Skilled visa FAQs

The Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) is a permanent visa allowing you to live and work anywhere in the state of Victoria, including Melbourne.

The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is a provisional (5 year) visa with a pathway to permanent residence after living and working in regional Victoria for at least 3 years.

The conditions of Victorian visa nomination are outlined on the Skilled Nominated subclass 190 and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) subclass 491 visa pages.

There is no charge to apply for Registration of Interest or Victorian visa nomination. The Department of Home Affairs will charge a fee when you submit your visa application. Visit the Department of Home Affairs for more information on visa charges.

You must have at least 65 points (including points awarded for state nomination) to be nominated by Victoria.

All occupations on the relevant Department of Home Affairs skilled occupation list are eligible.

You must have a valid Skills Assessment in your nominated occupation. You can find the Skills Assessment authorities relevant to your occupation on the Occupation List page of the Department of Home Affairs website.

Recent graduates and PhD students are eligible for Victorian nomination and must meet the eligibility requirements:

• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

You must indicate you have a full and valid Skills Assessment in your SkillSelect EOI when you apply for nomination. Please note: a provisional Skills Assessment issued for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) will not be sufficient.

You do not have to use a migration agent or lawyer to apply for visa nomination.

If you require migration advice for your specific situation, please find a registered migration agent or lawyer.

You can find out more about using an agent or lawyer on the Using a Migration Agent page.

Information about documents required can be found on the specific visa page:

• Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

You must indicate your valid English language test result in your SkillSelect EOI when you apply for nomination.

We accept all English language tests which are deemed eligible by the Department of Home Affairs.

Passport holders and citizens of the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America, or the Republic of Ireland do not need to provide English language test results. If this exemption applies to you, you must provide a copy of the bio page of your passport.

We do not provide renomination in the following instances:

• You do not submit your visa application within 60 days.
• Your EOI was incorrect when we nominated you, including points claimed by you or your agent.

If you have been nominated for any skilled visa (either subclass 190 or 491), you cannot be nominated again in the same program year

If your application is refused, you will not be able to submit a new application for 6 months. This ensures our resources are allocated to processing applications that meet the requirements of the visa.

The Victorian Government has no legal authority to provide advice or make recommendations regarding your eligibility or specific circumstances, as migration advice is a regulated industry in Australia. If you require professional advice, we recommend you talk to a registered migration agent or lawyer .

You should direct any questions regarding SkillSelect EOI points or the visa process to the Department of Home Affairs.

Please check the visa processing times published by the Department of Home Affairs. All SkillSelect and EOI enquiries should be directed to the Department of Home Affairs.

To apply for Victorian visa nomination, you must:

1. Check eligibility
   Make sure you meet the requirements for the visa you are seeking nomination for - Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) or Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).
2. Submit your EOI
   Submit or update your Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs on SkillSelect.
3. Submit your ROI
   Using the EOI number received from SkillSelect, create an account on the Live in Melbourne portal and submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) for Victorian visa nomination.
4. Submit a nomination application
   If you are invited, submit a nomination application in the Live in Melbourne portal.
5. Submit your visa application
   If your nomination application is successful, submit a visa application for your selected visa with the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs.

An Expression of Interest (EOI) is made on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system and is a requirement for skilled visa nomination.

A Registration of Interest (ROI) is submitted on the Live in Melbourne website and informs the Victorian Government of your interest in receiving Victorian skilled visa nomination.

To be considered for Victorian skilled visa nomination, you must first submit a Registration of Interest (ROI). The information you provide in your SkillSelect EOI and your ROI enables the Victorian Government to invited applicants for Victorian visa nomination.

A ROI is not an application for Victorian visa nomination.

There is a high level of interest in Victorian nomination and a limited number of nomination places available. Therefore, only the most competitive applicants across the combination of ranking factors are invited to apply.

It is important that the information in your SkillSelect EOI, ROI and nomination application is genuine, accurate and up to date. Please see the Registration of Interest page for more details.

As part of the 2024-25 Victorian skilled migration program, you must be invited to apply for Victorian skilled visa nomination before you can submit a nomination application.

You must first make an Expression of Interest (EOI) on SkillSelect and then submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) for Victorian state visa nomination on the Live in Melbourne portal.

Successful Registrations of Interest (ROIs) will be invited to submit a nomination application in the Live in Melbourne portal.

If your nomination application is successful, you will submit a visa application for your selected visa with the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs

Once you have submitted a Registration of Interest (ROI) it will remain in our system until either withdrawn by you, invited by us or the program year ends. Your ROI cannot be updated once it has been submitted.

If the information in your ROI is incorrect or out of date, you must withdraw it and submit a new ROI.

Withdrawing and resubmitting a new ROI will not affect the ranking or position of your ROI in our assessment and does not negatively impact your chances of selection.

It is important that your EOI is accurate and up to date. If you are invited to apply for visa nomination but unable to evidence any claims, your application may be refused. This includes years of experience working in your nominated occupation and where you are currently living.

Please review your EOI in SkillSelect and ensure the information is up to date and is consistent with the ROI information you have provided in your Live in Melbourne account, including visa subclass for which you intend to apply, state of interest and date of birth.

If the information in your SkillSelect EOI or the EOI points have changed, you do not need to withdraw and submit a new ROI.

You only need to withdraw and submit a new ROI, if the information you entered on the ROI form changes.

If you are invited to apply, you cannot modify your EOI. Please Contact Us about the information you wish to update on your EOI if you have been invited to apply.

You can claim ROI points for your skilled partner if they will be included in your visa application.

