Partner Visa Sponsor Requirements: Who Can Sponsor, the Limits and the Character Checks

To sponsor a partner visa, you must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, you must generally be 18 or older, and the Department of Home Affairs has to approve you as the sponsor. Unless an exception applies, it must not approve you if two earlier partners were granted visas on your sponsorship, if a partner granted a visa on your sponsorship applied less than five years ago, or if you were granted a partner visa yourself on an application made less than five years ago. A criminal record that falls within the sponsor character rules can also stop the approval.

Status in October 2026: the sponsor rules below are in force under the Migration Regulations 1994, as compiled from 2 October 2026. The “sponsor first” family sponsor framework exists in the Migration Act, but as at October 2026 it applies only to parent sponsors. Partner sponsors are still assessed after the visa application has been lodged.

If you are the Australian half of the couple, most of the evidence gathering falls to your partner. Several of the rules that can stop the application are about you, though, and they are the subject of this guide. For the applicant’s side of things (relationship evidence, health and character), see our partner visa requirements checklist.

Source: Migration Regulations 1994, compilation in force from 2 October 2026, and the Partner visa (subclass 820) page, For Sponsors tab, as at October 2026.

Who can sponsor a partner visa

Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations sets the sponsor’s status for each partner visa. For the onshore Subclass 820, the applicant must be “the spouse or de facto partner of a person who” is “an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen”. The offshore Subclass 309 and the Prospective Marriage Subclass 300 use the same three categories.

Source: Migration Regulations 1994, regulation 1.03 and Schedule 2 clauses 820.211, 309.211, 309.213, 300.211 and 300.213, in force from 2 October 2026; Department’s Partner visa (subclass 820) page, as at October 2026.

Age is the next test. Under clause 820.211(2)(c), the sponsor is the spouse or de facto partner where that person “has turned 18”. If a married spouse has not turned 18, a parent or guardian who has turned 18, and who is a citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, sponsors instead. The Prospective Marriage visa has no parent option. Clause 300.213 simply says “The prospective spouse has turned 18.”

Where you live matters differently depending on your status. The Department tells sponsors: “You can be inside or outside Australia when you apply to sponsor.” That works for citizens. A permanent resident, though, is defined in regulation 1.03 as a non-citizen “who, being usually resident in Australia, is the holder of a permanent visa”, so a permanent resident who has moved overseas may not fit the definition.

New Zealand citizens are not automatically eligible. The Department’s own note on the 820 page is: “If you are a New Zealand citizen and do not meet the eligibility criteria to sponsor your partner for this visa, your partner may be eligible for a New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461).”

Is “sponsor first” in force for partner visas?

No, not as at October 2026. The Migration Act 1958 has contained a family sponsor framework since 17 April 2019. Section 140AA describes it as a framework that “requires the approval of persons as family sponsors before any relevant visa applications are made”.

The framework only applies to classes of sponsor that the Regulations prescribe, and regulation 2.58(2) prescribes exactly one: “a parent sponsor is a class of sponsor in relation to which a person may be approved as a family sponsor.” That is the sponsor class for the Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa.

Partner sponsorships sit in a different part of the Regulations. Division 1.4 carries the heading “Sponsorship not applicable to Division 3A of Part 2 of the Act”, and it is where the partner sponsorship undertaking lives. In practice, the applicant lodges first and the sponsor follows. The Department’s instruction to sponsors is to “Apply after the applicant has applied for their visa and given you their transaction Reference Number (TRN) or application ID.”

Extending sponsor first to partners would take amending regulations. None had been made by the end of October 2026.

The partner visa sponsorship limit: regulation 1.20J

This is the rule people mean when they talk about a “sponsorship limit”. Regulation 1.20J(1) covers the Subclass 820, 309 and 300 visas and says the Minister “must not approve the sponsorship of the applicant unless the Minister is satisfied that” three things are true.

First, “not more than 1 other person has been granted a relevant permission as” your sponsored spouse, de facto partner or prospective spouse. The count also includes a former partner who was granted a visa after the relationship ended following family violence committed by the sponsor. So the partner you sponsor now can be your second, but not usually your third.

Second, if you have sponsored before, “not less than 5 years has passed since the date of making the application for that relevant permission”. The clock runs from the date your earlier partner’s application was made. It does not run from their grant, or from the date you separated.

