Skilled Migration Australia: 189, 190 and 491 Points and Costs

Skilled migration is the main way people move to Australia permanently on the strength of their qualifications and work experience. Three points-tested visas dominate the pathway: the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).

The system is competitive and the gap between what the rules require and what actually gets invited is wide. The minimum to enter the pool is 65 points. In the most recent invitation round, the minimum score actually invited ranged from 65 for construction trades to 95 and above for engineering and science occupations. This guide sets out the costs, the current processing times, how points really work, and where applications go wrong.

Skilled migration at a glance

• Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent): permanent, no sponsor, from AUD6,135. Invited through SkillSelect rounds run by the Department.

• Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated): permanent, requires state or territory nomination, from AUD6,140. Nomination adds 5 points.

• Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional): provisional for 5 years, state or family sponsored, from AUD6,140. Adds 15 points and leads to permanent residence through the subclass 191.

• Minimum points: 65 to be invited. Competitive scores are usually much higher.

• Age limit: you must be under 45 at the time of invitation.

• 2026-27 program: 132,240 skilled places, with 129,590 places across the whole permanent program reserved for applicants already in Australia.

How much do skilled visas cost?

These are the base charges for the main applicant. Partners and children attract additional charges, and the figures below exclude skills assessment fees, English tests, police certificates and health examinations, which together often add several thousand dollars.

• Skilled Independent (subclass 189): from AUD6,135.

• Skilled Nominated (subclass 190): from AUD6,140.

• Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491): from AUD6,140.

State and territory nomination applications may carry their own fees, which vary by jurisdiction. From 1 July 2026 a reduced visa application charge applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens. Use the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator for a figure that includes family members.

How long does skilled migration take?

Two different timelines matter, and confusing them is why people misjudge the process.

Waiting for an invitation is open-ended. There is no processing time for an expression of interest, because an EOI is not an application. You wait until your score is high enough to be reached in a round, or until a state nominates you.

Once you lodge, the Department's processing time guide currently shows:

• Subclass 189 (points-tested): 50 per cent decided in 7 months, 90 per cent in 9 months.

• Subclass 190: 50 per cent in 12 months, 90 per cent in 17 months.

• Subclass 491 (state or territory nominated): 50 per cent in 12 months, 90 per cent in 18 months.

Where you were when you applied changes everything

Skilled visas are processed in the order set by Ministerial Direction No. 119, which prioritises applicants who were in Australia when they applied, and within that, construction, healthcare and teaching occupations. The effect is stark. As at the date this article was checked, the Department was working on applications lodged in:

• Subclass 189: June 2026 for construction, healthcare and teaching from onshore applicants; January 2026 for other onshore applications; November 2025 for offshore applications.

• Subclass 190: August 2026 for priority occupations onshore; June 2025 for other onshore; February 2025 for offshore.

• Subclass 491: May 2026 for priority occupations onshore; March 2025 for other onshore; February 2025 for offshore.

Read the 190 line again. A priority-occupation applicant onshore is being processed within weeks of lodging, while an offshore applicant who lodged in early 2025 is still waiting. If you are applying from overseas in a non-priority occupation, plan for a substantially longer wait than the headline processing times suggest.

The points test: what the rules say, and what actually gets invited

You need 65 points to be invited. That is the floor, not the target. In the SkillSelect round held on 4 June 2026, 10,000 invitations were issued for the subclass 189 with a tie-break date of 24 April 2026, and the minimum score actually invited varied enormously by occupation:

• 65 points: construction trades, including carpenter, joiner, bricklayer, electrician, plumber, roof plumber, glazier, plasterer, stonemason and wall and floor tiler.

• 75 points: most nursing specialisations, midwife, general practitioner, secondary school teacher, special needs teacher, social worker, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and speech pathologist.

• 80 to 85 points: most other professional occupations, including engineering manager, construction project manager, economist, solicitor, architect and many medical specialists.

• 95 points and above: electronics engineer, telecommunications engineer, life scientist, microbiologist, biotechnologist and multimedia specialist.

Two things follow. First, if you are in a trade on the list, skilled migration is far more accessible than the internet's general pessimism suggests. Second, occupations that once dominated the program, including accounting and general ICT roles, do not appear among those invited in that round at all. The Department notes that an absent occupation may mean no expressions of interest were available to invite, or that available EOIs did not meet the parameters for that round.

Invitation rounds for the 189 are run periodically rather than monthly. As at the date checked, the next round was expected by 30 September 2026.

Where the points come from

• Age: 30 points at 25 to 32; 25 points at 18 to 24 or 33 to 39; 15 points at 40 to 44. Nothing at 45 or over.

• English: 0 for competent, 10 for proficient, 20 for superior. This is the cheapest points to gain for most people.

• Skilled employment: up to 20 points combined. Overseas experience earns 5, 10 or 15 points at 3, 5 and 8 years. Australian experience earns 5 to 20 points at 1, 3, 5 and 8 years. Only work in your nominated or a closely related occupation counts, at 20 hours a week or more, within the 10 years before invitation.

• Qualifications: 20 for a doctorate, 15 for a bachelor degree or higher, 10 for a diploma or trade qualification. Highest qualification only.

• Partner: 10 points if your partner is under 45 with competent English, a relevant skills assessment and an occupation on the same list; 10 points if you are single or your partner is already an Australian citizen or permanent resident; 5 points if your partner only has competent English.

• Other: 5 points each for meeting the Australian study requirement, a Professional Year, a credentialled community language, or regional study. 10 points for a specialist STEM masters by research or doctorate from an Australian institution.

• Nomination: 5 points for state or territory nomination under the 190; 15 points for the 491.

