Partner Visa Sponsor Risk Assessment Before Lodgement

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment is the check a lawyer runs on the Australian sponsor before a partner visa is lodged. It asks one question: is there anything about this sponsor that could stop the Department approving the sponsorship at the time of decision? A partner visa sponsor risk assessment matters because the law lets an applicant lodge a valid application with a sponsor who can never be approved. The problem then waits quietly inside the file until a case officer finds it.

This article sets out the checklist My Migration Lawyers works through for the sponsor, item by item, and the decisions that follow. It is written for the Australian partner, the person who signs the sponsorship and whose history the Department examines. It covers Subclass 820 onshore applications, Subclass 309 offshore applications and the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa.

What is a partner visa sponsor risk assessment?

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment is a pre-lodgement audit of the sponsor against every sponsor criterion the Department applies, done early enough that each problem can still be fixed, timed around or avoided. It is not a form. It is a lawyer's review of documents, dates and records that the sponsor usually has not looked at together before.

The audit has eight working parts:

• Status. Is the sponsor an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, and can they prove it?
• Visa security. If the sponsor is a permanent resident, is their own visa exposed to cancellation?
• Age. Is the sponsor 18 or over, and is a parent or guardian needed?
• Sponsorship limits. How many partners has the sponsor sponsored, and were they themselves sponsored, and when?
• Criminal history. Does the sponsor have a conviction for a relevant offence, and is it a significant criminal record?
• Children. Is any applicant under 18, and does the sponsor have a child-related conviction or charge?
• Consent and police checks. Will the sponsor consent to disclosure, and which checks are needed from which countries?
• Relationship history and location. Are the sponsor's past relationships and dates consistent, and can the sponsor produce evidence from where they live?

A full partner visa sponsor risk assessment also looks at the applicant, but only where the applicant's position changes the sponsor risk. The most important examples are the section 48 bar and Schedule 3, discussed in Body C below. Our broader guide to reviewing a partner visa application before lodgement covers the applicant's side in full.

Why does a partner visa sponsor risk assessment matter before lodgement?

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment matters before lodgement because sponsorship approval is tested at the time of decision, not at the time of application. At the time of application, the applicant only has to be "sponsored" by an eligible partner (cl 820.211, cl 309.213, cl 300.213). Approval of that sponsorship is a time of decision criterion (cl 820.221(4)(a), cl 309.222(1), cl 300.222(1)). The Department's own policy puts it plainly: although a sponsorship must be held at the time of application, it is only at the time of decision that it must have been approved.

The sponsorship form is also not a validity requirement for Subclass 820, Subclass 309 or Subclass 300. A valid visa application can be made without it. That sounds helpful. In practice it means the system will accept a lodgement, take the visa application charge and issue a bridging visa where one applies, even where the sponsor is barred.

What happens if a sponsor problem is found after lodgement?

If a sponsor problem is found after lodgement, the usual result is refusal of the visa. Approval of a partner sponsorship is part of the section 65 visa decision. It is not a separate decision, and the sponsor does not receive a separate notice. Where the sponsorship cannot be approved, the visa must be refused. Before that, the applicant usually receives a section 57 invitation to comment, which our article on section 57 adverse information letters explains.

The cost of that late discovery is real:

• The visa application charge is paid at lodgement. The Department publishes it as from AUD11,710 for most applicants, as published by the Department in October 2026. See who pays the partner visa fee.
• A refusal starts a review clock. An application to the Administrative Review Tribunal must be made within 28 days after notification, or 7 days if the applicant is in immigration detention, and that time cannot be extended. Our partner visa appeal deadline article explains how it is counted.
• An onshore applicant refused a partner visa may be caught by section 48, and a section 48 applicant cannot validly make a new onshore partner application if they have had a Partner visa refused since last entering Australia.
• A refusal stays on the record and must be disclosed later. See disclosing a previous visa refusal.