Third, if you were granted a visa as a sponsored partner yourself, the same 5 years must have passed since your own application was made.

There is a way through. Regulation 1.20J(2) says: “Despite subregulation (1), the Minister may approve the sponsorship of an applicant for a visa if the Minister is satisfied that there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.” The Department gives examples where you “might still be able to sponsor”, including where “you and your partner (the applicant) have a dependent child”, where “your previous partner died”, or where “your relationship with your partner (the applicant) is longstanding”.

Source: Migration Regulations 1994, regulations 1.20J and 1.20KA and Schedule 2, in force from 2 October 2026; Department’s Partner visa (subclass 820) page, Limitations on sponsorship, as at October 2026.

Sponsor character requirements: police checks and relevant offences

Regulation 1.20KC has applied to partner and prospective marriage applications made on or after 18 November 2016, when Schedule 6 of the Migration Legislation Amendment (2016 Measures No. 3) Regulation 2016 commenced. It says the Minister “must refuse to approve the sponsorship” where the sponsor “has been convicted of a relevant offence” and “has a significant criminal record in relation to the relevant offence”.

A relevant offence is one, in Australia or overseas, involving violence (including “murder, assault, sexual assault and the threat of violence”), “harassment, molestation, intimidation or stalking”, breach of an apprehended violence order or similar order, weapons, people smuggling, or trafficking, slavery, forced marriage, kidnapping or unlawful confinement. Attempts and aiding count too.

A significant criminal record, under regulation 1.20KD, means a sentence of death, life imprisonment, “a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more”, or two or more terms adding up to 12 months or more. Concurrent sentences are counted in full, so two 3 month terms served at the same time count as 6 months.

Refusal is not automatic in every case. Regulation 1.20KC(4) lets the Minister approve “if the Minister considers it reasonable to do so”, having regard to matters including the time since the sentence was completed, the best interests of the sponsor’s children and the applicant’s children, and “the length of the relationship between the sponsor and the applicant”.

Police checks come from two places. The regulation lets the Department request them from any Australian jurisdiction, and from any country where you have lived for 12 months or more since the later of your 16th birthday or 10 years before the request. If you don’t provide one within a reasonable time, the Department may refuse the sponsorship on that ground alone. In practice it asks partner sponsors for them up front. Its sponsor instructions say: “We only accept complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police”, plus “an overseas police certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16.”

There is one more step that catches people out. To be granted the visa, the sponsor must have “consented to the disclosure by the Department, to each applicant included in the sponsorship, of any conviction of the sponsor for a relevant offence” (clause 820.221(4)(b), with matching clauses for the 309 and 300). That covers any conviction for a relevant offence, not only one that amounts to a significant criminal record. Convictions that have been quashed or pardoned are disregarded.

Source: Migration Regulations 1994, regulations 1.20KB, 1.20KC and 1.20KD and clauses 820.221, 309.222 and 300.222, in force from 2 October 2026.

Child-related offences: regulation 1.20KB

A separate rule applies when a child is part of the application. Regulation 1.20KB covers partner and prospective marriage visas “if the primary applicant or secondary applicant is under 18 at the time of the application”, for example where your partner is including their child. The test turns on a “registrable offence”. The Department’s measures for the protection of children page describes it as “an offence against a child of a violent or sexual nature”, one “that would lead to registration on the Australian National Child Offender Register”. The regulation defines it by reference to the state and territory child offender registration laws, and it includes equivalent offences committed elsewhere.

If the sponsor has been charged with a registrable offence, the Minister “must refuse to approve the sponsorship of all of the applicants for the visa” unless no applicant is under 18 when the sponsorship is decided, or the charge “has been withdrawn, dismissed or otherwise disposed of without the recording of a conviction”.

A conviction works the same way, unless it “has been quashed or otherwise set aside”. There is limited discretion. The Minister may still approve if the sentence, including parole, was completed “more than 5 years before the date of the application for approval of the sponsorship”, there has been no registrable charge since (or any charge ended without a conviction), and “there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor or the applicant”.

What you agree to as a partner visa sponsor

The sponsorship is a legal undertaking. For the 820 and 309, regulation 1.20(2)(c) says the sponsor “undertakes to assist the applicant, to the extent necessary, financially and in relation to accommodation” for the 2 years after the temporary visa is granted, or, if your partner is overseas at grant, for the 2 years after their first entry to Australia. A Prospective Marriage sponsor gives a different undertaking under regulation 1.20(2)(b), which includes responsibility for “all financial obligations to the Commonwealth incurred by the applicant arising out of the applicant’s stay in Australia”.

