Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) Australia

Australian Skilled Nominated Visa subclass 190 is a permanent residence visa under the General Skilled Migration Program and is available to onshore and offshore applicants. Although the threshold requirements of points, skills assessment and English are the same for both subclass 189 and subclass 190 visas, there is a key difference. The Skilled Nominated subclass 190 was created for the purpose of supporting Australian States to fill their local skill shortages in occupations that may not be in national demand. For this reason, it is also referred to as the 190 state nominated visa or the 190 state sponsored visa. Any reference to Australian States means Australian States and Territories.

This objective is achieved through the establishment of an additional occupation list for the purposes of visa 190 and making two changes to the visa process. The first change introduces a mandatory requirement to obtain a State nomination in order to qualify, and the second change change is that invitations are generally driven by the State nomination process rather than directly through the regular SkillSelect invitation rounds. In return for the state nomination requirement, the skilled migration points calculator allows candidates to claim an additional 5 points.

The main benefits of visa 190 are similar to the Skilled Independent Visa 189 which means that it is a permanent visa, has full study and work rights, includes Medicare eligibility and the time spent as holder of the 190 visa counts towards citizenship eligibility.

There are two additional benefits of the subclass 190 visa. Firstly, choosing the 190 visa in SkillSelect will add 5 more points to your points test score and secondly, the list of occupations available to the Skilled Nominated Visa 190 (427 occupations) is much greater than the occupations available to the Skilled Independent Visa 189 (212 occupations). The table below provides a quick comparison of the skilled independent visa 189 and skilled nominated visa 190.

State nomination for subclass 190, also referred to as visa 190 state sponsorship is a key requirement for visa 190 and gives control to States in terms of the occupations they wish to prioritise and the method they use to select candidates. Most States implement their own occupation lists using occupations from the Skilled Migration Occupation Lists and then applying their own criteria for the selection of candidates.

Each State receives an allocation from Home Affairs for the number of subclass 190 applicants it can nominate and administers its own nomination program and sets its own selection criteria. The summaries below provide a general overview only, as these programs and occupation lists can change regularly. For specific advice tailored to your circumstances, you can Contact Us.

Under the NSW 190 state nomination program, nomination applications are by invitation only and candidates with occupations listed on the NSW Visa 190 Occupation List are selected directly from SkillSelect. This list has only around 80 occupations in comparison to the 417 occupations available for subclass 190 visa.

Queensland requires candidates to lodge a Registration of Interest (ROI) in addition to the SkillSelect EOI to be considered under the QLD 190 state nomination program which offers multiple pathways. The pathway relevant to you will depend on whether you are currently living and working in Queensland, have completed your study from a Queensland education (Queensland University Graduates) institution or you are a skilled worker currently outside Australia.

For onshore candidates, the relevant occupation list is the Queensland Onshore Skilled Occupation List (around 150 occupations) whereas for offshore candidates, the occupation list is the Queensland Offshore Skilled Occupation List (around 100 occupations). Queensland 190 program also has another pathway to attract building and construction workers in preparation for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The NT subclass 190 state nomination program accepts direct applications from candidates who meet the nomination criteria and offers two nomination streams for onshore applicants. One for those living and working in the NT and the other for those who have completed their studies with an NT education provider. The occupation list relevant to these streams are the Home Affairs Occupation Lists applicable to the subclass 190 visa. The NT also offers a nomination streams for offshore candidates and requires their occupation to be on the NT Offshore Migration Occupations List.

The WA visa 190 state nomination process is also by invitation only and offered as two streams which are the General Stream and the Graduate Stream. The General Stream is available to occupations that are on the WA Skilled Migration Occupation List (WASMOL) and the Graduate Stream is available to persons who have graduated from an education institution in WA and their occupation is on the Graduate Occupation List (GOL).

The WASMOL includes two schedules, a Schedule 1 which is for high priority occupations and only covers health professionals and a Schedule 2 which covers other occupations. The occupation list sets out the requirements for each occupation such as English proficiency, work experience, level of qualifications and employment as applicable.

South Australia also requires candidates to lodge a Registration of Interest (ROI) in addition to the SkillSelect EOI. SA offers four different Streams under its subclass 190 nomination program covering, SA Graduates, individuals living and working in SA, individuals living and working in regional SA and offshore applicants.

