Skilled and sponsored visas

Skilled and employer-sponsored visas

Advice for skilled workers applying through the points test, and for workers and employers using employer sponsorship.

General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.

Who these visas are for

Skilled workers and sponsoring employers

The Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) is a permanent visa for people invited to apply on the strength of their points score. There is no sponsor and no nominating state, which leaves you free of state and employer commitments but means everything rests on your points score and on being invited.

The Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) is also permanent, but it requires nomination by a state or territory government. Each publishes its own occupation list and criteria, and its nomination places are limited. Nomination is a separate decision from the visa and can be refused even where you meet the visa criteria.

The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is provisional. It is for people nominated by a state or territory, or sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated regional area. It carries condition 8579, which requires you to live, work and study only in a designated regional area. Holders who comply and meet the holding period and income requirements may become eligible for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191).

The Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) is temporary. It lets an approved employer sponsor a worker for a position it cannot fill locally, and needs both an approved sponsor and an approved nomination. For many workers it is the first step towards permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186). If you apply from inside Australia, a bridging visa may keep you lawful while a decision is made; our guide to bridging visas explains how those work.

How we help

From eligibility to lodgement

Working out which pathway is open

We check your occupation against the current lists, identify the assessing authority that covers it and look at whether a points-tested, state-nominated or sponsored route is realistic for you. Sometimes the honest answer is that none is open yet, and it is better to know that early.

Skills assessment and English

We help you identify the right assessing authority and understand what it asks for, and we help you plan your English testing and assemble the supporting documents. Both need to be in order before an expression of interest is worth lodging.

Expressions of interest and nomination

We prepare your SkillSelect expression of interest so every claim in it can be evidenced later, and help you approach nomination on the published criteria. Points claimed in an expression of interest have to be proven with evidence at the application stage, and points you cannot evidence can cost you the visa.

Employer sponsorship

For Skills in Demand matters we advise employers on sponsorship, nomination and labour market testing where it applies. For workers we advise on visa conditions, changing employer and the permanent residence pathway.

Questions

Skilled visa questions

How many points do I need?

The Department publishes a minimum score for the subclass 189, 190 and 491 visas, currently 65, and it can change. Meeting it only makes your expression of interest valid. Invitations are issued in rounds and usually go well above the minimum, so no score can be promised as enough and nobody can guarantee you an invitation.

How long does an expression of interest last?

It stays in SkillSelect for two years from the date you lodge it. It is not a visa application and gives you no status in Australia. If you are invited, the invitation states how long you have to apply, and that period is short.

What happened to the Temporary Skill Shortage visa?

The Skills in Demand visa replaced it on 7 December 2024. The subclass number, 482, stayed the same, which is why older material still describes a visa that no longer exists in that form. Applications lodged before that date are assessed under the requirements in force when they were lodged.

Does my occupation have to be on a list?

Usually, but which list applies depends on the visa and, for the Skills in Demand visa, on the stream. The points-tested visas use their own skilled occupation lists, and states and territories publish shorter lists again for nomination. The Core Skills stream uses the Core Skills Occupation List; the Labour Agreement stream uses the occupations in the employer’s labour agreement; the Specialist Skills stream is not tied to a list, but it excludes trades workers, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers, and sets an income requirement instead. The lists are made by legislative instrument, so an occupation can be added or removed. Check the list that applies to the visa you are considering.

How long will my application take?

The Department publishes current processing times for each subclass and updates them regularly. We will not put a number on this page, because a published figure describes applications already decided rather than a commitment about yours.

Can I do anything if my application is refused?

Many skilled and sponsored decisions can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal, which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024. The time limit to apply is strict, is stated in the decision record you are given, and cannot be extended in migration matters. Read your decision letter first, then act quickly. Our page on visa refusals and cancellations sets out what is involved.

Do I need a registered migration agent?

You can be assisted by a registered migration agent or by an Australian legal practitioner. Since 22 March 2021, an Australian legal practitioner holding an unrestricted practising certificate may give immigration assistance without being registered as a migration agent, so that lawyer will not appear on the register of migration agents. You can check a lawyer’s practising certificate with the law society of the state or territory that issued it.

What to bring to a first consultation

Bring what you have; we can work out what is missing.

Your passport and details of every Australian visa you have held or applied for
The occupation you want to nominate and any skills assessment you hold
Your qualifications and transcripts, including any study completed in Australia
Work history: contracts, payslips, references and position descriptions
Your English test results and the date you sat the test
Any expression of interest in SkillSelect and any invitation you have received
If an employer is sponsoring you, the business details and the position description