Form 40SP: The Partner Visa Sponsor Form

Who can be a sponsor

To sponsor a partner visa, you generally need to be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen, and you need to be assessed as suitable to be a sponsor — which includes character and, in some circumstances, a review of any relevant history that could affect the safety of the visa applicant. Sponsors must also usually be aged 18 or over.

Sponsorship is a formal undertaking, not a formality — approval of the sponsorship is a separate decision from approval of the visa itself, assessed against the sponsor's own eligibility criteria before the relationship evidence is even considered in depth.

The lifetime sponsorship limit

This is the rule that surprises the most people, including second-time sponsors who assume the process is identical to their first application. A person can be approved as a partner or prospective marriage visa sponsor a maximum of two times in their life. If they've sponsored a partner before, a new sponsorship application generally cannot be approved until at least five years have passed since the earlier sponsorship was lodged.

Home Affairs can waive this restriction in compelling circumstances, which are assessed case by case — this isn't a rule with a simple checklist exception, and anyone affected by it should get advice on whether their situation genuinely qualifies for a waiver before assuming the limit rules them out. The limit exists as an integrity measure against repeat sponsorship patterns Home Affairs treats as a risk indicator; it applies regardless of how genuine the current relationship is.

The mandatory police check

Sponsors are required to provide a National Police Check as part of Form 40SP — specifically the version coded for immigration purposes, not a general employment-style check, since Home Affairs has stated a standard check isn't an acceptable substitute. Sponsors who've lived in another country for 12 months or more (cumulatively) since turning 16 are also expected to provide a police clearance covering that country, where it's reasonably available.

This requirement exists because sponsorship assessment considers whether the sponsor may pose a risk to the applicant, particularly around family violence history — the character and safety checks aren't a rubber stamp, and gathering the right checks well before you're ready to lodge is worth doing early, since an overseas police certificate can take weeks or months to arrive.

What the form asks

Form 40SP collects the sponsor's identity and residency status, their history of any prior partner sponsorships (relevant to the lifetime limit above), an account of the relationship from the sponsor's side, and the character declarations and police check information described above. Sponsors also need to declare whether they have any relevant convictions or protection order history, which Home Affairs considers as part of the sponsorship assessment separately from the visa applicant's own character assessment.

As with the applicant's Form 47SP, most sponsors now complete this through ImmiAccount rather than the downloadable PDF, though the paper version is a useful reference for seeing the full question set in one place before starting the online application.

Staying consistent with the applicant's Form 47SP

Because the sponsor and applicant are describing the same relationship from two sides, case officers look for the two accounts to broadly agree — key dates, the story of how the relationship developed, and major shared events. It's worth the couple actually comparing notes on dates and milestones before lodging both forms, rather than each filling theirs in independently and assuming memory will line up. Genuine minor discrepancies happen in any real relationship's retelling; unexplained major contradictions are what tend to generate follow-up requests.

What is Form 40SP?

Form 40SP, 'Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia', is completed by the Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen sponsoring a partner visa applicant. It's submitted alongside the applicant's own Form 47SP.

How many times can someone sponsor a partner visa?

A maximum of two times in their life. If a person has sponsored a partner before, a new sponsorship generally can't be approved within five years of the earlier one, though Home Affairs can waive this in compelling circumstances assessed case by case.

Do partner visa sponsors need a police check?

Yes. Sponsors are required to provide a National Police Check (the version coded for immigration purposes) as part of Form 40SP, plus foreign police checks for any country they've lived in for 12 months or more since turning 16, where reasonably available.

Can the five-year sponsorship gap be waived?

Yes, in compelling circumstances, assessed case by case by Home Affairs. It isn't automatic — anyone affected by the five-year gap should get advice on whether their specific situation is likely to meet the waiver threshold.

Does the sponsor's Form 40SP need to match the applicant's Form 47SP?

It needs to be broadly consistent rather than identical. Case officers compare both accounts of the relationship, and unexplained contradictions on material facts like key dates can trigger follow-up questions.