Sponsor Eligibility

This page provides information on the eligibility requirements for a sponsor for this visa.

Sponsors must be one of the following:

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of an Australian permanent visa
• an eligible New Zealand citizen
  Note: A sponsor who is an eligible New Zealand citizen must also meet health and character requirements.

Sponsors must also be the sponsor of the visa holding parent and be 18 years of age or over.

Best interests of the child

Where an applicant is under 18 years of age, they will need to satisfy the requirement that there is no compelling reason to believe that the grant of the visa would not be in the best interests of the applicant. In order to assess this requirement, sponsors of children under 18 years of age are required to submit either an Australian National Police Check or foreign police certificate/s, depending on the sponsor’s circumstances. If the sponsor has spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia since turning sixteen years of age, the sponsor must provide an Australian National Police Check. If the sponsor has not spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia since turning sixteen years of age, the sponsor must provide police certificates from each country in which they have spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning sixteen years of age.
See:
Applicant Eligibility
Stronger Measures for the Protection of Children
National Police Checks
Note: Sponsors required to submit a National Police Check must complete the National Police Check application form which is available from the Australian Federal Police website. Sponsors should use Code 33 at Question 1 on the form and include details of all names they have been known by. If an AFP Certificate is provided based on incorrect information, the department may request another certificate. Fingerprints are not required for National Police Checks.
See: Character Requirements Penal Clearance Certificates (233KB PDF file)

 

Before lodging an application, please read all related eligibility requirements.
See: Other eligibility