The same risk, found in a partner visa sponsor risk assessment before lodgement, usually costs a conversation, a document request or a short wait. That difference is the whole reason the check exists. Our page on partner visa refusals explains what follows when the check is skipped.

Checklist item 1: Is the sponsor an eligible sponsor?

The first item in any partner visa sponsor risk assessment is whether the sponsor is an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. Nobody else can sponsor a partner. A temporary visa holder cannot, and our answer on whether a temporary visa holder can sponsor a partner visa explains the options instead.

Proof of status

The Department asks the sponsor for a copy of their passport, a copy of their birth certificate and a photo of their face. Where the documents leave any doubt about how or when status was acquired, the partner visa sponsor risk assessment resolves it before lodgement. Our guide on how to prove your sponsor is an Australian citizen and the general list of documents your sponsor needs to provide cover this.

Eligible New Zealand citizens

An eligible New Zealand citizen is, in short, a New Zealand citizen who holds a protected Special Category Visa under section 7 of the Social Security Act 1991 (reg 1.03). Many New Zealand citizens living in Australia do not meet that definition. For them, the Subclass 461 visa may be the relevant pathway for the partner. Our answer on whether a New Zealand citizen can sponsor a partner visa explains the distinction.

Usual residence

Permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens must show that they usually live in Australia. The Department looks at home, work, property or business, and family ties. A permanent resident who has spent long periods overseas needs this item checked carefully in the partner visa sponsor risk assessment. Citizens are in a different position, and our answer on whether an Australian living overseas can sponsor a partner explains how that works.

Age

The sponsor must be 18 or over. If the sponsor is under 18 and married to the applicant, a parent or guardian of the sponsor who is 18 or over and an eligible sponsor may sponsor instead. For de facto applications, both partners must be 18 or over at the time of application. Our guide to partner visa age requirements sets out the detail.

Checklist item 2: Is the sponsor's own visa secure?

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment must ask whether a permanent resident sponsor's own visa could be cancelled before the partner's visa is decided, because a sponsor who loses permanent residence is no longer an eligible sponsor. Citizens do not carry this risk in the same way. Permanent residents with a criminal conviction, a pending charge or an identity or information issue in their own migration history do.

Two Tribunal decisions show how directly the sponsor's own status flows into the partner's application. In Vispo (Migration) [2023] AATA 694, the sponsor's permanent visa had been cancelled. The Tribunal, differently constituted, set aside the cancellation of the sponsor's visa, and the partner visa matter was remitted to the Department. In Lei (Migration) [2024] AATA 1166, the sponsor's resident return visa had been cancelled after a criminal conviction. That cancellation was set aside on review, and the partner visa matter, which involved a genuine relationship, one child and a second pregnancy, was remitted.

Both couples reached a remittal. Neither result is something a partner visa sponsor risk assessment would rely on. Both did so only after the sponsor's own case went through a separate review. That is a long and uncertain route, and it is exactly what a partner visa sponsor risk assessment tries to see coming. Where a permanent resident sponsor has any exposure, My Migration Lawyers looks at the sponsor's position first, with our visa cancellations team where needed, and our article on partner visa cancellation review explains the review side. For applicants whose own visa is under threat, see what happens if your current visa is cancelled during a partner visa application.

Checklist item 3: Has the sponsor sponsored before, or been sponsored?

This is the item a partner visa sponsor risk assessment gets wrong most often when it is done from memory, because the five-year limits under reg 1.20J are counted in a way most people do not expect. Reg 1.20J applies to Subclass 300 applications and to Subclass 309 and Subclass 820 applications made on or after 1 July 2009. It has three limits:

• A sponsor can have no more than two approved partner, fiancé or interdependent sponsorships in a lifetime (reg 1.20J(1)(a)).
• A new sponsorship cannot be approved until at least five years after the first visa application the sponsor sponsored was made (reg 1.20J(1)(b)).
• A sponsor who was themselves sponsored as a partner cannot have a partner sponsorship approved until five years after their own visa application was made (reg 1.20J(1)(c)).

