This visa lets invited workers with skills the Home Affairs need live and work permanently anywhere in Australia.

You must

– Have an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list

– Have a suitable skills assessment for the occupation

– Be invited to apply for this visa

– Satisfy the points test

With this visa

You can

– 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

– If eligible, become an Australian citizen

Newly arrived residents may have to wait before they can access certain Australian Government payments and benefits. 

How long you can stay

This is a permanent visa. It lets 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 on the day the Home Affairs grant the visa.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day:

– The Home Affairs grant the visa if you are in Australia

– You enter Australia on this visa if you are outside Australia

Include family

You can include members of the family unit in your application. You can:

– Include them when you lodge your visa application

– Add them after you lodge your application but before the Home Affairs decide on your visa. 

Family members who apply for the visa must meet the health and character requirements.

If your partner or dependent children are not included in this application, tell the Home Affairs the reason why (for example, they already hold Australian citizenship or are a permanent resident).

Cost

The visa costs AUD4,045 for the main applicant.

There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you.

To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator.

You might have to pay an extra charge for any applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English. This charge is the second instalment. Pay it only when the Home Affairs ask you to. The Home Affairs ask for the charge only if thety are going to grant the visa.

The second instalment charge for family members is AUD4,885.

The Visa Pricing Estimator does not include the second instalment or other costs. You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

Apply from

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when the Home Affairs decide on your application, but not in immigration clearance.

If you apply in Australia, you must hold a substantive or a subclass 010 Bridging A visa, a subclass 020 Bridging B visa or a subclass 030 Bridging C visa, otherwise your application will not be processed.

Processing times

The Home Affairs assess applications on a case-by-case basis, and actual processing times can vary due to individual circumstances including:

whether you have lodged a complete application, including all necessary supporting documents

– How quickly you respond to any requests for additional information

– How long it takes to perform required checks on the supporting information provided

– How long it takes to receive additional information from external agencies, particularly in relation to health, character, and national security requirements

– For permanent migration visa applications, how many places are available in the migration program

Travel

You can travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date the Home Affairs grant the visa. After 5 years you will need a Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.

Visa label

The Home Affairs will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.

Be invited to apply

You can only apply for this visa if the Home Affairs invite you to. See before you apply.

Submit an expression of interest (EOI) to let the Home Affairs know you would like to apply for the visa.

After you have submitted an EOI, you will be ranked against other intending applicants and might be invited to apply for the visa.

Invitations are issued regularly through SkillSelect.

Have a suitable 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 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

– Conditional specialist registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. 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. 

Be this age

You must be aged under 45 when the Home Affairs invite you to apply for the visa.

You can still apply for the visa if you turn 45 after the Home Affairs invite you to apply.If you turn 45 after you submit your EOI but before the Home Affairs invite you to apply, you will not be invited to apply.

Be able to score 65 points or more

This 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 the Home Affairs do invite you to apply for the visa, your invitation will state the number of points that you must score when the Home Affairs 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 calculate how many points you may score use the points calculator.

Have this level of English language

At the time of invitation, you must have at least competent English.

Meet the skills requirement

Your occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) Point-Tested stream.

Meet health requirement

You and any family who apply for the visa with you must meet the health requirement.

If requested, family members not accompanying you to Australia might also need to meet the health requirement.

Meet character requirement

You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you must meet the character requirement.

Family members not accompanying you to Australia must also meet the character requirement.

Have paid back your 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.

Sign the Australian values statement

If you are 18 years of age or older, you must:

– Have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and

– Confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign or accept the Australian Values Statement.

Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused

You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia.