Statutory Declaration by a Supporting Witness Form 888 Partner Visa
Form 888 is the form completed by people willing to be supporting witnesses to a partner class visa application. If you are looking for information about the Statement of History of Relationship, refer to Statement of History of Relationship Partner Visa 309/100. I see many, many search terms reach this site looking for what to say on a Form 888. Form 888 is for Australia, but I am sure other countries have a similar form. In answer to one search term this morning, yes, you may type the Form 888. In fact typing is always better as it is clearer to read. I have also noticed search terms asking “who is the applicant?” The applicant is the person applying for the visa to come to Australia.
I am not a Migration Agent or a Migration Lawyer. I am unable to offer professional/formal advice. Furthermore, as MARA agents advise, all the time, on the Forums of which I am a member, each and every case is unique, so there are no umbrella statements anyone can give about what you should say in any particular case. If you are unsure, seek professional advice.
What I can say when you sit down to write your statement in support of your family member’s or friend’s relationship, remember one thing above all else: the decision maker knows NOTHING about the couple in question. You are helping to paint a picture for the decision maker of the relationship. The advice I was given, to give my witnesses, was to tell them to write from the heart. That made sense to me then and still does now.
If, for any reason, in your heart you do not feel the relationship is genuine, do not complete the Form 888. Refer to my Open Letter to the Bad Guys instead! Remember also you may be asked to write follow-up statements:
A person completing this declaration may be required to submit up to 3 separate declarations during the processing of the application to remain permanently in Australia. They may be contacted by the department for further comment and interview in relation to the information given in this form.
You are signing a legal document: there are penalties for making false statements of four years imprisonment and A$12,000 – make sure you read that part of the form!
Assuming you believe or know the relationship is genuine, then write from the heart. Write about how long you have known the couple. You may be a brother, sister or parent and have known your sibling or child all your or their life, but have known the partner only a short time. You may have visited them if they are living together and witnessed them cooking meals together, sharing household tasks, cuddling on the couch in front of the TV. While that may seem too “domestic” to write about in a statutory declaration in this particular case it is substantiation of a domestic relationship that is being sought.
Was there a defining moment that made you smile and think “They make the perfect couple”? Write about that moment. Have you heard them talking about having children in the future, if they don’t have any already? Write about that. Think of the things YOU know about this couple that proves to YOU they are in a genuine and ongoing relationship. The very things that convinced YOU are likely to be the same things that will help convince the decision maker.
Perhaps the couple have been living overseas and you haven’t actually met the partner yet. Have they regularly sent you photos? Have they signed Christmas cards (or other holiday cards) to you jointly? Have you spoken on Skype? Do YOU feel the partner is a member of your family? Why do you feel that? Write about it!
Don’t feel you have to fit what you want to say in just the space on the form. You can write more! I am also aware of cultural issues: depending on your cultural background you may feel some things are “private” and should not be shared on such a form. I ask you to consider carefully before excluding information on cultural grounds. It may be the very information the decision maker is loking for.
To the actual applicant and sponsor, let me repeat what I said in Applying for a Partner Visa?:
Suggestion Number 2
Put yourself in the DIAC Delegated Decision Maker’s shoes.YOU know you are in love and have a “genuine and ongoing relationship to the exclusion of all others”. When we ourselves know this, we can expect everyone else to just accept it is fact or on minimal evidence because we know it to be true! The Decision Maker’s job is to confirm or deny our claim and a lot of this is subjective assessment. Yes, they will call it a “claim” – sounds horrible, doesn’t it? “The applicant and sponsor claim to be married”. Get used to the wording. You are no longer Jim and Nancy, you are the applicant and the sponsor. In order to confirm or deny, the Decision Maker will question everything, including who made the bed in the morning and who cooked and who ironed. We have a marriage certificate, I hear you cry. Yes, lucky you: pretty piece of paper, isn’t it? In this situation, that is all it is: a pretty piece of paper. DIAC also have an assessment methodology, but you do not know what that is, so look at everything as if YOU do not know anything about your own relationship and you are telling yourself all the gritty details.
With that in mind, my personal advice is do not do what we did and only submit two Form 888 statements. Submit as many as you can! OK, perhaps don’t submit 100, but submit more than two if you can! Note that Form 888′s can only be completed by people who:
-
know both the Partner class visa applicant and their sponsor and the history of their relationship;
-
are aged 18 years or over; and
- are an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident.
Note also that certified copies of evidence of the citizenship or permanent resident status of the person making the statutory declaration MUST be attached.
Evidence of the person’s Australian citizenship or Australian permanent resident status must be attached to this form (for example, a certified copy of the birth certificate, Australian passport or passport containing a permanent visa). Such evidence must show the current name of the person making the declaration.
