Who Can Sponsor a Subclass 117 Orphan Relative Visa in 2026?
Which relatives can sponsor a subclass 117 Orphan Relative visa in 2026, what 'settled' means, and why sponsorship must clear before the grant.
For a Subclass 117 Orphan Relative application, the sponsor has to be drawn from a short and closed list — an eligible sibling or step-sibling, grandparent or step-grandparent, aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle — who must be a settled Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident, and whose sponsorship must be approved before any visa can be granted. This follows the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) official page as at August 2026, read together with the Migration Regulations 1994, and is general information rather than advice on any one family's circumstances.
Which relatives can sponsor a subclass 117 application?
The Department's published eligibility criteria name eight relationships and nothing outside them: sibling, step-sibling, grandparent, step-grandparent, aunt, step-aunt, uncle and step-uncle. The relationship that matters is the one between the child and the sponsor, and step-relationships sit in the list on the same footing as blood relationships.
Cousins, adult children, family friends and any relative-by-marriage that does not fall into the listed step categories are not sponsor categories for this visa. Nor is there any requirement that this relative be the child's closest relative in Australia — being one of the listed relatives is enough, provided everything else stacks up.
Can a spouse or partner sponsor instead of the relative?
Yes. Reg 117.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994 allows the sponsorship to come either from the Australian relative personally or from that relative's spouse or de facto partner. The substitute sponsor carries the same age, status and residence requirements, plus one extra condition of their own.
| Who signs the sponsorship | Core conditions | Additional condition |
|---|---|---|
| The Australian relative | At least 18 years old; settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen | — |
| Their spouse or de facto partner | Same age, status and settled requirements | Must be living with the Australian relative |
Whichever of them signs, the sponsorship also has to extend to any dependent children of the child who are included in the application.
Does the sponsor have to be "settled"?
The official visa page requires the relative to be a settled Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident, without spelling that term out on the same page. "Settled" is a defined term in reg 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and departmental procedural guidance (PAM3) commonly frames it as around two years of lawful residence in Australia, evidenced through records of employment, tax affairs or similar.
That two-year benchmark comes from the guidance material rather than the visa page itself, so read it as a working rule of thumb and confirm it against the requirements as currently published. A recent arrival with permanent status is not automatically excluded simply because they are recent; equally, permanent status on its own does not answer the settlement question.
What will stop a sponsorship from being approved?
Child protection is the hard edge of this visa. If the sponsor, or their spouse or de facto partner, has a pending charge for a registrable offence, the Department states it will refuse both the sponsorship and the visa application. If either of them has a conviction for a registrable offence, the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances, and reg 1.20KB constrains how much discretion the decision-maker has to approve it at all. The Department publishes separate guidance on the measures for the protection of children that apply to this visa.
Does the sponsorship get decided before the visa?
It has to be. The Department's criterion is explicit: the sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted, and reg 117.222 requires that the sponsorship still be approved and in force at the time the decision is made.
In practice this means the sponsorship travels alongside the application rather than ahead of it. Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia) is completed and lodged with Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child), both on paper, with the Child and Other Family Processing Centre named as the lodgement point. The application charge must be paid before the papers are posted, and there is no refund of that charge if the application is refused.
What does the sponsor actually commit to?
The Form 40CH undertaking covers accommodation and financial support for two years from the child's first entry into Australia. Decision-makers assess whether the sponsor can realistically honour it, and that assessment is sharper where one household is sponsoring more than one applicant at the same time.
An Assurance of Support is a separate matter. It is not automatic for this visa, but where it is required, it must be accepted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services before the visa can be granted.
With a willing sponsor, what can still decide the case?
An approved sponsorship does not approve anything else. The child's own criteria still have to be met in full, including:
- being under 18 when the application is made, and having no spouse or de facto partner, per the orphan relative definition in reg 1.14 of the Migration Regulations 1994
- having no parent able to care for them, because the parents are deceased, permanently incapable of caring for the child, or cannot be found — parents who are able but unwilling do not satisfy this
- being outside Australia both when the application is made and when it is decided
- having consent to migrate, health clearance, character clearance from age 16, and no outstanding debts to the Australian Government
- the grant being consistent with the best interests of a child under 18
Because these sit on the applicant's side of the ledger, a sponsorship can be approved and the visa still refused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my cousin sponsor me for the subclass 117 visa?
No. The published list is confined to sibling, step-sibling, grandparent, step-grandparent, aunt, step-aunt, uncle and step-uncle. A cousin, however close the family tie, is not a sponsor category for this visa.
Can my aunt's husband act as the sponsor instead of her?
He can sign as the spouse of the Australian relative, provided he is at least 18, settled, an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and living with that relative. The alternative route in reg 117.212 is designed for exactly this situation.
How long does my sibling need to have lived in Australia to count as settled?
Guidance material commonly points to around two years of lawful residence, supported by records such as employment or tax history. Because that benchmark sits in guidance rather than on the visa page, treat it as indicative and check the requirement as currently published.
What happens if my sponsor has a charge that has not gone to court yet?
A pending charge for a registrable offence against the sponsor, or against their spouse or de facto partner, leads to refusal of both the sponsorship and the visa application. A conviction, by contrast, leaves approval possible in very limited circumstances only.
Do I need the sponsorship approved before I lodge?
The two forms are lodged together, so approval happens during processing rather than beforehand. The constraint is on the outcome: without an approved sponsorship there is no grant, and the sponsorship must still be in force when the decision is taken.
My sibling lives overseas but holds Australian citizenship. Can they still sponsor?
The published requirement is that the relative be a settled Australian citizen, so citizenship alone does not settle the question of residence in Australia. A sibling living and settled in Australia meets it more clearly than one who has never lived here.