Our commercial page on partner visa sponsorship limitations and the longer article on when a sponsor cannot sponsor a partner visa explain the rule in depth. Here we focus on what the partner visa sponsor risk assessment does with it.

Which dates does the partner visa sponsor risk assessment use?

The partner visa sponsor risk assessment uses two dates: the date the earlier visa application was made, and the expected date the current sponsorship will be approved or refused. The five years run from the earlier application to the decision on the current sponsorship. They do not run to the date the new application is lodged. The Department's own worked example accepts a new application lodged at four years and nine months, because the sponsorship was approved after five years had passed.

Only sponsorships that led to a visa grant count. A refused application does not count. A grant counts even if the person never travelled to Australia.

Promthong (Migration) [2024] AATA 2472 shows why the decision date matters. The headnote records that the prior sponsorship was approved within five years of the time of the primary decision. The matter was remitted. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment that plots the dates before lodgement can show whether a couple will cross the five-year line during processing, whether they should wait, or whether the timing is too close to rely on.

Processing times are part of that judgement but cannot be relied on alone. As published by the Department in October 2026, 50% of Subclass 820 applications were processed in 22 months and 90% in 30 months, and 50% of Subclass 309 applications in 21 months and 90% in 32 months. The Department says these figures are a guide only and not specific to any application. A fast decision can arrive before five years have passed.

The sponsor who was sponsored

Many sponsors forget that they came to Australia on a partner visa themselves. Reg 1.20J(1)(c) applies to them. In Dhindsa (Migration) [2019] AATA 5650, five years had not passed since the sponsor had been sponsored, and the sponsor's previous application had been withdrawn. The matter was remitted. Our answer on whether you can sponsor a partner if you were sponsored on a partner visa explains the rule, and our answers on sponsoring more than one partner and getting help when your sponsor has sponsored before cover the lifetime limit.

Compelling circumstances

Reg 1.20J(2) allows the limits to be waived where there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor. Departmental policy gives examples: a dependent child of the applicant and the sponsor, the death of the previous partner, a previous spouse who abandoned the sponsor and children who depend on the sponsor, and a longstanding new relationship. The list is not exhaustive. Each case is assessed against reg 1.20J(2).

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment does not treat a waiver as a plan. It treats it as a fallback. If the dates can be met by waiting, waiting is usually safer than asking for a discretionary waiver. If waiting is not realistic, the waiver evidence must be prepared before lodgement, not after a refusal. See how to challenge a refusal involving sponsorship limitations for what happens when this is left too late.

Contributory Parent visa holder sponsors

A separate limit applies to sponsors who were granted a permanent Contributory Parent visa (Subclass 143 or Subclass 864) on or after 1 July 2009. Under reg 1.20KA, they cannot sponsor a partner they were with at or before that grant until five years after the grant. The waiver is only for compelling reasons not related to finances (reg 1.20KA(3)).

Two decisions show this item in practice. In Ly (Migration) [2022] AATA 409, the sponsor was a Contributory Parent visa holder, the issue was the time limit before sponsorship, and the parties had re-married in Australia. The matter was remitted. In Rahman (Migration) [2020] AATA 3380, five years had passed from the grant of the permanent Contributory Parent visa, and the sponsorship remained in force. That matter was also remitted. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment for an older sponsor always asks how the sponsor obtained permanent residence.

Checklist item 4: Does the sponsor have a criminal record that matters?

The criminal history item in a partner visa sponsor risk assessment asks two separate questions under regs 1.20KC and 1.20KD: has the sponsor been convicted of a relevant offence, and does the sponsor have a significant criminal record? If both answers are yes, the Minister must refuse to approve the sponsorship (reg 1.20KC(3)), unless the Minister considers it reasonable to approve (reg 1.20KC(4)). Reg 1.20KC applies to Subclass 300, Subclass 309 and Subclass 820 applications made on or after 18 November 2016.

