Australia Visitor Visa Sponsored Family Stream (Subclass 600) for Pakistani Visitors: Sponsor Rules, Bond and Fee (2026)

What is the Sponsored Family stream of the Visitor visa?

It is one stream of the Visitor visa (subclass 600). Home Affairs describes it as a stream that lets people who are sponsored, usually by a family member, come to Australia to visit their family members. Instead of the visitor carrying the whole case alone, an Australian citizen or permanent resident puts their name behind the application by completing a sponsorship form and accepting responsibility for the visitor.

With the visa a person can visit family or friends, be in Australia as a tourist or on a cruise, or visit for any purpose except business or medical treatment. A visitor can study or train for up to 3 months. They cannot work. The legal criteria for the stream sit in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 under subclass 600.

What the sponsor is promising

Home Affairs says the sponsor undertakes to be responsible for the visitor's compliance with visa conditions, for the visitor's compliance with Australian employment laws and awards, and for repaying any money the visitor owes the Australian Government. If the sponsor does not meet those obligations, the department may cancel the visa. A sponsor is not a guarantor of the outcome in the sense of the department's decision. The sponsor stands behind the visitor's behaviour after arrival.

Who this stream is for

It suits a visitor who can prove a family relationship with an eligible sponsor, and for whom the sponsor's involvement makes the file stronger. Many Pakistani families visit a married daughter, a son who has settled, a sibling or a grandchild. If the visitor and the sponsor are close relatives and the paperwork is easy, this stream fits. If the relationship is hard to prove on paper, the Tourist stream may be the better door.

Sponsored Family or Tourist stream: which should a Pakistani family choose?

The Tourist stream (apply outside Australia) lets you visit Australia as a tourist, go on a cruise or visit family and friends, and it does not require a sponsor. Home Affairs says that if a family member wants to support you without becoming a sponsor, you can apply in the Tourist stream with a letter of invitation from that family member. The table below sets out what the two streams look like on the official pages.

On these official figures the Tourist stream was faster and has no sponsor or bond. The Sponsored Family stream has its place when the family wants the formal sponsorship, when the relationship evidence is strong, or when the officer-facing story is simplest with the relative's name on a form. A sensible way to decide is to ask three questions. Can the relationship be proven on paper? Is the sponsor happy to accept the obligations and a possible bond? Is the visitor's own case strong without the sponsor? If the answer to the last question is no, a sponsor will not repair it.

Who can sponsor a family visitor?

Home Affairs sets out the sponsor rules in detail. A sponsor must be a settled Australian citizen or permanent resident, at least 18 years old, and usually someone who has lived in Australia for the last 2 years, though the time may be reduced in compelling compassionate circumstances. A New Zealand citizen cannot be a sponsor.

Which relationships qualify

To sponsor an applicant as a relative, the applicant must be the sponsor's:

• spouse or de facto partner;
• parent or child;
• brother or sister;
• grandparent or grandchild;
• aunt or uncle, or niece or nephew; or
• step equivalent of any of the above.

The sponsor cannot be a fiancé or fiancée, an in-law, a cousin or a friend, with narrow exceptions where the sponsor is a relative of another applicant who is a member of the family unit. Home Affairs gives examples: a brother-in-law and his daughter who is your niece apply together, so you can sponsor the brother-in-law because you are a relative of the niece. The same logic lets an uncle and his daughter, your cousin, apply together, and you can sponsor the cousin. A sponsor may also be a member of an Australian parliament, a mayor or a government agency. A sponsor may sponsor more than one applicant if they apply at the same time. For a broader view of what families can and cannot do with siblings and cousins, see our guide to sponsoring a brother, sister or cousin across the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Limits on repeat sponsorship

You cannot sponsor a new applicant if you sponsored a previous subclass 600 applicant whose visa was granted and has not expired, unless the new applicant is a member of the family unit of the previous applicant and is travelling for the same purpose. If the previous visa has expired, the previous applicant did not comply with a visa condition, and 5 years have not passed since the grant, you also cannot sponsor, with an exception where the breach of condition 8531 (not remaining in Australia beyond the visa period) happened for reasons beyond their control after they entered Australia. A sponsor whose last visitor overstayed should speak to a registered adviser before sponsoring again.

Applying as a sponsor

There is no application fee to become a sponsor. The sponsor completes Form 1149, Application for sponsorship for Sponsored Family Visitors, scans it clearly and sends it to the visitor, who attaches it to the online visa application. A sponsor can lodge from inside or outside Australia. Sponsorship lasts as long as the visitor visa is valid.

What is the security bond, and how much is it?

