Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

The 190 visa allows highly skilled workers who are nominated by an Australian State or Territory to live and work permanently in Australia. If you wish to apply for this visa, you must first obtain a positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation, and then lodge an Expression of Interest. If this is successful, and you are nominated by a State or Territory, you will be invited to lodge a visa application.

190 visa is points based and allows skilled workers who are nominated by an Australian state or territory government live and work in Australia as a permanent resident.

Eligibility

The process

Nomination by a State or Territory Government

Each State and Territory Government has its own list of occupations in demand in their area. There may be specific requirements in relation to your work experience, English language ability or specialised skills.

Submit an expression of interest (EOI) via SkillSelect with details of your nominated occupation, skills and qualifications. SkillSelect will estimate a points score; if you score high enough, Australian state and territory government agencies will be able to view your EOI and decide if they want to nominate you.

If you are nominated by a state or territory agency, you will be invited to apply for the visa. If you are invited, you have 60 calendar days to apply for the visa. We will then process your visa application.

To see the processing time for the 190 visa see here.

Points score

You must be able to meet the points score on your invitation letter. This score will be 65 points or more.

The score on your invitation letter is based on the information in your EOI.

You must be able to meet the points score eligibility at the time you are invited to apply for the visa.

Check how many points you might get.

Points test

Use the points table to calculate your test score

Can I Apply in Australia or Overseas?

You can be in or outside Australia when you submit your EOI. You can either be in Australia or overseas when you apply for a Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa. To be able to lodge from within Australia, you would need to hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa. Once you apply from within Australia, you will receive a bridging visa allowing you to remain in Australia during processing of your visa application. If your current visa is refused or cancelled you might not be eligible to apply for the 190 visa while you were in Australia.

Select a state below to see it’s requirements:

Australia Placeholder
Australia

State and territory requirements

Each state and territory has its own list of occupations, requirements and processes you must follow.

More information about the requirements and processes on how Australian states or territories nominate applicants is available.

Assessing authorities

Use the assessing authority listed against your nominated occupation in the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations.

What you can do with a 190 visa

This is a permanent visa. It lets you:

  • stay in Australia indefinitely
  • work and study in Australia
  • enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses
  • sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
  • travel to and from Australia for five years
  • apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.

Here at VisaEnvoy we are experienced in managing general skilled visa applications, and can help you with:

  • Obtaining your skills assessment
  • Obtaining a nomination from a State or Territory Government
  • Preparing your relative sponsorship application
  • Lodging and monitoring your visa application
  • Correspondence with skills assessing authorities and the Department of Immigration until grant
  • Managing your bridging visas

Please book an immigration consultation if you like a personalised eligibility assessment of your Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa application.

Family

You can include your partner and your or your partner’s child or step-child in your application.

Family members who are granted the visa have the same rights and can do the same things as you.

Your obligations

You and your family members must comply with Australian laws and your visa obligations. You can find your visa conditions in VEVO.

You also have obligations toward the state or territory that nominates you.

Travel

You can travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want for five years after the visa is granted.

Cost

From AUD 4,640

You might have to pay additional costs.

Stage 1: Initial Eligibility Assessment

The first step that we will take is to conduct an initial assessment of your eligibility for this visa. This involves reviewing your qualifications, work experience, English language and other circumstances, to establish whether or not you are likely to meet the relevant requirements.

As part of this initial eligibility assessment, we will consider which occupation(s) you are likely to be able to nominate, and whether or not you are potentially eligible for a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for that occupation.

We will then provide you with informed and comprehensive advice about your ability to meet the minimum standards (including State/Territory nomination) that DHA requires migrants to fulfil in order to qualify for an invitation to apply for this visa.

Stage 2: Skills Assessment

Should our initial assessment indicate that you are eligible for a positive skills assessment, nomination and EOI, we will prepare your skills assessment application.

For each skilled occupation listed on the STSOL and MLTSSL, DHA has specified an assessing authority that may carry out skills assessments for that occupation. Only a skills assessment conducted by the relevant assessing authority will be accepted by DHA in support of an EOI.

We will provide you with a full list of the information and documents required to support your application. When you have provided the necessary details and documents, along with the required assessment fee, we will lodge your application with the applicable skills assessing authority.

Stage 3: Expression of Interest

Once you have received a positive skills assessment from the skills assessing authority, we will prepare and lodge your EOI. At this time, you will need to specify which Australian state or territory you wish to nominate your visa application. Alternatively, you can choose to be available for nomination by any State or Territory.

Although you do not need to provide supporting documents at this stage, you MUST be able to provide evidence that the information supplied in the EOI is correct at the time that you are invited to apply for the visa.

Provided you are successful in obtaining a State or Territory nomination (see below) and you meet all other relevant requirements, you will then be invited to lodge a visa application.

Note: DHA retains an EOI for 2 years from the date that it is lodged. During this time, your EOI can be updated if any of your circumstances change (e.g. you obtain a new qualification or skills assessment). If your ranking changes during this 2-year period, based on either your changing circumstances or the changing skill needs of the State/Territory, you may be issued with an invitation to apply for the visa at that point in time.

Stage 4: State/Territory Nomination

Once your EOI has been lodged, the government agency of the State or Territory that you have chosen will review your EOI to determine whether or not you meet their particular criteria for nomination (this includes the requirement that your nominated occupation be included on the skilled occupation list for that State/Territory).

We will supply the State or Territory government agency concerned with the evidence required to show that you meet their criteria. The nature and extent of the supporting evidence required varies depending upon the State or Territory in question. In addition, you must be prepared to settle in that State or Territory for a minimum of two years.

If your supporting evidence is deemed acceptable, the State or Territory government agency will then nominate you for the subclass 190 visa.

Stage 5: Visa Application

Once you have successfully obtained a State or Territory nomination, and DHA has invited you to apply for this visa, we will prepare and lodge your visa application within the specified time frame, together with all of the documents that support the information that you provided in your EOI. This includes your skills assessment, English language test results, qualifications, work references and all other required documents.

Should your visa application be approved, you will be granted a permanent visa. You may be either in Australia or overseas when your visa is granted.

Book today for a commitment free briefing with our Registered Migration Agents in Melbourne to find more about your visa options.