Permanent visa for skilled workers invited to live and work anywhere in Australia — no sponsor needed
The points-tested stream is the main pathway under the 189 visa for skilled workers whose occupation appears on Australia's relevant skilled occupation list.
You can't apply directly. The system runs in two stages.
First, you submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect. Your EOI is ranked against other candidates by points score. IMMI runs invitation rounds and issues invitations to the highest-scoring EOIs in each round.
When you're invited, you have 60 days to lodge the full visa application.
The minimum to submit an EOI is 65 points. But the score you actually need to receive an invitation is typically much higher, and it varies by occupation and round.
There's no job offer, employer, or state nomination required for this stream.
These are the published requirements for the 189. Check each one applies to your situation.
The Department sets 65 as the minimum score to submit an EOI. People often assume that hitting 65 means they'll receive an invitation. That's not how the system works.
IMMI ranks all eligible EOIs by score and invites the highest scorers first in each round.
For most occupations, the actual invitation score has been well above 65. What score you need depends on how many other high-scoring applicants are competing for the same places in each round.
The 65-point floor is a filter, not a guarantee.
The skills assessment validity check happens at the date of invitation, not the date you lodge your application.
An assessment is valid for 3 years from issue date.
If your assessment expires before you're invited, you'll need to renew it before your EOI can result in a valid invitation.
The waiting time between submitting an EOI and receiving an invitation can be long for some occupations. People sometimes receive an invitation with an expired assessment and only at that point realise they need to renew. That eats into the 60-day application window.
When a New Zealand citizen on a 189 visa arrives at the Australian border, immigration officers may automatically process them under the Special Category visa (subclass 444), which is the standard entry visa for NZ citizens.
If a subclass 444 is granted at the border, it ceases the 189 visa. A ceased 189 affects eligibility for Australian citizenship.
The standard advice from migration agents is to make your status explicit at the border. Tell the immigration officer that you hold a Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), and explicitly note that you do not want a subclass 444 visa. Carrying the visa grant letter is sensible backup.
For any family member aged 18 or over included in your application who has less than Functional English, IMMI may ask you to pay a second instalment charge of $4,885 per person before granting the visa.
IMMI only requests this payment if they intend to grant the visa, so being asked to pay is actually a positive sign. The application is otherwise ready to grant.
The main applicant isn't affected by this charge, because Competent English is already a requirement for the points-tested stream. The charge only applies to secondary applicants.
There's an extra rule if your current or most recent substantive visa is a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) subclass 491, or a Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) subclass 494. You have to have held that visa for at least 3 years before you can lodge a 189 application from inside Australia.
This is a separate rule from the points test and the invitation. It catches a lot of regional provisional visa holders out, because the points test and the invitation system don't reference it.
People planning to move from a regional provisional visa to the 189 sometimes only discover this rule after receiving their invitation.