Home Affairs says the sponsor must be able to pay a security bond if one is requested. Bonds are usually between AUD 5,000 and AUD 15,000 per person, but the department can ask for any amount. A bond must be paid in full before the final decision on the visa application, and it is refunded if the visitor complies with their visa conditions and leaves Australia before the visa expires.

We found the range on the Home Affairs sponsored family page only, and the department says it is a usual range, not a cap, so treat it as a planning figure and check with the department what it requests in your case.

What the bond means for a Pakistani family

• Plan for the bond as money that is locked away, not spent. If the visitor leaves on time, it returns.
• Do not assume a bond will be asked. Home Affairs says only that it might be. Do not assume it will not.
• If two parents visit together, the bond is per person, so the figure doubles.
• A bond is a good reason to choose the visit length carefully. A visitor who might wish to stay longer than the visa allows should not be sponsored.

How much does the visa cost?

As of 7 November 2026, the Home Affairs Sponsored Family stream page lists the visa application charge at AUD 250 for each applicant.

The same figure appeared in two other official places on the same date: the current visa pricing table lists the Sponsored Family stream at AUD 250, and the Home Affairs visa pricing estimator returned AUD 250 for the Sponsored Family stream on a Pakistan passport. Home Affairs says concessions apply in limited circumstances, and a lower charge applies from 1 July 2026 to eligible citizens of certain Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste. Pakistan is not on that list.

The costs beside the charge

• Each family member separately. You cannot include family in an application. Every family member, including those listed on your passport, must submit a separate application, and each pays the charge. Group applications let related applicants link their files.
• Health examinations, police certificates and biometrics. The department says these may be required and cost extra.
• The bond. Refundable, but it has to be paid first.
• Health insurance. You are liable for all healthcare costs in Australia, and Home Affairs strongly recommends adequate cover.
• Translations and flights. Yours entirely.

For a couple, the visa charge alone is AUD 500, before the bond or insurance. Compare that with a possible bond of AUD 10,000 to AUD 30,000 held for the length of the visit and the real cash requirement is much larger than the headline fee.

How long does a decision take?

On 7 November 2026, the Home Affairs global visa processing times guide showed the Visitor visa Sponsored Family stream at 50 percent processed in 40 days and 90 percent in 89 days. The Tourist stream showed 21 days and 31 days.

These are guides built on recently decided cases, not promises. Home Affairs tells applicants that processing may take longer if the form is filled in wrongly, documents are missing or the department needs more information. Do not book flights until the grant letter says the visa is granted.

Which documents do you need?

Home Affairs splits the paperwork into identity, genuine visitor documents, sponsorship documents and a few extras.

Identity

• The passport pages showing your photo, personal details and issue and expiry dates.
• A national identity card, if you have one.
• Proof of any change of name, such as a marriage or divorce certificate.

Sponsorship

• A completed Form 1149 from the sponsor.
• Documents that together prove the relationship between each applicant and the sponsor: birth certificates, passport pages showing the names of parents, a family register or marriage certificates.
• For an aunt, an uncle or other indirect relationship, a set of documents that collectively link the lines, such as the family register or the birth certificates of the applicant, the applicant's parent and the aunt.

Home Affairs says that if you cannot prove the relationship on paper, you can apply in the Tourist stream with a letter of invitation or support from your relative. Pakistani families often hold a family registration certificate (FRC) from NADRA, a birth certificate and a marriage certificate. Which of these proves a link depends on the pair of relatives, so lay the documents out as a chain, name by name, before you lodge.

Translation and preparation

Every document not in English needs an English translation. A translator outside Australia need not be accredited, but each translation must carry the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications and experience in the language. Our guide to translating Pakistani documents for Australia, the UK and Canada explains the format. Home Affairs says you do not need to certify documents, and it asks for clear colour scans, with multi-page documents saved as one file.

Health and character

You and any family members applying with you must meet the health requirement, and you must meet the character requirement. Home Affairs says you can have health examinations before you apply or wait until you are asked. Our guide to the immigration medical exam for Canada and Australia from Pakistan explains how panel clinics work. If you served in any armed force, provide military service records or discharge papers.

Applicants under 18

A child applicant needs consent from anyone who has a legal right to decide where the child lives and is not travelling with the child. Home Affairs accepts Form 1229, or a statutory declaration giving consent for the child to visit Australia on this visa, with an identity document showing that person's signature and photo.

How do you prove you are a genuine visitor?

The legal test is that you intend to stay temporarily in Australia and obey the conditions and stay period. You must also have, or have access to, enough money to support yourself. Home Affairs asks for as much proof as you can give. Its examples include:

• proof of enough money for the stay and to leave Australia, such as personal bank statements, pay slips, audited accounts, tax records or credit card limits;
• a letter from the relative or friend in Australia, inviting you, stating their relationship to you, the purpose and length of stay and whether you will stay with them, with proof of their funds if they are paying;
• your plans while in Australia; and
• reasons to return home: a letter from your employer saying you will go back to your job, proof that you study at a school, college or university at home, proof of immediate family at home, proof that you can return home and proof that you own a house or other major assets in your home country.

What this looks like for Pakistani applicants

A retired father with a pension, a family house in Lahore and other children at home presents a natural temporary visit. A young applicant with no job, no study and no family at home is a harder case, and a sponsor does not change that. Where bank statements are concerned, a case officer expects ordinary activity over time, not a balance topped up the week before. We have covered the usual traps in our posts about bank statements, and the same logic applies to a visitor file. If any past application contained incorrect information, read our guide to the Australian public interest criterion 4020 and the three-year ban before you lodge.

How long can you stay, and what are the conditions?

Home Affairs says the standard length of stay on this stream is 3 months, and it may grant up to 12 months in limited circumstances. It decides case by case, considering how long you want to stay and why, and you may not get the length you ask for. It generally grants the visa with a single entry and a 6 month validity period, which means you have up to 6 months after the grant date to enter Australia. If you leave Australia, you need to apply for another visa to return. If a multiple entry visa is granted, you can come and go as often as you like while it is valid. Check the grant letter or VEVO.

Conditions to remember

• No work. The department says you cannot work on this visa.
• Study or training for up to 3 months only. If your main reason for travel is study, a student visa may be more appropriate.
• No further stay, condition 8503. You cannot apply for a new visa in Australia because of this condition, which can be waived only in limited circumstances.
• Do not stay beyond the visa period, condition 8531. A breach affects the sponsor's ability to sponsor again, and it can affect your future applications.
• No extension. You cannot stay longer by extending the visa. You must apply for another.

Health insurance

Home Affairs says you are liable for all healthcare costs while in Australia and strongly recommends adequate health insurance. A visitor who falls ill in Australia and has no cover leaves the family with a bill, and the sponsor has a duty to repay money the visitor owes the Australian Government. Price the insurance before you book the flights.

What mistakes lead to refusal?

We have no refusal statistics for this stream and will not invent any. These are the weaknesses we see in files that come to us for review.

• Sponsor who does not qualify. A cousin or an in-law who is not covered by the narrow exceptions cannot sponsor. Check the relationship list first.
• Relationship not proved on paper. A bare claim that "she is my aunt" without a chain of documents does not work.
• Weak ties to Pakistan. A visit looks less temporary when the applicant has no job, no property and no family left behind.
• Thin funds evidence. A sponsor's funds count only if you show them.
• A vague plan. "To see family" with no dates is easy to doubt.
• Visit length that does not match the plan. A request for 12 months with no explanation draws questions.
• A previous overstay by someone the sponsor sponsored. It blocks a new sponsorship for 5 years in many cases.
• Applying for several family members without separate applications. Each person needs their own.
• Booking flights before the grant letter. The department says the visa must be granted before you travel.
• Incorrect or false information. It can lead to refusal and to a ban on future visas.

What does a realistic timeline look like?

This is an illustration built on the guides as of 7 November 2026, not a prediction. Suppose Tariq, a retired teacher in Lahore, wants to visit his daughter Nida, an Australian citizen in Brisbane, for her son's first birthday in April 2027.

1. December 2026. Nida completes Form 1149, scans it and sends it to her father. Tariq gathers his passport pages, his family registration certificate, Nida's birth certificate, six months of pension statements and a letter from Nida stating the dates, the purpose and that he will stay with her.
2. January 2027. Tariq lodges online and pays AUD 250. He attaches everything and puts his health examinations in hand when Home Affairs asks.
3. Late January to March 2027. If the case follows the guide, half of Sponsored Family cases are decided in about 40 days, so around early March, and nine in ten in about 89 days, so by mid-April. A decision after the party is a real risk, so he does not book flights.
4. On grant. Tariq gets a 3 month stay, probably single entry with 6 months to arrive. If Home Affairs asks Nida for a bond, she pays it in full before the decision, and gets it back when Tariq leaves on time.
5. On departure. Tariq leaves before the visa ends. The bond is refunded if he has complied with the conditions.

In this example the government charge is AUD 250 and any bond is refundable money. The larger cost is the flights, the insurance and Nida's time. The larger risk is timing: a visit tied to a date is badly served by a 89-day tail.

Frequently asked questions