How to Sponsor Family Members on 457 Visa

A dependent child (18 years of age or older) and other relatives that are dependent on the family head, or de facto partner or spouse, may be considered in the application if:

They have never been married or in a de facto relationship, are legally widowed, divorced or separated
Are usually a resident in the household of the primary applicant
They are reliant on the primary applicant to financially support them for their basic needs (food, clothing and shelter)
The primary person has been financially supportive of the person for a substantial period of time
They are reliant on the primary person more than any other person or source

Children (under the age of 18) who were assessed as a member of the family unit in regards to a previous subclass 457 visa included with the primary visa applicant, may be eligible for a further secondary subclass 457 visa if they:

Have not gotten married or entered into a de facto relationship since the grant of the previous 457 visa
Have not yet turned the age of 21

It will not make a difference whether or not you are on the application with the primary applicant or applying separately after the primary visa holder has been granted the visa, you will still need to provide sufficient evidence to establish your identity as a family member.

This evidence can be what is listed below, but it is not limited to what is listed:
A certified copy of the biographical data pages in your passport (has your photograph and details)
A passport sized photograph of yourself
A certified copy of your birth certificate
A family registered document, copied and certified
A certified copy of your identity card
Certified copy of any government official name change (such as, a marriage certificate)

You can provide a certified copy of the marriage certificate, this will show evidence for the spouse of a primary applicant. However, if you are in a de facto relationship with the primary visa applicant, please provide evidence to prove this relationship. Some acceptable forms of evidence are:

• Proof of living together
• Joint bank account records
• Joint ownership in property
• Bills in both names
• Other official legal documents

You must support your claims, if you are 18 years or over and wish to be considered as a dependent to the primary applicant. Evidence must be provided to show you are either completely or substantially reliant for financial support to provide food, clothing or shelter from the primary applicant. You might also be completely or substantially reliant if you are incapacitated for work.

If you currently hold a dependent subclass 457 visa and are over 18 years old you may be able to stay a dependent family member for the purposes of a subsequent 457 visa application if you are:

Currently under the age of 21
Not in a de facto relationship or married

PLEASE NOTE: If your visa is approved under this regulation, it will only be valid until you reach your 21st birthday.

Dependents who are under the age of 18 and are on the visa application with only one parent or guardian included
A Form 1229 (Consent to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18) must be completed and signed by the other parent or guardian not in the application. Where custodial arrangements are applicable, documents related to custody must be provided. Acceptable identification with the other parent or guardian’s photograph (detailed personal information page with picture on passport or driver’s license) must be included as well.

There must be no adverse information known by the department in regards to the standard business sponsor or the party to the labour agreement, or anyone associated with them. This could affect your nomination if you are applying for the subclass 457 visa on the basis of being a member of the family unit to a primary visa applicant. The adverse information may be disregarded should the department feel satisfied it would be reasonable to do so.

Are you wondering what adverse information is? Let’s go over what this means for company sponsorship.
Adverse information is any information relevant to a person’s suitability as an approved sponsor, and includes information that the person or persons associated with that person:

Has become insolvent within the meaning of subsections 5(2) and (3) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and section 95A of the Corporations Act 2001

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ba1966142/
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/

In regards to the Commonwealth, state or territory law:

• They have been found guilty by a court of an offense
• They have been found to have acted in contravention of the law by a competent —-authority
• They have been subject to an administrative action (including warnings) by a competent authority
• They are currently under investigation, leaving them subject to disciplinary action —-or subject to legal proceedings

This Commonwealth, state or territory law must relate to:

• Discrimination
• illegal immigration actions
• industrial relations
• occupational health and safety regulations
• people smuggling and related offenses
• anything to do with slavery, sexual servitude and deceptive recruiting
• taxation abuse
• any form of terrorism
• human trafficking and debt bondage

Any adverse information will be considered relevant if:

• it raises doubts about a person’s suitability as an approved sponsor
• has happened within the last 3 years
• it has become known to immigration

There are limits to what is perceived as relevant. Such as, if immigration received information that the business has received a fine for having an unregistered vehicle on a public road, it is not very likely this information would be relevant. However, if immigration were to receive information that the managing director was being investigated for human trafficking offenses, this would be considered relevant.

Let’s get back to the required documents needed for the secondary applicant, for this family sponsorship to Australia.

Are you from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia? Can you provide a Medicare card or receipt? If you answered yes, then you may already meet the health insurance requirement. If you cannot produce these documents but your country has the agreement, you should make arrangements for travel or health insurance for your initial period in Australia. Then enrol in Medicare after you arrive.

Are you an AusAID or a Foreign Affairs recipient?

If so, there will be some additional requirements involved in your secondary visa application. You must have the support of Foreign Affairs before you can be granted a subclass 457 visa. There is a waiver for compassionate or compelling circumstances.

Requirements for all 457 working visa applications

The above mentioned requirements are specifically for the secondary visa applicant, the ones listed below are for anyone (primary or secondary) applying for the subclass 457 visa.

Please be sure that in the 3 years prior prior to lodging your application, you have not engaged in any conduct which constitutes a contravention of subsection 245AR(1), 245AS(1), 245AT(1) or 245AU(1) of the Act.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s245ar.html
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s245as.html
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s245at.html
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s245au.html

This means that you or any person on your behalf, must not have paid or even offered to pay your sponsor (in any form) for the occurrence of a sponsorship related event, to include:
Helping a business become a sponsor for you
For the sponsor to make a nomination for you from the funds given, or not withdraw their nomination from you or anyone included in the application