SA has a single occupation list called South Australia’s skilled occupation list that shows availability and eligibility criteria for each of the four available streams.

Similar to QLD visa 190 state nomination and SA visa 190 state nomination, Victoria also requires applicants to submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) and wait to be invited to lodge their nomination application.

The VIC subclass 190 state nomination program is unique and different from all other States because there is no occupation list and there is also no requirement that applicants onshore are employed. Instead, the VIC ROI asks applicants to provide their annual earnings which it then uses as one of the criteria for ranking candidates for invitations.

The subclass 190 state nomination program for TAS also provides for different streams for onshore candidates living and working in the State, graduates from SA education institutions and offshore candidates. TAS also requires completion of an ROI which is then used to rank candidates.

The TAS selection and ranking process is different from other States and introduces the concept of “Priority Attributes” within each stream to rank applicants. The priority attributes are labeled ‘Gold’, ‘Green’, ‘Orange Plus’, ‘Orange’ etc. and are a second-tier point allocation system. Tasmania uses a Priority Occupation List that lists the occupations available under the TAS 190 state nomination program.

The Australian Capital Territory is the smallest jurisdiction in terms of population and its workforce is also less diverse. The ACT 190 state nomination process is also considered to be the simplest and the most transparent. Rather than an ROI, the ACT uses a system called “Canberra Matrix” which is a second-tier points calculator used for internal ranking. The advantage is that the applicant knows their Canberra Matrix score at the time of submission and once the invitation round is completed, the outcomes are published showing each occupation invited and the lowest cut-off matrix score for that occupation.

The ACT has a single occupation list known as the ACT Nominated Migration Program Occupation List that is used for both onshore and offshore applicants.

There is no minimum or expected skilled nominated subclass 190 visa points requirement other than the Home Affairs minimum 65 points requirement. This is because most States select highest ranking candidates to invite for nominations and one of the selection criteria is the skilled migration points score. For example, the SkillSelect data as at May 2026 shows that a Systems Analyst opting for the subclass 190 visa would need between 80 to 105 points on the points test in order to be invited by a State/Territory to apply for nomination. This is much more than the minimum 65 points requirement.

Although a candidate can get additional 5 points from nomination by a State, so does every other candidate opting for visa 190 so the additional 5 points do not make someone more competitive.

One of the benefits of the Skilled Nominated visa 190 is the access to multiple occupations lists which include the MLTSSL and STSOL and collectively they list around 427 occupations. There is however another layer of subclass 190 skilled occupation lists which are the occupation lists of each State. This is a necessary feature of the subclass 190 visa which allows individual States to focus on the occupations they wish to prioritise to meet their local skills shortages.

This means that a particular occupation may be available on occupation lists of more than one State. An example is Database Administrator which is on the occupation list of every State except Queensland.

The English requirement for 190 visa is the same as visa 189 which is a minimum of Competent level for which no points are awarded on the visa 190 points calculator. However, 10 points can be claimed under the points calculator for Proficient English and 20 points can be claimed for Superior English. As explained under the skilled migration English requirement, various English tests are acceptable for visa 190. The most common are IELTS for 190 visa or PTE for 190 visa.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) for 190 visa works similar to the EOI for visa 189 but with one difference that the invitations for visa 190 are not triggered from SkillSelect. Consequently, there is no 190 visa invitation round and the process operates as below:

1. applicant checks whether they meet the minimum threshold requirements of age, English proficiency and skilled migration points
2. applicant checks whether their occupation is on the list of occupations available for the subclass 190 visa and obtain a positive skills assessment for that occupation
3. applicant lodges an Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect, selecting subclass 190 visa as the preferred visa option and selecting one or more States for which they wish to be considered
4. the State scans the EOIs in SkillSelect and if it considers their skills suitable, they invite the applicant to submit a visa 190 nomination application
5. once the State nomination (also called State Sponsorship) application is approved, the approval automatically triggers an invitation from SkillSelect for the applicant to apply for the 190 visa.

As the policy objective of the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa is to allow States to fill local skill shortages, the States expect nominated applicants to continue to live and work in their occupation in their State after the approval of their subclass 190 visa so that the shortage is addressed. This expectation is given effect through what are known as visa 190 obligations.

