Statutory Declarations for Australian Visa Applications

A statutory declaration is a formal written statement of fact that you sign and declare to be true, and it can be used to support an Australian visa application where you need to provide evidence that is not otherwise available in a standard document. The Department of Home Affairs does not provide a single statutory declaration form for visa purposes; instead, you must use a form that complies with the requirements of the state or territory in which you make the declaration, and you must attach it to your application through ImmiAccount or as otherwise instructed. The official guidance for this page does not set out the specific legal requirements for drafting a statutory declaration, so you must verify the current form and witnessing rules for your location before you lodge it.

When a statutory declaration may be relevant

The Department of Home Affairs does not publish a single list of situations in which a statutory declaration is mandatory for a visa application. However, the official guidance for partner visa applications indicates that you may need to provide supporting information or documents to demonstrate your circumstances, and a statutory declaration is one way to present a personal statement of fact where you cannot obtain a certificate or other official record. For example, you may need to explain a gap in your employment history, provide evidence of a relationship, or address a change in your personal circumstances.

A statutory declaration is not a substitute for a required document such as a police certificate, a health examination, or a passport. It is a supplementary form of evidence that you can use to explain or support a claim you make in your application. The Department may ask you to provide further information or documents to support your Partner visa application, and you must attach them to your ImmiAccount. If you cannot provide documents within the specified timeframe, you can request additional time using the Partner processing enquiry form, and your request must include evidence showing the steps you have taken to provide the requested information.

How to draft a statutory declaration for immigration

The Department does not publish a template for a statutory declaration to be used in visa applications. You must prepare the declaration in the form required by the state or territory in which you sign it, and you must include the following elements:

• Your full name and address
• A statement that you make the declaration conscientiously believing its contents to be true
• The facts you are declaring, set out in numbered paragraphs
• Your signature, witnessed by an authorised person

The authorised witness requirements vary by state and territory. In general, a statutory declaration must be witnessed by a person who is authorised to take declarations, such as a justice of the peace, a notary public, or a legal practitioner. You should check the requirements for the state or territory in which you are making the declaration, because the witnessing rules differ.

You should not use a statutory declaration to make a claim that is false or that you cannot support. The Department may ask you to provide additional evidence to verify the facts you declare, and a false declaration can have serious consequences for your application and for your immigration status.

Statutory declarations in partner visa applications

The Department’s Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions page does not mention statutory declarations by name, but it does set out the process for providing further information or documents to support a Partner visa application. You need to attach information or documents to your ImmiAccount, and you cannot provide documents in the specified timeframe only if you have a valid reason and you request additional time before the original timeframe expires.

The Department also states that you must meet all relevant legislative requirements before it can grant an application. If you hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 309 or 820), two years must have passed since you applied for that visa to be eligible for assessment of the permanent visa. A statutory declaration may be relevant to evidence you provide in support of your relationship, but the Department does not require a statutory declaration as a standard document for a Partner visa application.

Statutory declarations and the subsequent temporary application charge

The subsequent temporary application charge is a fee that applies to certain temporary visa applications, and it is calculated based on your individual visa history. The charge is not paid for bridging, criminal justice, enforcement, or permanent visa applications. It does not apply if you are outside Australia when you make your substantive temporary visa application, or if you are making your first substantive temporary visa application in Australia.

The charge is calculated in four steps, and it applies only if you are in Australia applying for a visa specified in Table 1, you hold or last held a visa specified in Table 2, you applied for that Table 2 visa while in Australia, and none of the five exceptions in step 4 apply. A statutory declaration is not a factor in calculating this charge, and it does not affect whether the charge applies to you.

How to attach a statutory declaration to your application

You must lodge your visa application online through ImmiAccount, and you must attach supporting documents to your application in ImmiAccount. The Department advises you to use the checklist provided in ImmiAccount to make sure you include all required information with your application. For further information, you should visit the web page of the visa you are applying for and select the step-by-step tab.

If you are having trouble applying online, you can submit the ImmiAccount Technical Support Form. In limited circumstances you may apply on paper, but only by invitation. If you apply on paper and you have not been invited to, your application will be invalid and the Department will not process it.

What to verify before you lodge

The official guidance for this page does not provide the current statutory declaration form or the witnessing requirements for each state and territory. You must verify the following before you prepare your declaration:

• The correct statutory declaration form for the state or territory in which you will sign it
• The list of authorised witnesses for that state or territory
• The specific requirements for the visa you are applying for, which may be set out in the step-by-step tab on the visa’s web page
• Whether the Department has asked you to provide a statutory declaration in response to a request for further information

The Department’s official pages for your visa subclass are the authoritative source for document requirements. You should not rely on a statutory declaration template from an unofficial source, because the requirements differ across Australian jurisdictions.

What to do next

If you believe a statutory declaration is necessary to support your visa application, you should first check the document checklist for your visa subclass on the Department of Home Affairs website. If the Department has asked you to provide a statutory declaration, you should prepare it in the correct form for your state or territory and attach it to your ImmiAccount before the specified timeframe expires. If you cannot provide the declaration within the timeframe, you must request additional time before the original timeframe expires and include evidence of the steps you have taken. You should also verify the current statutory declaration requirements for your state or territory, because the witnessing rules and forms are not set out in the official guidance for this page.