If the couple are unable to have Australians complete Form 888s, it is possible to have overseas people complete statements. This is stated on the form:
If you are outside Australia and are unable to get an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident to complete a statutory declaration in support of your relationship with your partner, you may obtain statements from people who know you and your sponsor. Such statements are not statutory declarations under Australian law. However, in accordance with policy, they should be witnessed or certified according to the legal practices of the relevant country. Failing that, they should be witnessed by a person whose occupation or qualification is comparable to those listed above. This person should sign, date and specify their occupation at the bottom of the statement.
The Form 888 is not a scary document. All you really have to do is write what you know and write from the heart. If you are in ANY doubt at all, please seek professional advice.
If you have found this article helpful, please consider buying the book!
Related articles you may find of interest:
Hi Robyn..i have a question..Do the statuary declarations need to be witnessed?
Thanks
Tanvir
These Form 888 ones do, yes. If you download the form, you will see the witness section at the end, where is says “Before me, Signature of Qualified Person”.
Thanks a lot for your prompt reply Robyn
You are welcome! Please spread the word about the book!
That would be wonderful!
hi i need help to complete the form
I am not a MARA, I am unable to provide you with any specific advice. If sll you need is to know whose name goes where on the form, I can help you with that! I emailed you, let me know.
hello TEAM! where is the best way to pay the visa fees in australia or thailand? because im lodging my application in thailand..but my husband said he wants to pay in australia..need help pls
We paid our fees in Australia and submitted the receipt with the visa application to the overseas office.
I can understand your husband’s preference to pay in Australia.
VERY INFORMATIVE. HOW ABOUT TOURIST VISA FORM WHAT KINDS OF FORMS MUST NEED TO SUBMIMIT FORM48 ONLY? PLEASE SEND SOME DETAILS. SINCE MY BROTHER IS A PERMANENT RECENTLY IN AUSTRALIA HE INVITING ME TO VISSIT AUSTRALIA AND HE SAID HE SPONSOR ME..I NEED HELP PLS.
THANK YOU
I am sorry, I know nothing about tourist visas. I suggest you try the forum I suggested to Sher, below. There will be information there to help you.
thank you for the link..sorry i have some questions coz i asked the the agent but the payment very expensive, i done more working visa alone before and i passed all the interview thats why i am confident i could pass all.and only confused me because working and spouse very different.. lolz!
Very different! You have to convince the department your marriage is real. There is a form for everything! Plus in interviews they ask very personal questions – or can do!
Where are you lodging you application?
hehehhe i wish i could do all alone with your advice it helps me a lot..thank you very much..i apply here in the philippines but next year so i can prepared more.
hello team! again makes me confuse..if i submit the 47sp do i need to include the 40sp also? It makes me confused about the forms i need to submit,
Sher, I really think you need to get some help. Have you downloaded the booklet? Yes, you need both those forms – one is for you and the other for your husband as the sponsor.
Please download the booklet and read it very carefully if you are planning to do this yourself. You will find links to the booklet on http://teamoyeniyi.com/2011/05/17/applying-for-a-partner-visa/
You may also find http://teamoyeniyi.com/2011/05/18/do-you-need-representation/ helpful!
i REALLY CANT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS 888..PLEASE I NEED HELP..BECAUSE I AM MARRIED LAST AUGUST 31 WITH AUSTRALIAN HUSBAND AND I AM APPLYING A SPOUSE VISA BUT THESE FORM 888 HOW WOULD I MAKE THIS I ALREADY HAVE THE FORM AND WHO WILL MAKE THIS FORM OUR WITNESS? LIKE HES FRIEND OR MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OF MY HUSBAND?
Yes, Sher, family or friends who are Australian citizens or permanent residents who can tell DIAC about your relationship. They need to complete the form and swear it before an appropriate person.
thanks for the reply..i still have some questions i really need help because its my firstime to do this.
1. is it possible to apply both visa, spouse visa and tourist visa at the same time?
about the witness.. that means each person making the witness needs each form 888?
Yes, Sher, each person being a witness needs their own form.
Hey Sher – Yes my partner and I applied for 3 tourist visa’s while we were putting together our spouse visa, I also stated on the final tourist visa form that we were also working on a spouse visa for submission. The tourist visa was approved and im really happy to say the spouse visa was too. I think just be open and honest in the visa forms so they know what you are working towards.
Sher, be careful with this. While Mark had no problems, the view taken by DIAC can be very different for different people. I know of a married couple where the husband could not get a tourist visa – and they had three children and had been together for years.
Each case is different and assessed accordingly. It is possible you MAY be seen as a visa over-stay risk, for instance, but this can depend on your country of residence and many other factors. You should seek professional advice if in doubt. Search through the answers on this forum: http://forum.migrationhelp.com.au/forumdisplay.php?s=8d26b505398936c41f01ceded4ed36f0&f=54 where you may find the question has been asked before.
You may be perfectly fine, but don’t assume because someone else was, you will be. Every case is different, as I said.
Remember I am not a migration agent, I am suggesting you get the advice of someone who is who can review the details of your case.
