Skilled migration to Australia

Which skilled visa fits you

All four run on points and an invitation. What separates them is who has to nominate you, and whether the visa is permanent from day one.

• Subclass 189 — permanent, and nobody has to nominate you. You compete nationally on points alone. The hardest to be invited for, the simplest once you are.
• Subclass 190 — permanent, but a state or territory has to nominate you first. Nomination adds points and usually improves your odds of an invitation.
• Subclass 491 — provisional, up to five years, with nomination by a state or territory or sponsorship by an eligible relative in a designated regional area. It is a pathway to permanent residence, not permanent residence itself.
• Subclass 485 — temporary, for recent graduates of Australian institutions. Most people use it to build the work experience and points that make 189, 190 or 491 realistic.

What the points test actually decides

Points get you invited. They do not get you a visa. Two people with identical scores can have completely different outcomes, because the round you land in depends on how many others in your occupation scored the same or higher that month.

That is why the honest answer to “how many points do I need?” is never a single number. It moves with demand for your occupation, and anyone who quotes you a fixed figure is guessing.

What each one costs in 2026–27

These are the Department of Home Affairs base application charges for the main applicant, current for the 2026–27 year:

• Subclass 189 (points tested) — AUD 6,135. Each additional adult AUD 3,070, each child AUD 1,540.
• Subclass 190 — AUD 6,140. Each additional adult AUD 3,070, each child AUD 1,535.
• Subclass 491 — AUD 6,140. Each additional adult AUD 3,070, each child AUD 1,535.
• Subclass 485 — AUD 5,750. Each additional adult AUD 2,875, each child AUD 1,450.

A couple with two children applying for a 190 is therefore looking at roughly AUD 12,300 in application charges alone — before a skills assessment, an English test or a nomination fee, all of which are paid separately to different organisations at different times.

Where skilled applications usually come unstuck

1. The skills assessment does not match the occupation claimed. The assessing authority decides what your occupation is, not you — and the occupation you nominate has to line up with their decision.
2. The expression of interest and the application disagree. Every point claimed in the EOI has to be provable at the date of invitation. Anything that changed in between becomes a problem you cannot fix later.
3. English results expire mid-process. Test results have a shelf life, and it often runs out while you are waiting for an invitation.
4. Work experience evidence is thin. Payslips, tax records and a clear duty statement carry far more weight than a reference letter on its own.

If you are applying from Canberra

The ACT runs its own nomination process for the 190 and 491, separate from the visa application itself. It is the work we do most, and the local rules change more often than the federal ones do.