Overview

Due to the rapid economic growth, Australia has witnessed a substantial shortage of skilled labours in multiple occupations. To respond to the workforce need, the federal and state/territory governments have been encouraging skilled foreign employees to come and work in Australia.  

Both 189 and 190 visas are points-tested visas for skilled foreign workers whose occupations are on the skilled occupation list. However, unlike visa 189, applicants must be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government to apply for a 190 visa. 

You may need to wait up to 12 months for the visa to be processed. The success of visa application would be well worth the wait because a 190 visa gives you the full benefits of a permanent residence which include but are not limited to the following: 

What can you do with a 190 Visa?

  • Stay in Australia indefinitely 
  • Study with domestic student fees 
  • Work and run businesses in Australia  
  • Receive social security benefits through Centrelink 
  • Receive community health care program (Medicare) 
  • Get first homeowner grant when buying your first home 
  • Sponsor family members to Australia if eligible 
  • Apply for Australian citizenship if eligible 
  • Travel from and to Australia in 5 years. After 5 years, you can renew your travel authority by applying for a Resident Return visa if you satisfy the residency requirement.  
  • Receive Adult Migration English Program (AMEP) if your partner and/or your dependents do not have sufficient English skills to live in Australia 
  • Your dependents under 18 years of age have a right to study in public schools free of charge 

What are the 190 visa requirements? 

Since 190 is a state sponsored visa, you must meet both general requirements proposed by the federal government and specific requirements for the state and the stream that you are applying for.  

General requirements  

Category   Specific requirement  
Occupation   Your occupation must be on the Skilled Occupations List  
English requirements   You must obtain a minimum of 6.0 IELTS for each component. 
Age  You must be under 45 years old at the time of the invitation being issued. 
Score   You must get 65 points or more to be considered for a visa invitation. The higher score you get, the more chance you are invited to apply for a 190 visa.  
Health requirement   You are required to have a health checkup in a medical center approved by the state/territory government. 
Character requirement   Police check must be completed for all applicants and even for family members who do not accompany you to Australia  

If you meet all requirements of age, English skills, score, health and character check, but your qualification/occupation does not totally match with what is listed in the skilled occupation list, do not give up, you still have a good chance. You can provide compelling evidence to demonstrate that your working experience well fits the nominating occupation and your past study courses comprised of units that were relevant to the occupation you are claiming for. 

In addition to general requirements, each state issues specific requirements based on its circumstances.

For example, under the current FY25/26 Queensland requirements, applicants must provide evidence that they have been living and working in Queensland (or regional Queensland) immediately before submitting their Registration of Interest, undertaking employment of at least 20 hours per week in their nominated occupation (or a closely related occupation matching the first 3 digits of the ANZSCO code) for the past 9 months for the Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190), or for the past 6 months in regional Queensland for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491). This work experience must be undertaken after completion of the relevant qualification. Applicants must also commit to continuing to live and work in Queensland for at least 2 years after a subclass 190 grant, or in regional Queensland for at least 3 years after a subclass 491 grant. Queensland’s FY26/27 program settings, including any updated eligibility requirements, have not yet been announced and will be published once confirmed.

These kinds of requirements keep changing from year to year.

Contact SOL Migration to get the most updated information on the visa 190 for each state. Our expert team has supported over 5,000 successful applications over the last 5 years, so we have extensive experience to help you achieve the visa outcome you expect. 

State Requirements

QLD – https://migration.qld.gov.au/visa-options/skilled-visas

NSW – https://www.nsw.gov.au/visas-and-migration/skilled-visas

VIC –  https://liveinmelbourne.vic.gov.au/migrate/skilled-migration-visas

NT –  https://theterritory.com.au/migrate/migrate-to-work/northern-territory-government-visa-nomination

SA – https://www.migration.sa.gov.au/visa-options/skilled-visas/skilled-nominated-visa

WA – https://migration.wa.gov.au/our-services-support/state-nominated-migration-program

 

How to apply for a Skill Nominated Visa 190? 

As 190 is a nominated visa for skilled workers, the foremost requirement is your occupation must be on the list of eligible skilled occupations and you have passed the Skills Assessment for your nominated occupation. This list can be adjusted each year and can differ between states/Territories. You will need to check the most updated list before applying for this visa.  

Importantly, you must be able to obtain at least 65 points on the points test to be eligible for a 190 visa. The points will be calculated based on multiple criteria, for example your age, your English language skills, your working experience inside and outside Australia, your qualifications, your study in Australia, the accreditation on community language and your partner skills. 

Click here to calculate your points.

Also, you will need to have minimum Competent Level of English capacity which is IELTS 6 in each band or PTE 50 in each band or equivalent.  

Your EOI must be submitted via the SkillSelect website: https://skillselect.gov.au/SKILLSELECT/ExpressionOfInterest/PreReg/Start 

The SkillSelect team will score your points depending on the claims you made in your EOI. Once submitted, your EOI will also be visible to the state/territory government that you are applying for. If your score is 65 points or above and if your skills are in high demand, you might be nominated to lodge a 190 visa. 

For a 190 visa, you could expect to wait for up to 2 years after submitting an EOI to know whether you could get an invitation or not. If you are invited to apply, you will receive an email from SkillSelect. As it could take more than a year to process the EOI and prepare for the visa application, please note that you need to be under 45 years old at the date of getting the visa invitation. 

