Visitor 600 Tourist or Sponsored Family: which stream fits a family visit?

A family visit does not automatically need a sponsor

The overseas Visitor 600 Tourist stream can cover holidays and visits to family or friends. A formal sponsor is not normally required for that stream; Form 1149 also covers sponsorship specifically requested by Home Affairs for a Tourist applicant. A relative can still invite you, offer accommodation or help pay for the trip. Explain those arrangements truthfully and attach relevant evidence, including the host's funds if they will pay.

The Sponsored Family stream is a separate Visitor 600 path for an applicant with an eligible formal sponsor. It is also a temporary visit, not a parent migration or work visa. Both streams require the applicant to be outside Australia when applying and when Home Affairs decides the application. If the intended trip is longer-term study, work or moving to Australia, check a different visa.

Official overseas Tourist stream ↗ · Official Sponsored Family stream ↗ · Family visa options →

Invitation letter or Form 1149?

Official Form 1149 ↗ · Build a truthful invitation → · Visitor evidence guide →

Check status, relationship, age and settlement

For a relative sponsor, Home Affairs generally requires a settled Australian citizen or permanent resident aged at least 18. It says “settled” usually means living in Australia for the last two years, with a possible reduction in compelling compassionate circumstances. The listed relationships include spouse or de facto partner, parent or child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, and step equivalents. A friend, fiancé or fiancée is not a qualifying relative sponsor; in-laws and cousins have narrow family-unit exceptions explained on the official page. A New Zealand citizen is not eligible as a relative sponsor for this stream.

The rules also restrict some people who previously sponsored a Visitor 600 applicant whose visa remains valid, or whose earlier sponsored visitor breached a visa condition. The official page describes exceptions; check it before completing Form 1149. A willing relative, Australian address or paid bond does not itself establish sponsor eligibility or guarantee a grant.

Current sponsor eligibility and limits ↗

Visitor visa security bond: amount, payment and refund

Home Affairs says there is no application fee to become a sponsor, although each visitor has a visa application charge and other application costs may arise. If it asks for a Sponsored Family security bond, its published usual range is AUD 5,000–15,000 per person, but it can ask for another amount. The bond must be paid in full before the final visa decision. It says the bond is refunded if the visitor complies with the visa conditions and leaves before expiry. Do not pay a bond to someone merely claiming to be an agent; follow the Department's specific request and payment instructions.

The formal sponsor undertakes responsibilities for the visitor's compliance with visa conditions and repayment of money the visitor owes the Australian Government. Read the sponsor section and Form 1149 before signing. For a Tourist stream invitation, the host has not become a formal Sponsored Family sponsor just by writing a letter or offering to pay.

Official bond and sponsor obligations ↗ · Check current visa charge ↗ · Verify a payment request →

Read the granted stay, entries and conditions

Home Affairs says a Sponsored Family visa is generally granted for a single entry, though it may grant multiple entries. Do not infer entries or permitted stay from the stream name. Read each person's complete grant notification and check their current visa details in VEVO. Neither Visitor 600 stream permits taking a job; the official stream pages describe study or training of up to three months. For Sponsored Family, Home Affairs says condition 8503 will apply and 8531 must not be breached; read the specific explanation below and the actual grant.

If a formal sponsor wants to withdraw before a decision, the Department gives an ImmiAccount letter process and says the application might then be refused. After grant, release from sponsorship obligations is limited and the visa may be cancelled. Follow the official sponsor instructions for the stage of the case rather than treating an invitation letter as a cancellable visa.

Official sponsor and travel rules ↗ · Check actual conditions in VEVO ↗ · Understand entries and stay →

A No Further Stay waiver does not remove the leave-by-date rule

Home Affairs says the Sponsored Family stream will have condition 8503 (No Further Stay) and warns visitors not to breach condition 8531 (must leave before the visa stay period ends). Read each person's grant and VEVO for the actual last permitted day. A request to waive 8503 does not extend the visa or decide another application.

Official Form 1149 says that even if 8503 is waived and another visa is granted, a visitor who remains in Australia after the Sponsored Family stay period is taken to have breached 8531. The sponsor can face the listed consequences, including possible bond forfeiture. If a waiver or expiry issue arises, check the current Department instructions and seek qualified advice promptly; do not infer a safe departure date from a waiver alone.

Home Affairs: stay longer and conditions ↗ · Form 1149: 8503, 8531 and bond consequences ↗ · Read the general waiver guide →

What if Home Affairs asks a Tourist applicant for sponsorship?

An ordinary Tourist stream invitation does not create formal sponsorship. However, official Form 1149 also covers a Tourist stream applicant when Home Affairs has specifically requested a sponsor. The form says to scan the completed sponsorship form and attach it to that online application in ImmiAccount.

Follow the actual request rather than assuming you must change streams or send a bond with every invitation. Check the requested sponsor's eligibility, obligations and any separate written bond instructions. A sponsorship form, an invitation letter and a bond payment are different steps.

Form 1149: who can use it and requested Tourist sponsorship ↗ · Ordinary invitation-letter preparation →