Relevant offences

Relevant offences under reg 1.20KC(2) are offences against Australian or foreign law involving:

• violence against a person, including murder, assault, sexual assault and threats of violence;
• harassment, molestation, intimidation or stalking;
• breach of an apprehended violence order or a similar order;
• firearms or other dangerous weapons;
• people smuggling;
• human trafficking, slavery or slavery-like practices (including forced marriage), kidnapping or unlawful confinement; and
• attempting, aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring any of these.

For a partner visa sponsor risk assessment, this list is the starting point. A conviction for an offence outside that list, such as many traffic matters, cannot be used to refuse under reg 1.20KC(3) and cannot be disclosed to the applicant. It may still matter elsewhere, and our articles on a partner visa drink driving conviction and partner visa character requirements deal with the applicant's own character test.

Significant criminal record and suspended sentences

A significant criminal record under reg 1.20KD(1) means a sentence of death, life imprisonment, a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more, or two or more terms totalling 12 months or more. A suspended sentence of 12 months or more counts, because the test looks at the sentence imposed, not the time served. This is the point sponsors most often misunderstand. A sponsor who "never went to prison" may still have a significant criminal record.

Quashed or nullified convictions and pardons are disregarded under reg 1.20KD(5).

Convictions not recorded and pending charges

A "conviction" means a court recorded a conviction. An offence dealt with without a conviction being recorded, such as a good behaviour bond without conviction, cannot be relied on to refuse the sponsorship and cannot be disclosed. An unresolved charge cannot be the basis of refusal under reg 1.20KC, although a delegate may defer the decision briefly. Our answer on whether you need to disclose charges that did not lead to a conviction and our article on partner visa pending charges explain the disclosure side.

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment therefore needs court documents, not recollection. The sponsor's memory of "a bond" is not enough. The lawyer needs to see whether a conviction was recorded, what the sentence was and whether any order was breached. Our articles on partner visa intervention orders, a partner visa domestic violence charge and overseas convictions cover the most common record types.

When it may be reasonable to approve

Under reg 1.20KC(4), the decision maker must have regard to the time since the sponsor completed the sentence, the best interests of any children of the sponsor or the primary applicant (a primary consideration in policy), and the length of the relationship. Policy cautions against approving solely on time elapsed if less than five years have passed since the sentence was completed. In 2107808 (Migration) [2024] AATA 4136, the sponsor had a conviction for a relevant offence and a suspended sentence. The Tribunal noted that the sponsorship may be approved if reasonable to do so, with remorse and no reoffending relevant. The matter was remitted.

Where a delegate is inclined to approve under reg 1.20KC(4), policy is to interview the visa applicant, preferably in person and without the sponsor present, and to disclose the convictions with consent. The purpose is to make sure the applicant is not forced, coerced or intimidated. Our pages on whether you can get a partner visa if your sponsor has a criminal record and whether a lawyer can help when your sponsor has a criminal record explain what this means for the couple.

Checklist item 5: Is any applicant under 18?

If any applicant is under 18, the partner visa sponsor risk assessment adds a separate check under reg 1.20KB, the child protection rule. It applies to Subclass 309, Subclass 820 and Subclass 300 applications made on or after 27 March 2010. If the sponsor has a conviction for a registrable offence, meaning an offence of a type that could be listed on the Australian National Child Offenders Register, the sponsorship of all applicants must be refused. The exceptions are where all applicants are 18 or over at the time of decision, or the conviction is quashed (reg 1.20KB(3)).

A waiver is possible only if the sentence was completed more than five years before the sponsorship application, and it is discretionary (reg 1.20KB(4) and (5)). An unresolved charge also bars approval unless all applicants are 18 or over, or the charge is disposed of without a conviction (reg 1.20KB(2)). Where both reg 1.20KB and reg 1.20KC grounds exist, reg 1.20KB is considered first.

