Skilled visa FAQs

For further information on how to complete an Appointment of Agent form with your agent (including instructional videos), please see Appointment of Agent - digital form.

All occupations on the relevant Department of Home Affairs occupation list are now eligible, and applicants are no longer required to be using STEMM skills and working in a target sector.

For further information on the new eligibility requirements, see:

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

For subclass 190 visa nomination, if you have claimed your estimated annual earnings from your employment in your Registration of Interest (ROI), your employer must be physically located in Victoria.

For subclass 491 visa nomination, if you are onshore, you must be living and working for an employer that is physically located in regional Victoria. If you are offshore, this requirement does not apply.

If you are onshore or offshore and applying for subclass 190 visa nomination, you are not required to be working in your nominated occupation. You must have a valid Skills Assessment in your nominated occupation and your nominated occupation must be on the eligible skills occupation list.

If you are onshore and applying for subclass 491 visa nomination, you must be currently living and working in regional Victoria at the time of nomination in skilled employment.  Any occupation with skill level 1, 2 or 3 on the ABS website is considered skilled employment.

If you are offshore and applying for subclass 491 visa nomination, you are not required to be working in your nominated occupation. You must have a valid Skills Assessment in your nominated occupation and your nominated occupation must be on the eligible skills occupation lists. Initially we will be prioritising health occupations.

The following occupation groups will also be prioritised:

• Healthcare and social services
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• Advanced manufacturing, digital and innovation economy
• Chef, cook, accommodation and hospitality managers – for the 491 visa only
• Early childhood, secondary and special education teachers.

If you are onshore applying for subclass 190 nomination, you must be living in Victoria at the time of nomination to be eligible for Victorian Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa nomination.

If you are onshore applying for subclass 491 nomination, you must be living and working in regional Victoria at the time of nomination in skilled employment to be eligible for Victorian Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa nomination.

If you are applying as an onshore applicant, there is no minimum time for you to have lived in Victoria to be eligible. You will be asked to provide evidence that you are living in Victoria after you are invited to submit an application.

Please see the ABS website where you can see a list of all ANZSCO occupations with their corresponding skill levels.  Any occupation with skill level 1, 2 or 3 is considered skilled.

The Victorian Government pulls all relevant information from your Skillselect EOI number when assessing your Registration of Interest.

Please make sure your EOI is up to date. This includes:

• your EOI being valid, noting that EOIs expire after 2 years,
• you have expressed interest in nomination from Victoria,
• your current address and residence location is accurate, and
• your EOI has not already been nominated.

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

The Victorian Government has a formal agreement with the Australian Department of Home Affairs to provide visa nomination to global talent, business and investor migrants. This is called the State Migration Agreement.

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

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.

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 five-year visa where you must live and work in regional Victoria (this includes some outer Melbourne areas does not include inner Melbourne).

There is a list of eligible postcodes for the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).

If you are nominated by the Victorian Government, 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 are not required to provide evidence of financial resources when you apply for visa nomination.

Your annual earnings may be considered as part of your Registration of Interest (ROI) for skilled nomination. Please see Registration of Interest page for more details.

Yes, you must provide a copy of your English language test when you apply.

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 don’t 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.

Please note: the Victorian Government does not participate in the English language concession.

Yes, we accept all English language tests which are deemed eligible by the Department of Home Affairs:

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
• Occupational English Test (OET)
• Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT)
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test (also known as Certificate in Advanced English).

Yes, health practitioners can provide an OET assessment.

You can provide results from multiple OETs, recognising that an OET is a module-based test that allows you to sit components separately.

The OET assessment certificate must be attached to your visa nomination application form.

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 can find information about the skills assessment required for each occupation on the Department of Home Affairs website.

Yes, everyone who applies must provide a full skills assessment. Please note: a skills assessment relevant for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) will not be sufficient.

No, a matching skills assessment for your occupation is a required document at the time of lodging an application for visa nomination under the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).

No, a complete skills assessment is only one of the criteria assessed for visa nomination.

No, you do not have to use a migration agent to apply for visa nomination. You can find out more about using an agent on the Using a Migration Agent page.

You need to be selected by Victoria to apply for skilled visa nomination (subclasses 190 and 491). We are seeking applicants who are qualified to work in an occupation on the Department of Home Affairs’ skilled occupation list.

The information you provide in your Registration of Interest helps us decide who to select to apply for skilled visa nomination.

As part of the 2022-23 Skilled Migration Program, you must be selected to apply for Victorian skilled visa nomination before you can submit a nomination application.

You must first make an EOI on SkillSelect and then submit a Registration of Interest for Victorian state visa nomination on Live in Melbourne.  Successful Registrations of Interest will be selected to apply for visa nomination.

All occupations on the relevant Department of Home Affairs occupation list are now eligible to apply for skilled visa nomination.
There may be occupation restrictions depending on if you are an onshore or offshore applicant.

Please see the Skilled Nominated subclass 190 and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) subclass 491 visa pages for more information.

To apply for Victorian skilled visa nomination, you must first be selected to apply. You must now first make an EOI in SkillSelect and then submit a Registration of Interest for Victorian State Visa Nomination to be considered for selection.

For further information, please see:

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

There are no employment or work requirements for Victorian nomination for a subclass 190 visa. If you made annual earnings claims in your Registration of Interest, if selected you will be required to provide evidence of your annual earnings in the nomination application.

If you are living in Australia, you must be currently living in Victoria at the time of nomination to be eligible for Victorian Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa nomination.

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.

Graduates can apply for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) if they meet the eligibility requirements.

You must have 65 points at minimum (including points awarded for state nomination) to be nominated by Victoria for the State Nominated visa (subclass 190).

Yes, please ensure your EOI always contains the correct information.

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

If you are living offshore or in Victoria, you can submit a Registration of Interest if you have a Skills Assessment for any eligible occupation on the Department of Home Affairs skilled occupation list.  Health, social services and teaching occupations are being prioritised and we encourage applicants in all other occupations to submit a Registration of Interest as you may be considered.

Yes, subclass 491 visa holders may be eligible to apply for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191). For more information, please see the Department of Home Affairs’ website.

If you are living overseas, you must have a Skills Assessment for an eligible occupation.

If you are living in Australia, you must be living in Victoria at the time of nomination.

Any earnings you are claiming must be from skilled employment in Victoria.

If you are not working in skilled employment, you cannot claim annual earnings. You are still eligible for Victorian nomination for a subclass 491 visa if you are not working or are working in non-skilled employment.

You must be currently living in Victoria to be eligible for Victorian visa nomination for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa.

Yes, graduates and PhD students are eligible for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.

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 the eligibility requirements.

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