Australia Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189)
With this visa, invited employees with the necessary skills, including eligible New Zealanders and eligible Hong Kong or British Nationals (Overseas) passport holders, can live and work permanently anywhere in Australia.
Australia Skilled Independent Visa
Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) Guide
The Skilled Independent Visa is a permanent residency permit for those who do not need sponsorship from an employer, a family member, or a State or Territory Government but who have the education and experience needed to meet Australia’s skills shortages.
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These figures were last updated on MONDAY, 7th NOVEMBER 2022, at 3:45 PM GMT +4
Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189) Overview
With this permanent resident work visa, you can live and work in Australia. A Subclass 189 visa may be available to certain foreign skilled workers who hold jobs on Australia's Skilled Occupations List. For this visa, candidates must pass a skills exam, and they do not require to be sponsored by a company, a relative, or the state or territorial government.
For New Zealanders living in Australia, this alternative route established a new stream inside the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa on July 1, 2017, making it simpler for them to become permanent residents.
To apply, you must meet the following requirements:
- Hold a Special Category (subclass 444) visa.
- Lived in Australia continuously for five years, with the first five years beginning before February 19, 2016, to be eligible.
- Satisfy the taxable income requirements
- Satisfy the health requirements
- Satisfy the character requirements
For you and your family, the Skilled Independent Work Visa offers all the advantages of permanent residence in Australia.
- Permanent employment and residence in Australia
- Australia study opportunity
- Join Medicare, the government-run healthcare program in Australia.
- Opportunity to seek for citizenship in Australia
- Sponsoring family members to move in permanently
- Free entry and exit from Australia with no restrictions.
It is a long-term visa. It permits indefinite residence in Australia. The travel component of the visa expires five years after the day it was granted. You are declared a permanent resident on the day you are issued the visa.
Your citizenship begins on the day when you begin to permanently reside in:
- If you are in Australia, the visa is granted to you.
- If you are outside of Australia, you enter Australia with this visa.
On this page
Skilled Independent Visa 189 Application Process
As the scramble for Australia is continuously increasing, Royal Migration strives to keep you informed of the Australian skilled migration changes and procedures. Let’s have an overview of the application process.
If you are interested in applying for this visa, you should start by submitting an expression of interest (EOI) through SkillSelect.
You must include documentation to back up the statements you make in your EOI and demonstrate that you meet all other eligibility requirements.
When you receive your invitation to apply, you can apply within or outside Australia and that should be with a time interval of 60 days.
You will receive an application reception confirmation email and if you are granted a bridging visa you will receive notification of your visa grant.
When the office decides on your visa application, you can be inside or outside of Australia, but not in the immigration clearance process. The office will communicate her choice to you in writing.
If it approves your visa, the office will let you know:
– The starting date of your visa
– Your visa grant number, and
– If appropriate, the limitations of your visa
Save a copy of the judgment.
The office will inform you if she denies your visa:
– The reason of the rejection
– Whether you have the right to have the decision reviewed
Eligibility requirements
As the scramble for Australia is continuously increasing, Royal Migration strives to keep you informed of the Australian skilled migration changes and procedures. Let’s have an overview of the application process.
You must be invited to apply for this visa before you can do so. Before submitting your application;
you should show your interest in submitting an expression of interest (EOI).
After submitting an EOI, you will be evaluated in comparison to other prospective applicants and might be given the opportunity to file a visa application.
Invitations are often sent through SkillSelect.
You must declare that you have a satisfactory skills evaluation at the time of invitation for your application to be valid.
A copy of this skills assessment must be submitted with your application.
Australia acknowledges the following documentation as evidence of a skill evaluation for professionals in medicine and law:
– Complete, unconditional, or general medical registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
– Conditional specialized registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. You can only practice in your area of expertise as a result. There is no need for additional guidance or instruction.
– Authorization to practice law in the applicable state or territory
Your ability evaluation had to be completed three years prior to the invitation date. If the assessment was for a shorter time frame, then that time frame must still be in effect.
If your skills were evaluated based on a certification you obtained while you were on a student visa in Australia, the certification had to be the result of enrolling in a CRICOS registered course.
When you are invited to apply for the visa, you must be younger than 45.
If you turn 45 after we invite you to apply, you can still submit a visa application.
If you turn 45 after you submit your EOI but before receiving the invitation to apply, you will not be invited to apply.
This visa is based on points.
You will receive an indicative points score for your EOI in SkillSelect upon submission based on the statements you have made. You won’t be given the opportunity to apply for this visa if your score falls below 65 points.
If you receive an invitation to apply for the visa, the invitation will specify the number of points you need to receive in order to be issued the visa (this score may be higher than 65 points, depending on your claims in the EOI).
You must submit supporting documentation along with your application.
You must have at least competent English at the time of the invitation.
Your profession must be included on the pertinent list of qualified jobs that are eligible for the Point-Tested stream of the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) program.
When you have this visa
You must enter Australia before the date noted on your visa grant letter if you are outside of Australia when the visa is issued.
Verify your travel documents
You must have:
- A valid visa to enter Australia
- A valid passport or other travel document
Fill out an incoming traveller card.
The Incoming Passenger Card must be completed by everyone travelling to Australia. This card will be provided to you onboard.
Australia has an automated procedure that makes use of your ePassport and facial recognition technology.
If you use SmartGates, you might be able to depart the airport more quickly.
- Stay in Australia permanently
- Study and work in Australia
- Sign up for Medicare, Australia’s national health insurance program.
- Sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
- Move in and out of Australia for 5 years
- If eligible, apply to become an Australian citizen
Questions? You’re covered
The program for skilled independent visas (subclass 189) is a permanent visa with an unlimited period of validity. You may include close family members in your application. With this visa, you and your family are able to travel, work, study, and receive medical care in Australia.
For highly talented foreign employees who are not sponsored by an Australian business, the 189 visa is a permanent, points-tested visa. The Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa enables skilled individuals to immigrate permanently to Australia.
You had to have completed at least 20 hours of weekly paid work in your designated skilled occupation or a closely related field.
75 percent of all visa applications for the category 189 visa take about 20 months, and 90 percent of all visa applications take about 24 months.
Eligibility checkup
Are you eligible for the Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189)?
The skilled visa 189 is the best for professionals looking for permanent residency in Australia. Fill in the form to get a free assessment from us.
Australian Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189) Application Process
1 1
STEP 1
Expression of interest (EOI)
From our free assessment, we will check if you are eligible for the 189 visa and assist you in the submission of your expression of interest (EOI)
2 2
STEP 2
Gather your documents
Once you receive the invitation to apply, it’s time to assemble all documents to support the claims made in the EOI and eligibility proof.
3 3
STEP 3
Apply for the skilled 189 visa
You have 60 days to submit a ZERO mistake application. Our processing officers are best in document verification and application filling.