190 Visa

With this visa, you can:

• Stay in Australia permanently

• Work and study in Australia

• Attend free English language classes through the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), if eligible

• Enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare

• Sponsor your relatives to come to Australia

• Travel to and from Australia for five years

• Become an Australian citizen, if eligible

Please note that newly arrived residents may need to wait before accessing certain Australian Government payments and benefits.

How long you can stay

This is a permanent visa that permits you to stay in Australia indefinitely. It includes a travel component that expires five years from the date the visa is granted.

You will be recognized as a permanent resident on the day your visa is granted.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency begins on:

• The day your visa is granted if you are in Australia
• The day you enter Australia on this visa if you are outside the country

Include your family

You can include family members in your application. You have the option to:

• Include them when you submit your visa application.
• Add them after submitting your application but before we make a decision.

Family members applying for the visa must meet our health and character requirements. Those not accompanying you to Australia may also need to fulfill these requirements.

If your partner or dependent children are not included in this application, please provide a reason to assist us in processing your visa.

190 Visa Eligibility

Have this visa

If you are in Australia when you apply, you must hold one of the following:

– A substantive visa
– Bridging Visa A (BVA) – subclass 010
– Bridging Visa B (BVB) – subclass 020
– Bridging Visa C (BVC) – subclass 030

If you currently hold, or your last substantive visa was either:

– Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491)
– Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494)

You must have held that visa for at least three years at the time of your application.

Be invited to apply

You can only apply for this visa if you receive an invitation from us. Please review the details before applying.

To express your interest, submit an expression of interest (EOI) indicating your desire to apply for the visa.

Once you have submitted an EOI, you may be nominated for the visa by a state or territory government. We will only invite you to apply if you are nominated.

Be nominated

You must be nominated for this visa by an Australian state or territory government agency.

To start the process, submit a completed expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect. State and territory agencies can view your EOI and may nominate you for the visa.

If you receive a nomination, we will invite you to apply.

Each state and territory agency has its own criteria for nominations. To learn more about their processes and requirements, contact the relevant agency directly:

– Australian Capital Territory
– New South Wales
– Northern Territory
– Queensland
– South Australia
– Tasmania
– Victoria
– Western Australia

Please note that if the agency that nominates you withdraws your nomination after you have applied, your application will become invalid.

Skills Assessment

For your application to be valid, you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of your invitation.

Delegates of the Minister will accept a suitable skills assessment for your nominated skilled occupation if it was obtained within the 60 days prior to your invitation.

This change follows the decision in **Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686 (Thapa)**. The Minister will administer the Migration Regulations 1994 in accordance with this decision but reserves the right to argue in court that Thapa was incorrectly decided.

You will need to provide a copy of your skills assessment with your application.

For medical and legal practitioners, the following are also accepted as proof of skills assessment:

• Full, unconditional, or general medical registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
• Conditional specialist registration with AHPRA, allowing you to practice solely in your specialty without further training or supervision.
• Admission to practice law in the relevant state or territory.

Your skills assessment must have been obtained within the three years preceding your invitation. If the assessment was for a shorter duration, that period must still be valid.

If your skills were assessed based on a qualification obtained in Australia while you held a student visa, that qualification must be from a course registered on CRICOS.

Be this age

You must be under 45 years old when we invite you to apply for the visa.

If you turn 45 after receiving our invitation, you can still proceed with your application.

However, if you turn 45 after submitting your expression of interest (EOI) but before we invite you to apply, you will not receive an invitation.

Be able to score 65 points or more

The subclass 190 visa is a points-tested visa.

When you submit your expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect, you will receive an indicative points score based on your claims. If you do not achieve a score of at least 65 points, you will not be invited to apply for this visa.

If you are invited to apply, the invitation will specify the minimum points you must score during the assessment of your application (this score may exceed 65 points, depending on your EOI claims).

When you submit your application, you must provide evidence to support your claims.

To see how points can be awarded, please refer to the points calculator.

Level of English language

At the time of your invitation, you must demonstrate at least competent English proficiency.

Skills Requirement

Your occupation must be listed on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190).

Health Requirement

You and any family members applying for the visa with you must meet our health requirements.

If requested, family members who are not accompanying you to Australia may also need to fulfill these health requirements.

Character Requirement

You and any family members aged 16 years and older applying for the visa with you must meet our character requirements.

Additionally, family members who are not accompanying you to Australia must also fulfill these character requirements.

190 Visa Estimated Cost

Include your family in your Subclass 190 Visa

190 visa applicants may be able to include the below family members to their application

• Dependent children/step-children
• Partner

Partner

Your married or de facto partner can be the same or opposite sex. Applicants must prove:
• the relationship is genuine and continuing
• your partner is at least 18 years of age when the application is lodged (there are some exceptions)
• you are not related by family (if you are in a de facto relationship)
• you and your partner have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others, and
• you live together, or do not live separately on a permanent basis.

Children

To be eligible to be included or added to a 190 visa, a child must:
• be your child or a stepchild from a current or a previous relationship (in certain circumstances);
• not be married, engaged to be married, or have a de facto partner; and must be:
• under 18 years of age
or
• over 18 years of age but not yet turned 23, and be dependent on you or your partner
or
• over 23 years of age and be unable to earn a living to support themselves due to physical or cognitive limitations and be dependent on you or your partner (Note: The child will still need to meet Australia’s health requirement)
or
• a dependent child of a child who is eligible under 1, 2 or 3 above.

English

Applicants over 18 must demonstrate Functional English or pay an additional fee.

You can demonstrate Functional English without IELTS if you:

• completed all years of primary education and at least three years of secondary education in an educational institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English.

or

• completed at least five years of secondary education in an institution in or outside Australia and all instructions were in English.

Age

Children 23 years and over cannot be included in your application. (Unless there are exceptional circumstances)

Health and Character

All family members must meet health and character requirements. All applicants over 16 must provide police clearances.