The sponsor must declare on the sponsorship whether they have ever been convicted of, or have a pending charge for, an offence relating to people under 18. Where an applicant is under 18, public interest criteria 4016 and 4018 (the best interests of a minor applicant) also look at the sponsor's other serious convictions. An unresolved charge for assault or violence, or drug trafficking or manufacture, leads to deferral of the visa decision. Our guides to adding children to a partner visa and partner visa stepchildren explain how children are included. Secondary applicants must also be included in the sponsorship. In a partner visa sponsor risk assessment, the sponsor's declaration on child-related offences is checked against the police records before it is made.

Checklist item 6: Will the sponsor consent to disclosure?

Yes, the sponsor must consent, and a partner visa sponsor risk assessment confirms that consent before lodgement. The sponsor must consent to the Department disclosing convictions for relevant offences to the applicant. This is a time of decision criterion (cl 300.222(2), cl 309.222(2), cl 820.221(4)). If the sponsor declines, the criterion cannot be met and the visa is refused, after a section 57 letter.

Some sponsors have never told their partner about an old conviction. The partner visa sponsor risk assessment is the right moment to deal with that privately and honestly. Where checks show a relevant conviction but no significant criminal record, the sponsorship cannot be refused under reg 1.20KC(3), but policy is still to disclose the conviction, with consent, so the applicant can decide whether to continue. A sponsor who learns this after lodgement has fewer choices and less time.

Checklist item 7: Which police checks does the sponsor need, and how long will they take?

The sponsor needs an Australian Federal Police National Police Check and overseas police certificates from every country where they spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. The Department accepts only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the AFP, and policy requires the purpose code "Immigration/Citizenship - Australia". State and territory police certificates, and standard disclosure certificates, are not accepted. Our guides to the partner visa AFP police check and partner visa overseas police certificates explain how to apply.

Departmental policy says delegates need not request checks from female sponsors where there are no character concerns. The public Home Affairs page asks every sponsor to provide checks. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment treats preparing the checks as the prudent course for every sponsor.

Timing the checks in a partner visa sponsor risk assessment

Timing is where police checks become a risk. Certificates are valid for 12 months from issue, and the Department may ask for new ones if they expire before a decision. The Department asks for them when the sponsor applies, or as soon as possible after. If the Department requests checks, policy allows 28 days to provide them or at least evidence that they were requested. The sponsorship can be refused if checks are not provided within a reasonable time.

Overseas certificates are the slow part. Some countries issue certificates quickly. Others take much longer, or have processes that are difficult to use from Australia. We do not publish a standard time for any country, because it changes. What matters is that the partner visa sponsor risk assessment identifies each country early, so applications can be made before lodgement and the 12-month validity is used well. If a foreign check genuinely cannot be obtained, policy allows the sponsor to give a statutory declaration on the standard Commonwealth form explaining their efforts and declaring any convictions. See what to do if you cannot get a police certificate, how long police certificates are valid and our article on expired partner visa police checks. Our sibling article on whether you need a police check for a partner visa covers the applicant's checks.

Checklist item 8: Is the sponsor's relationship history consistent?

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment checks the sponsor's past relationships because inconsistent dates, undisclosed partners and earlier applications are a credibility risk even when no sponsorship limit applies. The Department compares what the sponsor says now with what the sponsor said in earlier applications, including applications where the sponsor was the applicant.

Three decisions illustrate the risk:

• In Huynh (Migration) [2023] AATA 92, the sponsor had been in a previous relationship. The Tribunal was satisfied about the genuine relationship at the time of application, and the matter was remitted.
• In Nguyen (Migration) [2023] AATA 3868, a Subclass 309 matter, the issues included the sponsor's migration history and credibility concerns, the sponsor's marital history and financial aspects. The matter was remitted.
• In 2107016 (Migration) [2022] AATA 2250, the parties gave false or misleading information and failed to disclose a previous relationship and a Subclass 300 application. The matter was remitted.