The Department adds two practical points. You cannot swap sponsors: “The person who sponsors you when you apply for the visa must be the same person who sponsors you for 2 years after we grant your temporary Partner visa (subclass 820).” And the 2 years still apply “even if we grant their permanent partner visa straight after their temporary partner visa.”

There is no fee for the sponsorship itself. The Department lists the cost to sponsors as “No cost”. The visa application charge is paid with the visa application, and our guide to what a partner visa costs in 2026 sets out each amount.

If the relationship ends, the Department’s Partner visa frequently asked questions page says: “You can withdraw your sponsorship any time before we decide the permanent Partner visa application.” The applicant may still be able to continue in some situations, including where they have experienced family violence by the sponsor (clause 820.221(3)).

Common mistakes partner visa sponsors make

These all come straight from the wording above.

• Counting 5 years from the wrong date. Under regulation 1.20J, the 5 years runs from when the earlier application was made. Under regulation 1.20KA, for contributory parent visa holders, it runs from the grant of your own visa.
• Leaving the sponsorship until later. If the applicant does not hold a substantive visa, the Department says the sponsorship form must be included at lodgement, and “If this information is not included when you lodge your application, it may be deemed invalid.”
• Assuming only serious convictions matter. The consent to disclosure covers any conviction for a relevant offence, including one too short to be a significant criminal record.
• Permanent residents living overseas. The definition requires you to be “usually resident in Australia”.

When it is worth getting legal advice on sponsorship

Most sponsorships are routine. A few carry real risk, because a refused sponsorship generally means a refused visa: clause 820.221A requires that “the sponsorship of the applicant under clause 820.211 has been approved by the Minister.”

Advice may be worth it before lodging if you sponsored a partner, or were granted a partner visa yourself, on an application made in the last 5 years. The same goes for any conviction for a violence, stalking, protection order or weapons offence, here or overseas, and any charge involving a child where a child under 18 is in the application. Contributory parent visa holders and New Zealand citizens unsure of their status are in the same position. A compelling circumstances argument under regulation 1.20J(2) or 1.20KC(4) is something you make with evidence, not a box you tick.

If one of these applies, our partner visa lawyers can look at the sponsor side before anything is lodged.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 40SP form?

It is the sponsorship form for partner and prospective marriage visas, which the Department’s help text for Form 40SP calls the “Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia” form. Sponsors lodge it online through ImmiAccount, using the applicant’s transaction reference number or application ID.

Can I sponsor my partner if I live overseas?

If you are an Australian citizen, yes. The Department says “You can be inside or outside Australia when you apply to sponsor.” A permanent resident has to be “usually resident in Australia” under regulation 1.03, and the Department asks permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens for evidence that they usually live here.

How many times can you sponsor a partner in Australia?

Usually twice. Regulation 1.20J stops approval if more than 1 other person has already been granted a visa as your sponsored partner, or if less than 5 years has passed since the last one applied, unless there are compelling circumstances affecting you.

Does a partner visa sponsor need a police check?

In most cases, yes. The Department says “Most sponsors will need to meet our character requirements”, and it asks partner sponsors for an Australian Federal Police complete disclosure certificate and an overseas certificate for each country where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. Police certificates are valid for 12 months for immigration purposes.

Can a sponsor withdraw their sponsorship?

Yes. The Department says a sponsor can withdraw “any time before we decide the permanent Partner visa application”, and that removing an online application from ImmiAccount does not count. You must tell the Department in writing.

A realistic next step

For most couples, the sponsor side comes down to status, age and a clean police certificate. Where it doesn’t, the limits and the character rules can stall an application before anyone reads the relationship evidence. If any of the rules above might apply to you, book a consultation with our migration lawyers before the sponsorship is lodged.

About the author: Tina Nematian is the Principal Lawyer at One Planet Migration Law. She is admitted as an Australian Legal Practitioner, and has guided clients through partner, skilled, employer-sponsored, student, and humanitarian visa applications across Australia.

This article is general information only and does not constitute legal or migration advice. Visa rules change frequently and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Speak with a registered migration lawyer or agent before making any application. Figures were current as of October 2026; always check immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before lodging.