Visiting Australia: Invitation Letters and Supporting Documents

An invitation letter is written by the relative or friend in Australia and uploaded with the visitor visa application. Home Affairs suggests it state your relationship, the purpose and length of the visit, and whether the visitor will stay with you. It usually needs no notary or JP: Home Affairs says documents need not be certified unless it asks.

Key takeaways

• An invitation letter is optional supporting evidence, not a form; it helps show the visit is genuine.
• Home Affairs suggests it cover the relationship, the purpose and length of the visit, and where the visitor will stay.
• If you will pay for the visit, include proof of your funds.
• For the visitor visa, Home Affairs says documents need not be certified unless it asks; colour scans are uploaded.
• A child visiting without a parent may need Form 1229 or a statutory declaration of consent, and sometimes Form 1257.
• Visa names and rules change; check the current Home Affairs page before you write.

Is an invitation letter required for a visitor visa?

No, but it helps. Home Affairs asks visitor visa applicants to show they are genuine visitors who intend to stay temporarily, and to provide as much proof as they can. On its page for the Visitor visa Tourist stream, applied for outside Australia, it lists a letter from a relative or friend in Australia inviting the applicant among the documents that can support that. The decision still rests on the whole application: the visitor's funds, their ties to home and their plans.

The Visitor visa has several streams, including one for visitors sponsored by a family member, where the sponsor takes on formal obligations and a security bond may be requested. An invitation letter is different: it carries no formal sponsorship. Stream names and conditions change, so check the current Home Affairs page for the stream the visitor is applying for.

What should the invitation letter say?

Home Affairs suggests the letter could state the relationship between you and the visitor, the purpose of the visit and how long it will last, and whether the visitor will stay with you. If you will be paying for the stay, it asks for proof of your funds. Beyond that, a good letter is short, factual and consistent with the application.

Write it on one page, dated and signed, with your full name, address, phone number and your status in Australia, such as citizen or permanent resident. Name the visitor exactly as in their passport. Give real dates or a clear range, and say what you will do together, whether that is a family occasion, a holiday or meeting a new grandchild. Do not promise things the visitor cannot do on a visitor visa, such as work.

Does the letter need to be notarised or witnessed?

For the Australian visitor visa, usually not. Home Affairs says on the same page that the visitor does not need to have any documents certified unless it asks, and that documents are scanned or photographed in colour and uploaded. A notarised invitation letter carries no extra weight with Home Affairs, and a JP's stamp adds nothing either. What matters is that the letter is truthful, specific and supported by evidence.

This is one of the places where people are often told they "need a notary" when they do not. If Home Affairs later asks for a certified copy of something, a copy certified by an authorised person, such as a Justice of the Peace, is usually enough. Our guide to tourist visa documents covers the wider picture.

Document	Who provides it	Certified or witnessed?
Invitation letter	Host in Australia	No; signed and dated is enough
Proof of host's status	Host in Australia	Colour scan, unless asked
Proof of host's funds, if paying	Host in Australia	Colour scan, unless asked
Visitor's bank statements and ties to home	Visitor	Colour scan, unless asked
Form 1229 or statutory declaration of consent	Non-travelling parent of a child	Follow the form's own instructions
Form 1257 undertaking	Adult a child stays with	Follow the form's own instructions
Translations	Translator	With the translator's details

What supporting documents help?

From the host, the useful additions are proof of your own status in Australia, such as a passport or citizenship certificate, and proof of funds if you are paying for the visit, such as recent bank statements. If the visitor is staying with you, a document showing your address can help link the letter to a real household.

From the visitor, Home Affairs lists proof of enough money for the stay and to leave Australia, such as itemised personal bank statements for a three-month period, pay slips or tax records. It also lists proof of reasons to return home, such as a letter from an employer, proof of study, immediate family at home, or property or other major assets. These documents usually matter more than the invitation itself. Our guide to bank statements and notaries explains why they rarely need certifying for a visa.

What if the visitor is a child?

This is where more formal documents come in. For a visitor under 18, Home Affairs asks for a birth certificate showing both parents' names, or an alternative such as a family book or government identity document. Anyone with a legal right to decide where the child lives who is not travelling with the child must complete either Form 1229, the consent form for granting an Australian visa to a child, or a statutory declaration giving consent to the visit, with a document showing their signature and photo, such as a passport.

If the child will not be staying with a relative or legal guardian, Home Affairs also asks for Form 1257, an undertaking declaration signed by the person the child will stay with. If someone other than the biological parents has legal guardianship, proof of that guardianship is needed. Read each form's own instructions for how it must be signed. If the non-travelling parent lives in Australia and chooses a statutory declaration, it is witnessed by an authorised witness, as the Attorney-General's Department explains on its statutory declarations page. Our guide to child travel consent covers the related consent for travel itself.

How do you prepare an invitation and supporting documents?

1. Check the stream. Confirm on the Home Affairs page which visitor visa stream the visitor will apply for.
2. Write the letter. Relationship, purpose, dates, where they will stay, and who pays.
3. Sign and date it. Add your full name, address, phone number and status in Australia.
4. Add your evidence. Proof of your status and, if you are paying, proof of your funds.
5. Help the visitor gather theirs. Bank statements, employment or study letters, and ties to home.
6. Arrange child consents if needed. Form 1229 or a statutory declaration, and Form 1257 where it applies.
7. Translate and scan. Translate anything not in English, then scan everything in colour.

What about translations?

Home Affairs asks for all non-English documents to be translated into English, with the originals and translations both provided. Translators in Australia must be accredited by NAATI. Translators outside Australia need not be, but each translation must show, in English, the translator's full name, address and telephone number, and their qualifications and experience in the language. If the host writes the letter in English, it needs no translation; the visitor's bank statements and employment letters often do. Our guide to certified translation explains what a proper translation includes.

What if the visitor's own country asks for more?

Occasionally the visitor's home authorities, rather than Home Affairs, want something formal before the trip, such as a parent's notarised consent for a child to travel abroad, or documents for an exit permit. That is a separate process, and the receiving authority there sets the rules. If a document signed in Australia has to go to that authority, it is usually signed before a notary and then apostilled or authenticated by DFAT. Ask the home authority what it needs before anyone signs.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is paying to have the invitation letter notarised. Home Affairs does not ask for that, and it adds nothing. The second is a letter that contradicts the application, such as different dates or a different address. The third is overstating what you will provide. If you say you will pay for everything, back it with proof of your funds.

The fourth is forgetting the child documents. A child visiting without both parents usually needs the non-travelling parent's consent on Form 1229 or a statutory declaration, and sometimes Form 1257. Finally, do not suggest the visitor will work, study long term or stay indefinitely. A visitor visa is for a temporary visit, and the letter should describe one.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

Grace lives in Perth and invites her mother for the birth of Grace's first child. Her one-page letter gives her status as an Australian citizen, their relationship, the dates of the visit, and says her mother will stay in Grace's home. Grace attaches a copy of her passport. Her mother adds her own bank statements, a letter showing her pension, and proof that she owns her home. The non-English documents are translated. Nothing is notarised, and nothing needs to be.

In short

An invitation letter for an Australian visitor visa is optional supporting evidence written by the host here. It should state your relationship, the purpose and length of the visit, where the visitor will stay, and who pays, with proof of funds if you do. Home Affairs says documents need not be certified unless it asks, so a notary is usually unnecessary. Child visitors need consent forms. Our document translation services page covers translating supporting documents.

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