If someone is invited to submit a nomination application, they will be required to sign a declaration as part of the State nomination requirements that they will make a genuine commitment to live and work in the nominating State for at least 2 years from the date of the approval of their subclass 190 visa.

Although this is a key requirement for the nomination application, it is not legally enforced on the visa holder as a subclass 190 visa condition or as a subclass 190 visa restriction. In fact, this is seen more as a moral obligation between the nominating State and the applicant. For their part, most States will send regular surveys for the 190 visa holder to ensure that they are continuing to live and work in the nominating State.

Similar to the subclass 189 processing time, it is not possible to say with certainty how long visa 190 takes because the total 190 visa processing time is split into the State nomination waiting period and the subclass 190 processing time by Home Affairs. As at 1 June 2026, the Home Affairs processing time for visa 190 is between 14 and 17 months.

The total skilled nominated visa 190 cost includes the cost of all associated processes such as fees for skills assessment, State nomination fee, English testing, medical examination and police checks. Then there is the visa fee that is payable to the Department of Home Affairs and will depend on how many applicants are included in the visa application. It is important to note that the SkillSelect EOI is free.

The table below shows approximate 190 visa fees for a person whose nominated occupation is a Systems Analyst and they are married with no children.

Although several of the mistakes highlighted under the Skilled Independent Visa 189 visa are also relevant to visa 190, there are some other areas highlighted below where mistakes can occur.

Selecting all subclasses and all States in the same EOI – Although technically this is not a mistake but a hasty selection of visa subclasses and States can cost dearly. This is because many States prefer not to nominate candidates who have opted to be considered by more than one State. For example, if the EOI has both NSW and VIC selected, NSW will not consider that EOI. Similarly, some States will not consider an EOI for visa 190 if the EOI has both visa 190 and visa 491 selected.

Not reading the fine print in State occupation lists – As every State has a requirement that the applicant’s occupation is on their occupation list, it is important to make sure that the visa selected in the EOI is actually available in the occupation list. For example, Queensland has the occupation of Exercise Physiologist listed in the occupation list but this is only available for visa 491. This limitation can only be identified by carefully examining the occupation list before submitting the EOI in SkillSelect.

Although the subclass 190 visa is a well-established pathway to permanent residence, successful applications often depend on decisions made long before the visa application itself is lodged. Choosing the wrong State, claiming incorrect points or misunderstanding State nomination criteria can significantly reduce your chances of receiving an invitation.

Similar to the Australia visa 189, the processes for the Skilled Nominated Visa 190 visa must also be completed carefully otherwise mistakes can cost dearly. For example:

• making sure your qualifications and work experience are correctly assessed in identifying your nominated occupation so the prospects of a positive skills assessment are higher
• checking your work experience minutely and correctly to ensure there is no under or over claiming of points in under the 190 points test
• understanding what alternative documents can be provided with the visa application if you are unable to provide the standard documents such as work references letters, pay slips etc.
• optimal selection of the States and visa type to make sure the prospects of receiving an invitation are maximised.

Assure Visa can assist you by:

✓ correctly identifying your occupation for migration purposes

✓ assessing whether the 190 visa is the right pathway

✓ reviewing your points claims

✓ selecting appropriate States if you are based overseas

✓ preparing a decision-ready application

Please take a couple of minutes to read our guidance on how to choose a registered migration agent, including why you should consider Assure Visa Pty Ltd to assist you. You can Contact Us to start a discussion on how we can help you.

✓ Over 30 years’ experience in Australia’s immigration environment

✓ Personalized service from your first consultation to outcome

✓ Top feedback from former clients

✓ Proven track record of getting positive outcomes for clients

Google Review

“Daman from Assure Visa did a fantastic job with our visa application, he is extremely professional and very knowledgeable. With the experience Daman has he was able to get the 190 visa granted within 5 months. Daman makes sure all documents are prepared correctly prior to submitting the application, meaning a fast and smooth process with no roadblocks. We would highly recommend Assure Visa if you are in need of assistance.”

— Alex Addison.

Read more Google Reviews

Use the links below to jump to more information about skilled migration options and visas as relevant to your situation.

►   General Skilled Migration Pathways

►   Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) Visa

►   Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 491 Visa)

►   Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (Subclass 191) Visa

In addition to the frequently asked questions about visa 190 set out below, make sure you have also read the FAQs on visa 189 Australia because most of those questions also apply to visa 190.