Once invited, you are required to lodge the application within 60 days. In the visa application, you must provide all supporting documents to prove that you can meet the points score stated on your invitation, and you can satisfy all other visa requirements. To apply, you must create an account on ImmiAccount and lodge your application online. 

How much does it cost to apply for a 190 visa? 

All fees below are displayed with GST included and in Australian dollar 

Category   Amount  
Main application   $6,140
Secondary application who is 18 years old or older   $3,070
Secondary application who is under 18 years old   $1,535
Second instalment charge for family members who are 18 years old or older and have less than functional English    4,885 
Health check   483.30 per applicant (excluding TB test)
Police check   It depends on which country you are applying for. Getting a police check in Australia costs 54.90 

How to bring family members to Australia under a visa 190? 

You can include members of your family in the application by either including them when you lodge your visa application or adding them after your application is lodged but before your visa outcome has been decided. For visa purposes, your family members are defined as (1) your spouse or your de facto partner, (2) your children or/and your partner’s children and (3) the dependent children of your children/your partner’s children. 

Both family members who apply for the 190 visas and family members who do not accompany you to Australia must meet the health and character requirements. If your partner and/or dependent children are not included in the visa application, you are expected to provide the reasons why they do not apply for this visa with you. 

FAQs

Compared to 189 visas, the processing time of a 190 visa may be faster. 50 percent of applications are processed in 3 months. 75 percent of applications are assessed in 6 months, and case officers may need only 11 months to complete processing 90 percent of applications.  

The actual processing time can vary depending on each application circumstances. If an additional document is requested, there would be an additional time required for the assessment, so it is important to prepare the application as complete as possible. 

To answer whether you need a job offer to apply for a 190 visa, you need to identify which state and which visa stream you are looking for as each state will have different requirements. 

Queensland: General speaking, you must have worked full-time, minimum of 30 hours per week for at least 6 months immediately before you submit your EOI. You are also required to provide evidence of a job offer in the nominated or closely related occupation. 

South Australia:  

  • For “Working in South Australia” stream, you must have worked at least 20 hours per week or 40 hours fortnightly in South Australia at the time of your EOI being lodged.  
  • If you are an international graduate who studied at least 2 years in South Australia, your visa processing can be faster, but you still need to work at least 60 hours per fortnight to be nominated.  
  • For “Highly skilled and talented” stream, you are required to work full time (at least 60 hours per fortnight) and your minimum earning is $80,000 annually.  

Western Australia:  

  • For General stream, you must provide a full-time employment contract in Western Australia for minimum 6 months in the nominated or closely related occupation.  
  • For graduate stream, you are not required to be employed at the time of visa application.  

Tasmania:  

  • Tasmanian Skilled Employment Pathway: you must submit a minimum 12-month contract with at least 3 months remaining at the time you apply for a nomination.  
  • Tasmanian Skilled Graduate Pathway: you are not required to have a job offer for this stream but being employed is preferable. 

Victoria:  

Casual employment is accepted to demonstrate your work experience. However, unlike other states, there is no minimum experience and work hours requirements for a 190 visa in Victoria. 

New South Wales:  

 You are required to have a long-term position in your nominated or closely related occupation in New South Wales, to which you must be working a minimum of 20 hours weekly.  

Yes, you can. Some Australian states (such as Tasmania and Western Australia) do not require work experience for Graduate stream, but you need to study and stay in the nomination state for at least two years. For other streams, you are normally required to have work experience. The documents that you should submit to prove your experience include (1) employment contract, (2) pay slips, (3) an extract from your superannuation account to show the contribution of your employer and (4) a description of your position.  

Most Australian state or territory list work experience as one of requirements for a 190 visa. You can combine your work experience from multiples employers to meet the hours required for your nominated occupation. For example, if you are required to work as a full-time employee for at least 35 hours per week, you can do two part-time jobs as long as your total work hours can reach the required time. 

The 190 visa is a permanent visa, so you have a right to remain in Australia as long as you want and move freely between Australian states. However, in the visa application, you may commit to stay and work in your nominating state or territory for at least two years.  

Moving to another state without permissions may affect your citizenship application and may affect your applications to sponsor your family members in the future. Therefore, if you cannot wait for the 2 years commitment, it is best to discuss your situation with the State Governing Agency. You should provide convincing evidence to persuade him/her that your move is absolutely essential. For example, you are having difficulties in finding a job in the nominating state, but you are offered a full-time position in another state. Or if your partner and/or children are living, studying, and working in another state, the nominating government may agree to free you from your commitment.  

After two years of having a 190 visa, you are released from moving restrictions. You can freely stay and work in any state you want.  

Yes, you can apply for a visa 190 either onshore or offshore. If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A visa, Bridging B visa or Bridging C visa at the time you lodge your application and wait for the 190-visa outcome.  

You can apply for visa 189 without sponsorship or nomination while you must be nominated and get an invitation from an Australian state or territory to apply for visa 190. With visa 189, you can stay and work in any state you want, but with visa 190 you must stay in the nominating state for at least two years. Apart from these differences, the benefits that you receive from 189 and 190 visas are almost the same.  

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