That last line is why the 491 is so often the practical answer. Fifteen points is more than the gap between most applicants and an invitation.

Occupation lists: the part that confuses everyone

Australia runs several occupation lists at once, and they do not all apply to the same visas.

• MLTSSL (Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List) applies to the subclass 189, and to the 190 and 491 alongside other lists.

• STSOL (Short-term Skilled Occupation List) and the ROL (Regional Occupation List) extend the options for state-nominated and regional pathways.

• CSOL (Core Skills Occupation List) is a different list, used for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) Core Skills stream and Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) nominations, not for the points-tested visas.

There is a second trap layered on top. The Department uses two different versions of ANZSCO: the 2022 version for the subclass 186 and 482, and the 2013 version for every other skilled subclass, including the 189, 190 and 491. An occupation code that is valid for an employer-sponsored nomination may not map to the same code on the points-tested lists. Check the list that applies to your visa, in the version that applies to it, before you pay for a skills assessment.

Each state and territory also publishes its own nomination list, which is narrower than the federal lists and changes during the year. Being on a federal list does not mean a state will nominate you.

Skills assessment

A positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority is required before you can submit a competitive EOI, and each occupation has its own authority with its own rules, fees and timeframes. Engineers Australia, ACS, VETASSESS, CPA Australia, AHPRA-linked bodies and the trades assessing authorities all work differently.

Prepare the evidence properly the first time: qualifications and transcripts, detailed employment references on letterhead stating dates, hours and duties, payslips and tax records covering the claimed periods, registration or licensing documents, and English results where required. Assessing authorities routinely discount employment periods that are not evidenced with both a reference and independent payment evidence, and a discounted period can quietly cost you 5 or 10 points.

State and territory nomination

For most applicants who cannot reach a competitive 189 score, state nomination is the realistic route. Each jurisdiction sets its own occupation list and criteria, which may include current residence in that state, work experience in the occupation, English above the minimum, settlement funds, or a genuine commitment to living there.

Nomination allocations are finite and are used at very different rates across the year. Read the current criteria on the state's own website rather than a summary, because these change mid-year and an outdated list is one of the most common reasons an EOI goes nowhere.

From 491 to permanent residence: the subclass 191

The 491 is provisional, valid for 5 years, and requires you to live and work in a designated regional area. After three years you can apply for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191).

The requirements are more forgiving than many guides suggest. You must have held the eligible visa for at least three years, have complied with its conditions, and provide Australian Taxation Office notices of assessment for three income years out of the five years of your eligible visa. There is no minimum income requirement. Compliance with the regional living and working conditions, and having lodged your tax returns, are what matter.

The process, step by step

• Confirm your occupation is on the list that applies to the visa you want, in the correct ANZSCO version.

• Obtain a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority.

• Sit an English test and aim above the minimum, since proficient and superior English are worth 10 and 20 points.

• Calculate your points honestly using the Department's points calculator, then check the recent invitation scores for your occupation.

• Submit an EOI in SkillSelect. Keep it accurate and up to date, since the date your EOI reached its current score is the tie-break.

• Apply for state or territory nomination separately if you are pursuing a 190 or state-nominated 491.

• If invited, lodge within the required timeframe with evidence for every claim.

• Respond promptly to any request for further information, health examinations or police certificates.

Common mistakes

• Treating 65 points as a target. For most professional occupations, 65 points has not produced an invitation in years.

• Choosing the wrong occupation code. The code must match your actual duties, and it drives the assessing authority, the lists you qualify for and the states that will nominate you.

• Claiming points you cannot evidence. Employment claims without references and payment records, or partner points without a partner skills assessment, fail at the visa stage after you have already paid.

• Relying on outdated lists. Federal lists and state criteria both change, and a page you read six months ago may no longer be right.

• Letting an English result or skills assessment expire between the EOI and the invitation.

• Ignoring the age cliff. Points drop at 40 and disappear at 45, both assessed at the time of invitation, not the time you lodge the EOI.

• Underestimating the offshore penalty. Under Ministerial Direction No. 119, an offshore application in a non-priority occupation sits well behind an onshore one.

Other skilled pathways worth considering

The points-tested visas are not the only route. Employer sponsorship through the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) avoids the points test entirely, and the 2026-27 program shifted significantly toward it: Employer Sponsored places rose from 44,000 to 58,040, while Regional places fell from 33,000 to 14,110. Skilled Independent places also rose, from 16,900 to 21,090.

If an employer-sponsored pathway is a possibility for you, the salary thresholds are the first thing to check. See our guide to the skilled visa income thresholds for 2026-27.

When to get advice

It is worth having your case reviewed before you spend money on a skills assessment if your occupation could plausibly be coded more than one way, your score sits near an invitation cut-off, you have employment history that is hard to evidence, you are approaching 40 or 45, you have a prior visa refusal, or you are weighing a 190 against a 491 in a particular state.

For applicants from Nepal, see our page on applying for an Australian visa from Nepal. To discuss your options, see our skilled migration services or book an appointment with Possible Migration.

Official sources

• Department of Home Affairs: Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)

• Department of Home Affairs: Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

• Department of Home Affairs: Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

• Department of Home Affairs: Points table

• Department of Home Affairs: SkillSelect invitation rounds

• Department of Home Affairs: Skilled occupation list

• Department of Home Affairs: Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191)

• Department of Home Affairs: Permanent Migration Program planning levels

Information checked 2 September 2026. Invitation rounds, occupation lists, state nomination criteria, charges and processing times change frequently, so confirm current details with the Department and the relevant state before you rely on them. This article is general information only and is not legal or migration advice.