Skilled Independent Visa Subclass 189

An Skilled Independent Visa – Subclass 189 is the final step in your journey to PR. Contact our team of experienced registered migration experts for immediate advice and assistance.

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What Does Visa Let You Do?

You can include the following types of family members in your application:

Spouse, de-facto partner (including the same-sex partners)
Dependent children up to 23yo unless they are financially dependent on you as they are not able to work due to their physical or mental condition.

This is a Permanent Visa. It lets you:

stay in Australia indefinitely
work and study in Australia
enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses
sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
travel to and from Australia for five years
apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.

Visa Subclass 189

There are two streams under a subclass 189: Points tested stream for professionals / skilled applicants and New Zealand stream for New Zealand citizens.

Points tested stream

You’d like to come to Australia and you have professional or trade skills that may qualify you for Permanent Residency. The General Skilled Migration Program is based on meeting a points test, currently set at 65, and does not require sponsorship from an employer.

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New Zealand stream

You are a New Zealander currently in Australia on a subclass 444 visa and you came here on or before 19 February 2016. You have been usually resident in Australia for a continuous period of at least 5 years. For each of the 4 most recently completed income years, your taxable income was at or above a specific income threshold.

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How This Visa Works

You can either be in Australia or overseas when you apply for a Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa. In order to lodge from within Australia, you would need to hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa. Once you apply from within Australia, you would receive a bridging visa allowing you to remain in Australia until your visa is assessed.

Who Is Eligible For This Visa?

General Requirements:

Your occupation is on a relevant occupation list
You meet the required points for the visa you intend to lodge (65 points is the minimum).
Points are comprised of a number of factors such as age, qualifications, English fluency, work experience in Australia and overseas, qualifications obtained in Australia, partner’s qualifications.
Your age must be between 18 and 45 inclusive. Different points are awarded to different age groups.
You have a positive skills assessment (valid for three years) of your qualifications.
Undertook an English language test (IELTS, OET, TOEFL, iBT, PTE Academic or Cambridge English: Advanced) and achieved the required score.

Steps in the process

Lodgement of the Expression of Interest (EOI) – The EOI is a system which gives the Government the tools to prioritise and rank prospective migrants in order of merit, selecting the ‘brightest and best’ migrants and/or candidates to fill labour market shortages. It also gives the Government the tools to tweak the type of occupations most needed, curb those occupations where there are too many applications and manage the general mix of occupations accepted in each program year.
Receive an invitation from the Department of Immigration;
Lodgement of the Visa application within 60 days of receiving the invitation

About Skill-Select

It is important to understand that an Expression of Interest (EOI) is not a visa application and will not result in a bridging visa in Australia. Furthermore, any claims made in an EOI which cannot be substantiated in a visa application, for example, English fluency, qualifications, work experience, will lead to a refusal of the visa application.

Related Visa Types

Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa Subclass 494

Skills in Demand (SID) Subclass 482

Skilled Nominated Permanent Visa Subclass 190

Permanent Resident Visa – (Skilled Regional) Subclass 191

What type of visa are you looking for?

We are a team of immigration specialists guiding individuals, families and corporates who aspire to migrate to Australia. Our migration consultancy has a successful track record in visa approval, with a fair fee structure.

Employer Sponsored Visa

Australian employers can sponsor skilled workers, whether already in Australia on a visa or applying from overseas, to meet skill shortage positions in their business.

Skilled Worker Visa

Skilled workers with qualifications and experience in demand can apply for visas to live and work in Australia permanently.

Partner Visa

Partner visas allows an Australian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their spouse, de facto partner or fiancé to be with them in Australia.

Student or Graduate Visa

International students can study in Australia and apply for post-study temporary work visas.

Subclass 186 Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Expression of Interest (EOI)?

An EOI is not a visa application, it is an application that you would like to be invited to apply for a skilled visa. It’s an online form, with no fee which asks you a series of questions about how you intend to score your points for a subclass 189, 190 or 491 visa application. It is imperative that your points are calculated accurately so that when a visa application is lodged after being granted an invitation, the points in the visa application are the same as the points claimed in the EOI. An EOI does not result in a bridging visa.

I have lodged an EOI. Does that mean I will get an invitation?

No, not necessarily. You must obtain a minimum of 65 points to lodge an Expression of Interest. The higher the points, the more likely it is that you will receive an invitation to lodge a visa application.

However, depending on the volume of applications with the same occupation received by the Department of Home Affairs, a higher score than 65 is usually required to be granted an invitation to lodge a visa application. As an example, accountants may require 90 points or more to be granted an invitation whereas high school teachers may only require 80 points. The way the Department of Home Affairs will issue an invitation depends on a lot of factors, which could be what occupations are in most need at that point in time, such as medical occupations in the covid – 19 era receive the most invitations.

I am a holder of a subclass 491 visa. Can I apply for a subclass 189 or 190?

If you are a holder of a subclass 491 or 494 you must have held that visa for at least 3 years before you can lodge an application for a subclass 189 or 190. You will have to meet all criteria of that visa subclass in order to be granted the new visa.

Skilled Independent Permanent Visa Subclass 189