What can you do with on the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)?
The Skilled Nominated visa allows you to:
- stay in Australia permanently;
- work and study in Australia;
- enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare;
- sponsor your relatives to come to Australia;
- travel to and from Australia for 5 years; and
- if eligible, become an Australian citizen.
How long you can stay on the Skilled Nominated visa?
The Skilled Nominated visa is a permanent visa. It allows you stay in Australia indefinitely. The visa has a travel component that expires 5 years after the date of visa grant.
You become a permanent resident (PR) on the day the Department of Home Affairs grant the visa.
For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts on the day that the Department of Home Affairs grants the visa, if you are in Australia or you enter Australia on this visa, and are outside of Australia.
What family can be included on this visa?
You can include members of the family unit in your application. You can include them when you lodge your visa application or add them after you lodge your application but before the Department of Home Affairs decide on your visa.
Family members who apply for the Skilled Nominated visa must meet the Department of Home Affairs character and health requirements.
Where can you apply from?
When you apply for the visa, you can be inside or outside of Australia. You can’t be in immigration clearance when applying for this visa.
If you apply in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa, otherwise your application will not be valid.
Visa label
There are no longer physical visa labels. The Department of Home Affairs will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.
Invited to apply for the visa
You can only apply for the Skilled Nominated visa if the Department of Home Affairs invite you to. In order to apply, you must submit an expression of interest (EOI) to let the Department of Home Affairs know you would like to apply for the visa.
After you have submitted an EOI, you might be nominated for the visa by a state or territory government. The Department of Home Affairs will only invite you to apply for this visa if you are nominated.
Be nominated
You must have been nominated for this visa by an Australian state or territory government. To do this, you will have to submit a completed expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect. State and territory government agencies can see your completed EOI and might nominate you for the visa.
If you are nominated for the visa, the Department of Home Affairs will invite you to apply.
All state and territory government agencies have their own criteria for deciding who they will nominate. Contact the state or territory agency directly to find out more about their nomination process and what details that they may need from you.
If the state or territory agency that nominates you withdraws your nomination after you have applied, your application becomes invalid.
Relevant skills assessment
For your application to be valid, you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation.
You will need to provide a copy of this skills assessment with your application.
For medical and legal practitioners, the Department of Home Affairs also accept the following as proof of a skills assessment:
- full or unconditional or general medical registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
- conditional specialist registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). This only allows you to practise in your speciality. You need no further training or supervision
- admission to practice law in the relevant state or territory
Your skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation. If the assessment was for a shorter period, that period must not have passed.
If your skills were assessed on the basis of a qualification you got in Australia when you held a student visa, the qualification must be from studying a course registered on CRICOS.
Age requirement
You must be aged under 45 when the Department of Home Affairs invites you to apply for the visa.
You can still apply for the visa if you turn 45 after they invite you to apply.
If you turn 45 after you submit your EOI but before they invite you to apply, you will not be invited to apply.
Score 65 points or more
The Skilled Nomination visa (subclass 190) is a points-tested visa.
When you submit your EOI in SkillSelect you will be given an indicative points score based on the claims you have made. If you do not obtain a score of 65 points, you will not be invited to apply for this visa.
If you are invited to apply for the visa, your invitation will state the number of points that you must score when we assess your application for grant of the visa (this score may be higher than 65 points, depending on your claims in the EOI).
When you lodge your application, you must provide evidence supporting your claims.
To check how points can be awarded for the visa nomination, refer to the points calculator.
English language requirement
At the time of invitation, you must have at least competent English based on the English levels set by the Department of Home Affairs.
Skills requirement
Your occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190).
Health requirements
You and any family who apply for the visa with you must meet the Department of Home Affairs health requirement.
If requested, family members not accompanying you to Australia might also need to meet the set health requirement.
Character requirement
You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you must meet our character requirement.
Family members not accompanying you to Australia must also meet the character requirement.
Debt to the Australian government
If you or any family members (including those who do not apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
Have you had a previous application refused or visa cancelled?
If you have had a visa cancelled or application refused whilst you were in Australia, you may not be eligible for this visa.
What you must do on this visa
You and your family members must obey Australian laws.
Working with this visa
You are protected by Australian workplace law whilst working on the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190).
Bringing family to Australia
As an Australian permanent resident, you might be able to sponsor eligible family to come to Australia.
To find a visa for your family member/s, talk to our team of registered migration agents and immigration lawyers to discuss the best option for them.
Becoming an Australian citizen
After a certain time, you might be eligible for Australian citizenship.
For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day:
- we grant the visa, if you were in Australia
- you entered Australia on this visa, if you were outside Australia when we granted it
Our team of registered migration agents and immigration lawyers have assisted visa applicants with becoming Australian citizens. Talk to our today about starting your Australian citizenship application.
Want to know more about the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)?
If you have reviewed the information above on the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and would like to apply, contact our team of registered migration agents. Our team can assist you through the visa application process today.