia
before the expiry of your Visitor visa – Sponsored
Family stream, normally the security bond will be
forfeited.
Sponsor
A sponsored family visitor must have an eligible sponsor who
will guarantee their stay and lawful departure from Australia
and who may be requested to arrange for the lodgement of a
security bond.
To avoid your sponsor incurring penalties, you MUST leave
Australia before the expiry of you Visitor visa – Sponsored
Family stream.
If for ANY reason you do not depart before your
Visitor visa – Sponsored Family stream expires, or if
you breach any of the conditions on your Visitor visa –
Sponsored Family stream, penalties will be imposed
upon your sponsor. Any security bond lodged to
support your Visitor visa – Sponsored Family stream
application will normally be forfeited.
If you request a waiver of the 8503 ‘No Further Stay’ condition
and this results in your remaining in Australia after your Visitor
visa – Sponsored Family stream expires, you will still be taken
to have breached the 8531 ‘Must leave before visa expiry’
condition, and the penalties will be imposed upon your
sponsor, even if the 8503 is waived and a further visa is
granted. Any security bond lodged to support your Visitor visa
– Sponsored Family stream application will normally be
forfeited.
Who can be a sponsor?
In all cases, your sponsor must be an Australian citizen or
permanent resident aged 18 years or over and settled in
Australia for a reasonable period (usually 2 years).
Your sponsor must be one of the following:
• a relative (parent, child, partner, brother, sister,
grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or
‘step’ equivalent of any of these);
• a relative of a member of your family unit who is also
applying for a Visitor visa – Sponsored Family stream;
• a member of an Australian parliament (Commonwealth,
state or territory);
• an authorised person representing a Commonwealth, state
or territory government Department or instrumentality; or
• a local government mayor.
If you and the other members of your family unit are applying
for Visitor visas – Sponsored Family stream with the same
sponsor, your sponsor MUST lodge all application forms, and
the sponsorship form 1149 Application for sponsorship for
sponsored family visitors in Australia at the same time.
‘Partner’ means your spouse or de facto partner (including
same-sex partners).