Each couple reached a remittal, but only after a refusal and a review. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment tries to remove that step. The lawyer builds a single timeline for the sponsor: previous marriages and de facto relationships, separation and divorce dates, earlier sponsorships, earlier applications and any visa the sponsor held. That timeline is checked against the sponsor's documents and the Department's records before the relationship statement is finalised.

Where a previous marriage has not been formally ended, our articles on a partner visa while still married to someone else and a partner visa after divorce explain the issues. Our articles on partner visa previous relationship history, the partner visa relationship timeline and partner visa conflicting statements explain how inconsistencies arise. Where information has already been given incorrectly, see partner visa PIC 4020 and false information refusals.

The relationship statement remains the couple's own evidence. My Migration Lawyers presents the couple's account in the form the law requires, and the couple reviews and corrects it. The partner visa sponsor risk assessment simply makes sure the sponsor's account matches the sponsor's records.

Checklist item 9: Where is the sponsor, and can they provide the evidence?

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment checks where the sponsor lives and whether they can produce documents in time, because the sponsorship is lodged online after the applicant applies and the sponsor's documents should follow promptly. Home Affairs says the sponsor applies after the applicant has applied and given the sponsor their Transaction Reference Number or application ID. The sponsor can be inside or outside Australia when applying to sponsor and can use either partner's ImmiAccount.

Location still matters in a partner visa sponsor risk assessment. A permanent resident sponsor must show that they usually live in Australia. A sponsor working remotely, or living overseas, may find it harder to collect police certificates, original documents and evidence of the household. Our answer on whether your sponsor can live overseas while your Subclass 820 is processed and our guide to a partner visa long-distance relationship cover these practical issues. Our comparison of onshore and offshore partner visas explains how location shapes the pathway.

Sponsors often ask whether their income or employment matters. See whether your sponsor needs a minimum income and whether a lawyer can help if your sponsor is on Centrelink. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment still asks whether the sponsor understands the obligation to assist the applicant financially and with accommodation during the sponsorship period.

Where does the applicant's position change the sponsor risk?

The applicant's position changes the sponsor risk mainly where section 48 or Schedule 3 applies to an onshore applicant, because those rules make the sponsor's readiness at lodgement critical. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment is not a full applicant audit, but it cannot ignore these two points.

Section 48 applicants

If section 48 applies, the sponsorship stops being optional at lodgement. The completed and signed sponsorship form must be provided at the same time and place as the application (Sch 1 subpara 1124B(3)(e)(ii)). The applicant must also give two statutory declarations from Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens, not the partner, each made no more than six weeks before the application (subpara 1124B(3)(e)(iii)). A section 48 applicant cannot validly apply if they have had a Partner visa refused since last entering Australia.

That last rule is why a partner visa sponsor risk assessment matters most for section 48 applicants. If the sponsor is barred and the application is refused, the applicant may lose the onshore pathway. Our answers on what section 48 means for a partner visa and the extra lodgement requirements after a refusal explain the rules.

Schedule 3 applicants

Where the onshore applicant does not hold a substantive visa, Schedule 3 criteria may need to be addressed as well. A sponsor problem on top of a Schedule 3 issue gives the case officer two grounds to refuse instead of one. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment flags that overlap before lodgement, so both issues are addressed together. See what Schedule 3 means for a partner visa and our Schedule 3 waivers page.

What decision follows a partner visa sponsor risk assessment?

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment ends in one of four decisions: lodge now, wait, fix the problem first, or choose another pathway. The lawyer decides the strategy with the couple, based on the evidence.

