Who Can Sponsor a Partner Visa? Citizens, PRs Overseas and New Zealanders

A partner visa needs an eligible sponsor. The rules are more flexible than many people think, but there are some traps, especially for permanent residents living overseas and New Zealand citizens.

Eligible sponsors

Sponsor	Can sponsor?
Australian citizen, in Australia or overseas	Yes
Permanent resident who is usually resident in Australia	Yes
New Zealand citizen who is a protected Special Category visa holder	Yes, as an eligible New Zealand citizen
New Zealand citizen on an ordinary Special Category visa	Not unless they become a permanent resident or citizen
Temporary visa holder	No

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Permanent residents living overseas

Usually resident is the key test. A permanent resident sponsor must be usually resident in Australia. The courts have described this as physical presence plus an intention to treat Australia as home for the time being. A permanent resident who has never entered Australia cannot be usually resident, but one who has lived here before may be, even if currently away. Australian citizens do not have this requirement.

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No settled requirement

Some family visas require the sponsor to be settled, meaning about 2 years of lawful residence. The Department’s instructions confirm this does not apply to partner visas, so a newly arrived permanent resident can sponsor a partner.

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New Zealand citizens

Only an eligible New Zealand citizen can sponsor, which generally means a protected Special Category visa holder. The Department also checks that they would have met character requirements when they last entered Australia, so current police checks are usually needed. See permanent residency for New Zealand citizens.

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Age and other limits

• the sponsor must be 18 or over. If the applicant’s partner is under 18, a parent or guardian of the partner sponsors instead;
• a person can be approved as a partner sponsor no more than twice, and a second sponsorship generally cannot be approved until 5 years after the first sponsored application was made, see limitation on partner visa sponsorships;
• a sponsor who came to Australia on a partner visa generally cannot sponsor a new partner within 5 years of their own application;
• some Contributory Parent visa holders cannot sponsor a partner for 5 years after their grant;
• a Woman at Risk visa holder cannot sponsor a former or undeclared partner within 5 years of their grant.

The partner sponsorship limits can be waived in compelling circumstances, such as a dependent child of the sponsor and applicant. The Contributory Parent bar has its own waiver test. Where children under 18 are included, sponsor police checks apply, see sponsors with a criminal record.

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What you should do now

• Check your status: confirm you are a citizen, a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
• Permanent residents overseas: gather evidence of your ties to Australia and your plans to return.
• Count your sponsorships: check whether you have sponsored a partner before, or were sponsored yourself, in the last 5 years.
• Prepare police checks: if children are included, organise your police checks early.