Aged Dependent Relative visa for Sponsors
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Overview
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About this visa
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Eligibility
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Step by step
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When you are a sponsor
Stay
Permanently
Cost
Processing times
For an indication of processing times for this visa, use the visa processing time guide tool. This will show the processing times for recently decided applications. It is a guide only and not specific to your application.
With this visa the applicant can
- move to or stay in Australia as a permanent resident
- sponsor eligible relatives to come to Australia
- if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship
See all conditions
Check your eligibility
Things to note
- You must have provided financial support to your relative for at least 3 years.
- You must be a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
- Apply to be a sponsor using Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia (442KB PDF)
Scope of sponsorship
Your sponsorship covers the main visa applicant and any family members who apply for the visa with them.
Cost for the sponsor
There is no cost to apply to sponsor a visa applicant but you must agree to financially support the main visa applicant and their dependants for their first 2 years in Australia.
How long sponsorship lasts
Sponsorship obligations last for 2 years from the date when the applicant first enters Australia on the visa
Sponsor obligations
You must agree that, for the first 2 years the visa applicant is in Australia on this visa, you will provide the applicant and any family members who come with them with:
- support
- accommodation
- financial assistance
Assurance of support
You might be asked to provide an assurance of support for the visa applicant.
An assurance of support is a legal commitment to repay the Australian Government any welfare payments made to a visa holder or family who come to Australia with them.
Learn more about assurances of support.
Withdraw sponsorship
You can withdraw your sponsorship at any time before we decide on the visa application.
You must make your request in writing and include:
- your full name
- your date of birth
- the file reference number we gave you when you applied or Client ID
We might not release you from your sponsorship obligations if you try to withdraw sponsorship after we grant the visa. If we do release you from your obligations we are likely to cancel the visa.
Send your request to the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth at the address on the form.
Be suitable to sponsor
To sponsor your relative for this visa, you or your partner must be settled in Australia, 18 years of age or older, and either:
- an Australian citizen
- an Australian permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen
You must agree to provide support, housing and financial help for the first 2 years the applicant lives in Australia. You must also support any members of the applicant's family who apply with them.
You can sponsor more than one relative for this visa.
Alternative sponsorship arrangements
You can sponsor a visa applicant on behalf of a child under 18 if you are:
- an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen and
- settled in Australia and
- 18 years of age or older
You must be:
- the child’s spouse or de facto partner, or
- the child's relative or guardian, or
- a relative or guardian of the child's spouse or de facto partner
Or your community organisation can sponsor an applicant where:
- there is a relationship between the organisation and the applicant's child
- a senior representative of the organisation agrees to sponsor the applicant
- the organisation is lawfully established in Australia
- the organisation has been actively operating in Australia for at least one year
- the organisation can meet its financial commitments
We must approve the sponsorship.
Step 1
Before you apply
Check both you and the applicant are eligible.
Step 2
Gather your documents
Provide evidence to support your application
Provide accurate documents
Provide accurate information. See what happens if you can't prove your identity or don't provide true information.
Sponsor documents
Give us evidence that you are related to the applicant such as:
- birth certificate
- marriage certificates
- death certificates
- adoption certificates
- family status certificates or family books if officially issued and maintained
Prove you are a citizen or permanent resident
To prove that you are an eligible citizen or permanent resident, give us:
- citizenship certificate
- passport
- valid visa (for eligible New Zealand citizens)
- evidence you  are settled
Prove you are an eligible community organisation
If your community organisation is sponsoring the applicant, give us:
- your certificate of registration
- proof your representative can act for the organisation, such as authorisation from the board or management committee
- proof you can financially support the applicant after they arrive in Australia
- proof the organisation is lawfully established in Australia and has been actively operating in Australia for a period of at least a year
- proof of your organisation's relationship with the applicant's child
Translate
Have all non-English documents translated into English.
Provide original and translated documents in your application.
Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.
Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited. But on each translation, they must include their:
- full name
- address and telephone number
- qualifications and experience in the language they are translating
These details must be in English
Financial documents
You might need to show us evidence you can support the applicant.
Step 3
Apply
Complete Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia (442KB PDF). Give the completed form and all other documents to the applicant to submit with their visa application.
Step 4
After you apply
Withdraw sponsorship
We will let the applicant know when we have received their application and documents. Let us know if you want to withdraw your sponsorship.
You can withdraw your sponsorship before we grant the visa. Write to us at the office where the application was lodged if you want to withdraw your sponsorship.
You cannot withdraw as a sponsor after we grant the visa.
Step 5
Visa outcome
We will let the applicant know our decision in writing.
If we grant the visa, we will advise the applicant of:
- the visa grant number
- the date their visa starts
- any conditions attached to the visa
If we do not grant the visa, we will advise the applicant of:
- why we refused the visa
- the review rights if any
- the time limit for requesting a review of the decision, if applicable
We will not refund the application fee if we refuse the application.
How long your sponsorship obligations last
Sponsorship obligations lasts for 2 years.
Your obligations
You agree to provide accommodation and financial help to sponsored applicants for their first 2 years in Australia. You need to make your commitment in writing.
If you have also provided an assurance of support, you must repay any social security repayments made to your parent (and any family members who came with them) during their first 2 years in Australia.
Withdraw sponsorship undertaking obligations
If you try to withdraw your sponsorship after we grant the visa, we may not release you from your obligations.
However, if we do release you from your obligations under the visa, we are likely to cancel the visa. We will then send you a letter releasing you from your sponsorship.
Tell us if things change
Things you need to let us know about include:
- changes to your phone number, email, address or passport
- changes to your relationship status
See how to tell us if your situation has changed.