• Lodge now. The sponsor meets every criterion, the documents are ready and the police checks are in hand or in progress. The application can be prepared as a decision-ready partner visa application.
• Wait. A reg 1.20J or reg 1.20KA date is close, a charge is pending or a certificate is still coming. Waiting a defined period may remove the risk. Our answer on when to lodge a partner visa explains how timing is judged. Waiting is not always possible, especially where the applicant's visa is about to expire, and our urgent visa lodgements team handles those cases.
• Fix first. Court documents are obtained, a previous marriage is formally ended, inconsistent records are corrected, waiver evidence is prepared or a cancellation issue is resolved before anything is lodged. The partner visa sponsor risk assessment is then updated before lodgement.
• Choose another pathway. A different visa, a different stream or a different timing may suit the couple better. For example, a couple engaged to marry may consider whether the Subclass 300 or a partner visa fits their sponsor position, or a New Zealand sponsor may look at the Subclass 461.

Why is a sponsor risk found after lodgement harder and more expensive to fix?

A sponsor risk found after lodgement is harder to fix because the timing, the evidence and the legal options are no longer in the couple's control. That is the practical value of a partner visa sponsor risk assessment. Before lodgement, the couple chooses when to lodge. After lodgement, the Department chooses when to decide, and the sponsorship is tested on the date of that decision.

After lodgement:

• the visa application charge has already been paid;
• requests for information arrive with short deadlines, and our article on responding to a section 56 request explains how those work;
• the sponsor may need to explain a conviction or an earlier relationship for the first time in response to the Department rather than on their own terms;
• a refusal opens a 28-day review window that cannot be extended, and the review itself takes time and money;
• an onshore applicant may be caught by section 48; and
• even a successful review often ends in a remittal, which sends the matter back to the Department to be decided again.

Every remitted decision cited in this article came after a refusal. A partner visa sponsor risk assessment exists so that the couple does not need a Tribunal to fix what a pre-lodgement check would have found. Our articles on partner visa application mistakes, partner visa refusal reasons and what happens if your partner's sponsorship is refused show what that path looks like. If you are already there, see our visa refusals page and whether a lawyer can help with a partner visa sponsorship refusal.

How My Migration Lawyers carries out a partner visa sponsor risk assessment

My Migration Lawyers carries out a partner visa sponsor risk assessment as the first piece of work on a partner visa matter, before the visa application or the sponsorship is lodged. We act for sponsors and applicants in many matters of exactly this type, including complex cases involving previous sponsorships, criminal records, cancelled visas and section 48 applicants, and we are equipped to handle them.

In practice, the work includes:

• confirming the sponsor's citizenship, permanent residence or eligible New Zealand citizen status from primary documents, and testing usual residence for permanent residents;
• checking whether a permanent resident sponsor's own visa is exposed to cancellation;
• building a dated timeline of every earlier sponsorship and every partner visa application in which the sponsor was the sponsored person, and mapping reg 1.20J and reg 1.20KA against realistic decision dates;
• reviewing court records against the relevant offence list and the significant criminal record test, including suspended sentences and convictions not recorded;
• applying reg 1.20KB where any applicant is under 18;
• confirming the sponsor's consent to disclosure;
• identifying every police check needed and when to apply for each one;
• reconciling the sponsor's relationship history with earlier applications before the couple's statement is finalised; and
• advising, in writing, whether to lodge now, wait, fix first or take another pathway.

Where the sponsor appoints us, Department requests for the sponsor's police checks come to us, so deadlines are not missed. Our partner visa lawyers work by video Australia-wide and with sponsors overseas, from our office at Level 1, 60 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000. Couples in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth use the same process. Our principal, Weiwei Zhang, oversees the firm's partner visa practice. Our article on complex partner visa applications and our guide to what to expect in a partner visa lawyer consultation explain how we start. Where family violence is part of the history, our family violence partner visa lawyers can advise separately.

A partner visa sponsor risk assessment cannot change the law or promise an outcome. It can make sure that what the Department finds at the time of decision is something you already knew about and prepared for.

Book a consultation with My Migration Lawyers for a partner visa sponsor risk assessment before you lodge. You can also call us on 1300 040 300.