What is an Affidavit of Support?

An Affidavit of Support is a legal document that a person signs to declare financial responsibility for someone else. By signing the affidavit, the sponsor states that he or she will ensure the person being sponsored is financially supported. There are many purposes and types of Affidavits of Support, including Affidavit of Support for Visa, Affidavit of Support for Education and Affidavit of Support for Travel.

Affidavit of Support for Visa

You may be required to sponsor someone from another country to apply for a visa to visit Australia or another country. The Affidavit of Support is intended to confirm and attest that you're able to financially support that person during their visit. The Affidavit of Support for Visa will usually be required by the authority in the overseas country that the person is visiting that is responsible for issuing visas for that country. We recommend confirming the specific requirements for the Affidavit of Support with the overseas authority.

Affidavit of Support for Education

You may be required to sponsor someone to complete their education in another country. The Affidavit of Support is intended to confirm and attest that you're able to financially support that student during their studies.

The requirements for the Affidavit of Support for Education varies depending on the educational institution. Typically you will need to provide supporting documentation such as bank statements, payslips and/or employment references. We recommend confirming the specific requirements with the institution.

Affidavit of Support for Travel

You may be required to provide an Affidavit of Support for a Child to confirm that you will be responsible for the child's expenses during their travels. Similar to the Affidavit of Support for Education, you will typically need to provide supporting documentation with the Affidavit such as bank statements, payslips and/or employment references,

What should be included in an Affidavit of Support?

Information which usually must be included in an Affidavit of Support are:

• The sponsors full name, date of birth, residential address, email address, contact number and passport number.
• The full name and personal details of the person being sponsored.
• The sponsors relationship to the person being sponsored.
• The purpose of the sponsorship.
• The period of the sponsorship.
• The sponsor confirming and attesting that they will financially support the person being sponsored.

Does an Affidavit of Support need to be Notarised?

An Affidavit of Support will typically be required to be Notarised if it is to be used or sent overseas. The sponsor will need to sign the Affidavit of Support in the presence of a Notary Public. The Notary Public will verify the sponsors identity (using 100 Points of Identification) and witness their signature.

Our Notary Public can Notarise an Affidavit of Support. The Notary Public will witness you signing the document after you have provided satisfactory proof of identification and apply their Notary seal to the Affidavit of Support. The next step will be to obtain an Apostille Stamp or Authentication Stamp from DFAT. If the destination country is not a member of the Hague Convention, then legalisation from the foreign embassy or consulate in Australia may also be required.

Notary Perth can assist you with Notarisation and DFAT Apostille or DFAT Authentication of the Affidavit of Support. Simply email a copy of the Affidavit of Support to support@notaryperth.com.au

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