Sponsorship for skilled migrants
Australian Immigration -In certain Australian visa applications, applicants are required to be sponsored by an eligible Australian resident or citizen. There are specific requirements for Australian migration sponsorship.
If you require sponsorship by an eligible family member, a few important criteria should be met by the sponsor.
The sponsor:-
- must be living in Australia;
- must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident; (If a permanent resident, he/she must be a settled resident ie. resident as a PR holder for at least 2 years); or
- can be an 'eligible New Zealand citizen'.
An 'eligible New Zealand citizen' is one who:
- held a Special Category Visa (SCV) on 26 February 2001; or
- held a SCV for at least one year in the two years preceding that date; or
- has a certificate, issued under the Social Security Act 1991, that states that the citizen was, for the purposes of that Act, resident in Australia on a particular date.
A sponsor is required to sign an undertaking that they will provide adequate accommodation and financial assistance as required to meet their relative's reasonable living needs during during their first 2 years in Australia.
By signing the undertaking, the sponsor also agrees to provide information and advice to help their relatives settle in Australia.
Australian Sponsored visa classes
Applicants must be related to their sponsor as a:
- non-dependent child (a natural, adoptive or step-child);
- parent;
- brother or sister (including adoptive or step-siblings); or
- niece or nephew (including adoptive or step-niece or nephew);
Designated Area visa classes
Applicants must be related to their sponsor as a:
- non-dependent child (a natural, adoptive or step-child);
- parent;
- brother or sister (including adoptive or step-siblings);
- niece or nephew (including adoptive or step-niece or nephew);
- first cousin; or
- grandchild.
If your skills migration application requires a sponsor, then an assurance of support (AoS) will be required. The assurer can be the same person as the sponsor, or can be any other person e.g. friend or other family member.
Assurer
Generally an assurer is a person living in Australia who is an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen, and who agrees to provide financial support (an Assurance of Support).
The assurer will be required to provide and evidence his/her income tax assessments, as well as evidence of income and net assets.
An assurer is liable to repay certain Government forms of support you may have accessed during your first 2 years of residence in Australia.
The sponsor and the assurer may be the same person.
Assurance of Support
An Assurance of Support (AoS) is an undertaking by the assurer to provide financial support to the person applying to migrate, so that the migrant will not have to rely on any government forms of support.
It is also a legal commitment by a person to repay the Commonwealth of Australia any recoverable social security payments made to those covered by the assurance.
The AoS is in force for 2 years, from the date the assuree arrives in Australia or is granted a relevant visa, whichever happens later. It covers the primary applicant and any dependents included in the application.
Applicants applying for migration under the Skilled–Australian Sponsored or Skilled–Designated Area Sponsored visa subclasses must provide an Assurance of Support.
Applicants applying for a Skilled–Independent visa may be asked to provide an AoS, if they are assessed by the department as being at risk of becoming a charge on the Australian social welfare budget.
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