Australian Subclass 189 Visa Overview

Subclass 189 Visa (Skilled Visa) for Australia

The 189 visa is a skilled (points tested and invited) visa for applicants that are not sponsored by an employer, and intend applying for their own skilled independent permanent residence visa

a holder of a 189 visa is free to live and work anywhere in Australia.

KEY POINTS

• You don’t need a sponsor (no state or family sponsorship applies)
• You must be invited to apply (EOI)
• You must be under 45 to be invited
• The Pass Mark (points Test): you need a minimum of 65 points 

Note however that many applications will realistically only receive an invite if you are able to claim 70, 75 or even 80 points.

Visa Type: Permanent Residence

Processing time (for the visa stage):

• 75% of applications: 6 months
• 90% of applications: 8 months

Application Details

Holders of a 189 visa can:

• stay in Australia permanently
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Medicare, Australia’s public health care scheme
• sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years
• if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship

How do you apply ?

• You have to have a Nominated Occupation for Australian Skills Visa on the MLTSSL list (and fully satisfy the criteria for that occupation)
• You can apply offshore or onshore (unless you have a condition on your visa prohibiting you from making an application in Australia eg. a 8503 condition)

This is a 3 step application

1. You have to pass a skills assessment by a relevant skills assessment authority
2. Then submit an EOI
3. Then, when invited to apply, apply for your visa

You must satisfy other criteria such as:

• Character requirements
• Medical and Health Requirements for Australian Visa
• English Language requirements
• Recent work experience criteria

• 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.