Form 888 | Example answers

How do you write clear and useful supporting Form 888 for a partner visa application? Follow our simple guide and prepare useful Form 888s to support your application:

  • You should have your Australian family or friend to prepare these supporting forms and information for you. Your relevant family or friend should know both the visa applicant and sponsor, and should know about your relationship. Hence, he or she needs to provide relevant information in relation to what he or she has observed of the relationship, and why he or she believes that your relationship is genuine and committed
  • You should provide at least 2 Form 888 for your partner visa application if possible, although you can provide more if you wish
  • Write in a clear and understandable way. Pretend that you are an objective third party that doesn’t know anything about your history or relationship. Is your declaration clear and understandable from such an perspective?
  • Write in simple, short sentences that address the critical aspects of your history, relationship, and the considerations that the Department will assess (e.g. development of the relationship, financial aspects of the relationship etc.)
  • Include details and facts, and explain important and relevant events and dates, which will make your declarations, history and relationship more convincing. Such as the below example.
  • Proofread and make your declarations easy to understand. You don’t want to make your case officer’s job difficult, since he or she will decide your application. You actually should be as helpful and organised as you can be

Form 888 example answers

Question 3: State how you know the applicant and the applicant’s partner or fiancé(e), and indicate how often you have been in contact with them:


I am the brother of the applicant’s sponsor/spouse, Gemme Wayne. I have known Skype Walker for the last 2 years after he was introduced to our family by my sister.


I first met Skype in person in December 2014 when he travelled to Australia with Gemme to visit us. During this trip, Skype and Gemme stayed with my family at our Castle Hill residence for a few days while they were in Sydney.


During his stay in Sydney, my family and I took Gemme and Skype around Sydney, including to the Blue Mountains, the Royal National Park, Sydney CBD and the harbour area. We also look Skype shopping in the city before he departed Australia, when he needed to buy some presents for his family and friends back in Russia.


While my sister lived in Russia, we stayed in contact via Skype calls. After my sister moved in with Skype at his Moscow apartment, I got to know Skype a lot letter because he would join my sister with these calls once every few weeks. Based on my prior opportunity to spend a few weeks together in Sydney with Gemme and Skype, and also our regular our calls, I know that their relationship is very committed and loving.


Question 4: State whether you believe the relationship of the applicant and his/her partner or fiancé(e) to be genuine and continuing, and give your reasons for your belief


Gemme told me about her friendship with Skype well before they started their relationship. She told me about the holidays that they took together, what activities they did together after she moved to Moscow, etc.


She also told me about how Skype helped her get over her prior divorce from her former partner, and also the financial assistance that he has provided to her after she moved into his apartment when they lived together in Moscow.


I recently saw Skype again during his most recent visit to Australia (February to March 2016). My family attended my sister and Skype’s wedding. They recently got married in February 2016 in NSW. We don’t have too many family members in Australia, so their wedding was just attended by a few family members and friends.


They booked St Andrew’s church in San Sousi for their wedding ceremony. My wife and two young children all attended Gemme and Skype’s wedding. My son and daughter both help during the ceremony with walking flowers up to the alter. Their wedding was still a fantastic occasion for our family as we got to celebrate my sister’s relationship with a man that she truly loves.


We then all went to the Novartis hotel in Brighton for their wedding celebrations and reception.


I can see that they do truly care for and love each other. They have made great efforts to stay in constant contact after my sister moved to Australia.


Question 5: State any other matters you wish to add in support of the visa application


I have no doubts that my sister and Skype will continue their committed relationship after Skype settles in Australia.


We are a very close and loving family, and now Skype has become a member of our family. Skype is a responsible, caring and smart young family man, and he has become an important and loved member of our family. My sister and Skype have helped us on many occasions with looking after our two young children – they usually take our children out every few weekends, which is a great help for our family as this gives my husband and I a chance to do a few things around the home without the children around, and also for us to have a break when needed.


They have told me about their plans to start their own family, in a few years time once Skype has a chance to settle down in Australia.


Once Skype does move to Australia, I’ll try and help him with finding work in Australia. Skype works in a motor repair business in Moscow, and I also work in this field in Australia.


Please feel free to contact myself if you require any further information.

Swearing Form 888

 

Form 888 is a legal statutory declaration document. Hence, all information provided must be truthful and accurate. Once completed, your Australian family or friend will need to take the completed Form 888 in person to an eligible prescribed person to arrange for signing and swearing of the declaration before this eligible prescribed person (please see Form 888 for list of eligible prescribed person which include Justice of the Peace, medical practitioner, legal practitioner, dentist, nurse, optometrist etc.).

 

When your Australian family or friend takes their Form 888 to an eligible prescribed person to arrange for signing and swearing, they should also take their original Australian passport, birth certificate or citizenship certificate (if Australian citizen) and a photocopy of this document. They should be able to ask the eligible prescribed person to certify the copy of the original document. You can take a scan of this certified copy and upload this with the Form 888 as per this form’s instructions.

 

If your witness is an Australian permanent resident, then you can ask him or her to provide their last permanent residency visa approval notice, which should be an electronic PDFdocument  sent to them from the Department. Or they can provide a VEVO check result. These electronic documents do not need to be certified. If your Australian permanent resident friend or family only has their Australian permanent residency visa label in their passport as their current evidence of their permanent residency status, then you should ask him or her to photocopy this original document and arrange for a certified copy that you can scan.

 

As a further step, you can then merge these documents into a single PDF file and then name the file appropriately (e.g. Form 888 Andrew Example)

 

Form 888 example

Non-Australian friends & family

You can copy and paste the same questions from this Form 888 into a statutory declaration, and get this supporting evidence from non-Australian citizens or permanent residents, or you can use our statutory declaration template.

Client reviews
Comments

24 Comments

Mark V Dean · November 9, 2019 at 1:14 pm

Hi, my fiancee and I are in stage 2 of her PR and need to attached a form 888 does anyone know where we do this as its not like it was for TR

    My Access Australia · November 17, 2019 at 10:30 am

    Hi Mark,
    You can upload this to your online partner visa like with the TR stage.

wing chan · October 27, 2019 at 1:21 pm

Hi my friend is australia citizen who lives in oversea. Can he be suitable personal for signing my form 888?
Thank

    My Access Australia · October 31, 2019 at 10:35 am

    Hi Wing,
    Yes an Australian citizen living overseas can complete a Form 888 for your partner visa.

      LInda B · December 12, 2019 at 10:48 am

      Hi, if my friends are Australian citizens living overseas, where and how can they take the completed Form 888 in person to an eligible prescribed person to arrange for signing and swearing of the declaration? Does it have to happen in Australia?

        My Access Australia · December 21, 2019 at 2:26 pm

        Hi Linda,
        This is explained page 1 of Form 888:
        If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident and you reside outside Australia, your statement cannot be considered a statutory declaration under Australian law, even if it is made using this form or the template provided by the Attorney-General’s Department. However, under policy, your statement should be witnessed or certified according to the legal practices of the country in which you make the statement. Failing that, it 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.
        PC

Noreen khan · August 21, 2019 at 9:43 pm

Hi i am Australian permanent resident got married in Pakistan i applied my husband visa309/100 in 18 feb 2019 but we didn’t upload form 888 form my side can we upload now as its been 6 months of applied of hus visa but application still under process we hvnt get back from immigration or should we wait if tgey ask for and we prodive them thnx

    My Access Australia · August 25, 2019 at 6:48 pm

    Hi Noreen,
    Yes you can upload further documents at any time during the Department’s processing time.

Aman dosanjh · August 6, 2019 at 4:16 am

Hi my self Aman ,m from India ,two years ago I got married with australia pr boy
I just want to know about the declaration form 888
How he fill it bcoz his friends who are living in australia ,they were not coming in our marriage,his family and my family living in Punjab .so,how we fill that 888 form ,pls help

Is this form filled by Indian citizen persons who attend our marriage,pls guide

    My Access Australia · August 7, 2019 at 11:23 pm

    Hi Aman,
    Page 1 of Form 888 states:
    Note: If the visa applicant is outside Australia and is unable to have an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident complete this form, any person who knows the applicant and their partner or fiancé(e) may also complete this form.

John · July 2, 2019 at 11:51 am

My wife and I are going to be applying for 309/100 visa. I am Australian and she is from Philippines my friends and relatives have never met her in person. Only ovcassionally spoke to her on Skype when she is on video call with me. Can they still fill out a stat dec 888 for her application?

    My Access Australia · July 3, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    You can provide Form 888s from your friends and family who have not met your partner in person. However, you don’t need to provide the Form 888s at the time of application and you can wait until she has met your family and friends, or built up more contact with her over time before submitting these forms.

      John · July 3, 2019 at 4:17 pm

      If we do not submit the stat dec 888 form at time of application. Will that not delay her approval for the 309 visa?

        My Access Australia · July 3, 2019 at 4:53 pm

        That depends on your application and the other evidence provided.
        Please see Contact Us page and in relation to our Consultation Service – feel free to contact us if you need advice in relation to your visa options.

Deepti Arora · May 16, 2019 at 9:34 am

Hi
for non australian residents, does the statutory declaration form need to be on a stamp paper or certified by the indian embassy?

    Peng Cheng · May 19, 2019 at 9:43 am

    Hi Deepti,
    No the declaration just needs to be properly sworn.
    PC

krisha · February 16, 2019 at 8:03 pm

hello..just wanna clarify if non-Australian resident/citizen they can use the statutory declaration form or the form 888 as long as both were certified.

    Peng Cheng · February 26, 2019 at 6:53 pm

    Hi Krisha,
    Unfortunately Form 888s are for permanent residents and Australian citizens.
    You can copy and paste the same questions into a statutory declaration and get your non-Australian witnesses to complete these.
    PC

      Anne · April 12, 2019 at 4:50 pm

      Hi,

      Would just like to clarify. The template you provided for non-Australian resident/citizen can be used and submitted right? Or they still need to answer the same set of questions as provided in Form 888? Thank you.

        Peng Cheng · April 15, 2019 at 1:49 pm

        Hi Anne,
        Yes, you can use the template and the link for non-Australian residents/citizens.
        PC

sam · February 4, 2019 at 1:12 am

HI, I have been reading that you still need the form witnessed but do not need a certified copy of the persons passport and that a colour scan is sufficient? I’m reading conflicting information as on the form it says passports must be certified but elsewhere on the gov site it says that if applying online then attached documents do NOT need to be certified?

    Peng Cheng · February 6, 2019 at 6:59 pm

    Hi Sam,
    We generally provide certified copies of the passport for a Form 888 as per the form’s instructions.
    PC

Michael Picos · September 25, 2018 at 10:00 am

I have asked my Brother to prepare an 888 for me. He only has a birth certificate extract. Can the extract be used as proof of Australian citizenship when submitting the form or does it need to be a full birth certificate?

    Peng Cheng · September 28, 2018 at 7:05 pm

    Hi Michael,
    Providing an extract of the birth certificate should be ok for these purposes.
    PC

Comments are closed.