Also, given your husband is an Australian citizen, get him to do more of the paperwork for you!!!
hi mark..is it helpfull if my passport have a active visa like u.s visa italian visa? because i am a seawoman is it also helpfull if i went on different places around the world?
I had 4 friends to 888 forms, basically explaining the story of how my fiance and I met, the time we have spend together, time they have spent with us, saying they have seen us in a happy home, making dinner, laughing, going our and away together. It really needs to show you are a couple and have a normal couple life, just make sure any dates and venues all are the same on all the forms. They should be signed at a police station where a Justice of the Peace resides or at the local law courts.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Mark. Your description is a very good one!
The declaration does not have to be sworn before a JP, but that is certainly a top option!
thanks team oyeniyi! im checking now that website..its very helpfull for the firstimer like me…
Good, I am glad you found it useful. The MARA people there give good advice too. Advice much better than mine generally, as they know the legislation: I only know about our specific case and a few other cases where I have been in contact with the people.
could anybody help me? when applying for a spouse visa is there a expire date on the stat decs, how long after they have been sighned by a JP can we use them.
Karl, I suggest you post your question on one of the forums I link to on the Partner/Spouse Visa page. I have not heard of stat decs having an expiry date, so I suggest you ask the experts.
I’m Australian and my boy friend (defacto) is Irish we are going through the whole process at the moment. I have a friend that is going to fill out the 888 form for me but her married name is not on her passport can she just get a copy of her marriage cert to show that she is the person on the passport?
Any help would be greatful.
Thanks
Hi Rebecca,
The wording on the Form 888 is pretty clear, I believe:
Evidence of the person’s Australian citizenship or Australian
permanent resident status must be attached to this form (for
example, a certified copy of the birth certificate, Australian
passport or passport containing a permanent visa). Such
evidence must show the current name of the person making
the declaration.
Thanks for your informative help
You are welcome David. Thank you for letting me know it was helpful!
Hi Robyn… As an immigrant and now a JP, I understand that statutory declarations would be accepted from anywhere in the world, but Form 888 is the official Australian document for Australians citizens to vouch for the couple in question. Providing the forms are witnessed by a relevant State qualified JP, they are acceptable. I sent in documentation from people in the UK – eg. cards and letters to both Alan and me as a couple which added to the proof that we were in a stable relationship. I also had several Forms 888 sent from WA as well as Queensland where we live. If you like, I’ll do a stat dec for John and you. Just say the word and it will be there. My immigration officer told me to treat it like a school project and collect anything that showed I had integrated into Australian society. We took photographs on every social occasion with friends and listed the clubs/societies I had joined since I arrived in Australia. (My adult tap dancing class, photos included and the writing clubs I joined). Just put anything and everything in there. Alan and I wrote accounts of our love for each other too. Just go for it, dear friends!
Hi Vera! Lovely to see you. This article was written with the original visa application in mind, not the second stage. The form states DIAC much prefer stat decs from Australians, although there is provision for overseas stats decs if the couple are unable to have confimation provided by Australians (e.g. living overseas for many years, etc.). The MRT hearing was a different matter – confirmation from anywhere!
Oh yes, we supplied anything and everything with our application and I have no doubt we will do so again with the final sub-class 100 step.
quick question: we are living in australia are mariied.. could my parents from europe also write a statement? (they are non australian citizen)
Chris, I honestly do not know, but let’s put it this way, it can’t hurt to have a statement from your parents. My reading of the form is that they expect statements from Australian’s for the reasons stated on the form and they allow for overseas statements on the basis some couples would be living overseas and may not be able to get Australian statements. Perhaps you could call and ask DIAC directly as given you are both living here, you will be submitting an on-shore application.
If you post this question on one of the forums I link to on http://teamoyeniyi.com/partner-visa-denied/ a registered migration agent will probably have the answer for you.
We only submitted Australian citizen forms and we only submitted two – I don’t think it was enough, we should have submitted more.
Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge! A great community service. I am currently living in Cambodia and have a Nigerian partner and was wondering about the paperwork if I choose to return to Australia, even for an extended visit with my man. Current and historic attitudes to immigration there are a disincentive (saw a doco on the White Australia Policy the other day on the Australia Network, truly embarrassing!).
I knew it would be daunting… hmm, this has made me more mindful of being prepared.
thanks again
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. It is lovely to know I have helped someone.
I wish you the best for your application. I will point out if you have been together for three years and can prove that conclusively, you should be fine. It is shorter term relationships that run into the most problems, I believe.
Thank you so much, really appreciate the advice, I am going through this now, you are very kind for documenting all of this, so very much appreeciated.
You are welcome, Mark. Good luck!
this is very helpful. Thank You.
I am glad you found it useful. Thank you for commenting!
Its a great article and I will be directing some of my less imaginative friends here to help them with writing mine. Thankyou
Thank you Pixi and good luck with your application! Do let us know how you go.
Hope this helps those that need to read it…
I hope so too. It is getting a LOT of page views, even if few comments.