If your partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you cannot claim partner points in your ROI.

You can only have one active Registration of Interest (ROI) submitted at any time.

You cannot submit a separate ROI for each visa subclass or for a different occupation. If you wish to change the visa subclass or your occupation, you must withdraw your existing ROI and submit a new one.

Invitation rounds occur throughout the financial year. There are no set dates for invitation rounds.

A Registration of Interest (ROI) is not an application for Victorian visa nomination, and there is no processing timeframe.

If you have submitted a Registration of Interest but have not received an email inviting you to apply for Victorian nomination, you cannot apply. There is no guarantee that your ROI will be invited.

If your ROI is assessed as eligible but not yet invited, it will remain under consideration for the following invitation rounds.

We receive a high number of ROIs, and we appreciate your patience during the invitation process.

There are no employment or work requirements for Victorian nomination for a subclass 190 visa. If you claimed annual earnings in your Registration of Interest, if selected you will be required to provide evidence of your annual earnings in the nomination application. Any earnings you claimed must be from skilled employment in Victoria. Skilled employment includes any role that is at skill levels 1, 2 or 3 in the relevant ANZSCO classification

If you are living in Australia (onshore), you must be living in Victoria. We will not be selecting Registration of Interests (ROIs) from onshore applicants living in Australian states and territories other than Victoria. We do make some case-by-case exceptions for those living in border communities who can clearly demonstrate they are working in Victoria.

If you are living overseas (offshore), you are eligible to apply for a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa nomination. You must be committed to living in Victoria.

You are not required to be working to be eligible for Victorian subclass 190 visa nomination. There are no minimum work experience requirements.

Living in Victoria (onshore):

• If you are living in Victoria and work in skilled employment for an employer physically located in Victoria, you can provide an estimate of your annual earnings in your Registration of Interest (ROI). Virtual offices are not accepted. View our Annual earnings estimation guide for information on what you can and cannot claim.
• If you are living in Victoria and not working, working in non-skilled employment, or working for an employer not physically located in Victoria, you are still eligible to apply for nomination, but you are not eligible to claim earnings in your Registration of Interest (ROI).

Living overseas (offshore):

• If you are living overseas, you are not required to claim earnings in your Registration of Interest (ROI).

Offshore applicants are eligible to apply for Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa nomination.

Yes, Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) holders can live and work anywhere in Victoria including Melbourne.

You must have at least 65 points (including points awarded for state nomination) to be nominated by Victoria.

Yes, subclass 491 visa holders may be eligible to apply for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191). The requirements for the subclass 191 visa include living and working in a designated regional area for at least 3 years. For more information, please see the Department of Home Affairs’ website.

Eligibility requirements can be viewed on the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) page.

You must have a minimum of 65 points (including points awarded for state nomination) to be selected to apply for Victorian Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa nomination. You must also meet all other eligibility requirements.

Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa holders must live and work in regional Victoria once the visa has been granted.

Regional Victoria comprises all the areas of the state of Victoria outside Melbourne. It also includes some outer areas of Melbourne. The Mornington Peninsula and Geelong are considered designated regional areas of Victoria for migration purposes.

For a complete list of postcodes considered to be in regional Victoria, please see the Department of Home Affairs’ website

There is no minimum earnings requirement to be eligible for Victorian visa nomination. Earnings are just one of many factors used to select Registration of Interests (ROIs) for invitation.

Your employment does not have to be related to or the same as your nominated occupation. If you claim earnings, they must be from skilled employment from an employer physically located in Victoria for subclass 190 and regional Victoria for subclass 491. Virtual offices are not accepted.

Skilled employment includes any role that is at skill levels 1, 2 or 3 in the relevant ANZSCO classification.

Please see the ABS website where you can see a list of all ANZSCO occupations with their corresponding skill levels.

For example, if your nominated occupation is Mechanical Engineer (ANZSCO skill level 1), but you are currently working as a Truck Driver (ANZSCO skill level 4), you cannot claim earnings from this job as it is classified as skill level 4.

However, if you are a Mechanical Engineer (ANZSCO skill level 1), but you are currently working as a Mechanical Engineering Technician (ANZSCO skill level 2), you can claim earnings from this job as it is classified as skill level 2.

Please see Annual earnings estimation guide for information on how to calculate this figure.

If invited to apply for Victorian visa nomination, and you have claimed annual earnings in your Registration of Interest (ROI), you will be required to provide evidence in the nomination application.

You must support all your claims of earnings with documents in your application. You will be required to provide a current employment contract, your most recent four weeks of pay slips, an extract from your superannuation account showing the most recent contribution from your employer, and a position description that describes your role.

During our assessment of your nomination application, we may require additional supporting information. If so, we will ask for this during our assessment.

You can find more information on annual earnings on the Annual Earnings Estimation Guide page.

If you are nominated, you will automatically receive an invitation to apply for your visa from the Department of Home Affairs. You will have 60 days to lodge your visa application.

You must tell the Victorian Government when your visa is granted.

If you were offshore at the time of nomination, you must also tell the Victorian Government once you arrive in Victoria to settle. You do not need to inform us if you arrive in Victoria temporarily to activate your visa.

The commitment begins on the date you arrive in Australia. If you already live within Australia, the commitment begins at the time your visa is granted.

As per the nomination declaration you sign, you agree to complete surveys if requested by, or on behalf of, the Victorian Government, including a survey upon arrival and at six monthly intervals after visa grant or arrival in Australia.

These surveys are a condition of nomination. They provide us important feedback.