Australian work visas explained: which route fits you?

Work down the questions in order and stop at the first yes. More than one route can fit, and many people use two in sequence: a temporary visa first, then permanent residence.

• Does an Australian employer want to sponsor you, and would you earn at least AUD146,576? Look at the Skills in Demand visa, Specialist Skills stream.
• Is your occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), with a salary of at least AUD79,423 and the market rate? Look at the Skills in Demand visa, Core Skills stream.
• Have you already worked full-time for your sponsor on a 482 or 457 visa, usually for 2 years? Look at the Employer Nomination Scheme (186), Temporary Residence Transition stream.
• Are you under 45, with a positive skills assessment and an occupation on the relevant list, but no employer? Check whether you can reach 65 points for a 189, 190 or 491 visa.
• Are you 18 to 30 (35 for some countries) with an eligible passport? A Working Holiday visa gives you 12 months of work to build Australian experience.
• Did you just complete a degree in Australia? See the Temporary Graduate visa in our graduate guide.

This path is a reading of Home Affairs’ published conditions, not legal advice. If you pay someone for help, use a migration agent registered with OMARA or an Australian legal practitioner.

The Skills in Demand visa lets an employer sponsor a skilled worker for a position it cannot fill with a suitably skilled Australian. It replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa in December 2024 and has three streams.

• Specialist Skills stream: an occupation in ANZSCO major groups 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6, which leaves out technicians and trades workers, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers, with a salary of at least AUD146,576 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026.
• Core Skills stream: an occupation on the CSOL, paid at least the annual market salary rate for the role and no less than AUD79,423. Positions paying AUD250,000 or more do not need a market-rate comparison.
• Labour Agreement stream: for workers nominated by employers that have a labour agreement with the government.

In the Core and Specialist streams you need at least 1 year of relevant work experience, gained within the last 5 years (part-time work counts if it adds up to 12 months full-time). You may need a skills assessment from Trades Recognition Australia or VETASSESS, depending on your occupation. Unless you are exempt, you need an English test result such as IELTS with at least 5.0 in each component. You must hold adequate health insurance for your whole stay, and you must work for your sponsor, normally full-time. Your employer must usually do labour market testing first.

The visa lasts as long as your employer nominates you, up to 4 years, and cannot be extended. Your family can come with you and live, study and work in Australia. Paying for visa sponsorship is illegal: if you or a family member has done so in the past 3 years, you may not qualify.

You can change employers, but not in a hurry. You cannot start working for a new employer until it is an approved sponsor with a new approved nomination for you. You do not need a new visa unless your visa is about to expire or your duties change.

A promotion or pay rise with the same duties needs nothing new, as long as your pay stays above the relevant threshold. A new role with new duties needs a new nomination and a new visa. If your job ends, your employer must tell Home Affairs within 28 days, and you have up to 180 days from your last day to find another sponsor, be granted a different visa or leave Australia. Start looking for a new sponsor on day one.

The 186 is a permanent visa: you can live, work and study in Australia indefinitely and apply for citizenship if eligible. It has three streams.

• Temporary Residence Transition: for people who hold a 482, 457 or eligible bridging visa, have usually worked for at least 2 years full-time in eligible sponsored employment, and have a nomination approved in the 6 months before they apply.
• Direct Entry: for people who have not been sponsored before. You must be under 45 when you apply (unless exempt), nominated for an occupation on the CSOL, have at least 3 years of relevant work experience and a positive skills assessment, and meet the English requirement.
• Labour Agreement: for employers with a labour agreement.

The employer must offer a full-time position that is ongoing for at least 2 years and pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy. The visa costs from AUD6,140 for the main applicant. It is not quick: for applications decided up to 31 July 2026, half of Temporary Residence Transition cases took 14 months and 90% took 22 months.

These visas do not need an employer. You submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect, you are ranked against other candidates, and you may be invited to apply. To be invited you need an occupation on the relevant list, a suitable skills assessment, an indicative score of at least 65 points, and to be under 45. Once invited you have 60 days to apply.

• Skilled Independent (189): permanent, with no nomination. From AUD6,135 for the main applicant.
• Skilled Nominated (190): permanent, but you need a nomination from a state or territory government. From AUD6,140.
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (491): 5 years living, working and studying in a designated regional area, with a state or territory nomination or an eligible relative as sponsor. You can apply for permanent residence after 3 years. From AUD6,140.

Points come from age (30 for ages 25–32), English (10 for Proficient, 20 for Superior), skilled work experience (capped at 20 combined for overseas and Australian experience), qualifications (15 for a bachelor degree, 20 for a doctorate) and other factors. 65 is the minimum to be invited, not a guarantee: your invitation states the score you must meet. Use the Home Affairs points calculator and be conservative. Every claim needs documents behind it.

For the points-tested visas and the 186 Direct Entry stream, yes. For the 482 it depends on your occupation. A skills assessing authority checks that your qualifications and experience meet the Australian standard for your occupation, and Home Affairs only accepts an assessment from the authority named for your occupation on the skilled occupation list.

VETASSESS assesses many professional and trade occupations, Trades Recognition Australia assesses trades, Engineers Australia assesses engineers and the Australian Computer Society (ACS) assesses IT professionals. For doctors, full registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) counts as the assessment. Each authority sets its own fees and timelines.

Watch the validity. An assessment with no expiry date is valid for 3 years from its date of issue. A provisional assessment for a 485 visa does not count for a points-tested visa. Our qualification recognition guide covers regulated professions.

Working Holiday visas let eligible passport holders stay for 12 months, do short-term work to fund their stay, and study for up to 4 months. You must apply from outside Australia, apply on your own and not bring dependent children. The first visa costs AUD840.

The 417 is for passports such as the UK, Canada, France and Denmark, with an age limit of 30 or 35 depending on the country. The 462 has its own list of countries, an age limit of 30, and education and English requirements, such as a tertiary qualification or 2 years of undergraduate study. Citizens of China, India and Vietnam must enter a ballot and be selected before they can apply.

You can usually work for the same employer for up to 6 months. Doing 3 months of specified work, such as plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia, makes you eligible for a second visa. Home Affairs is prioritising onshore applications, so some offshore applications take several months: do not book flights until your visa is granted.

Many Australian employers have never sponsored a visa and assume it is harder than it is. Give the hiring manager a short brief:

• Which stream fits and why: your occupation’s ANZSCO code, whether it is on the CSOL and the salary against the relevant threshold.
• What they do: become an approved sponsor, carry out labour market testing unless exempt, and lodge a nomination. Accredited sponsors get priority processing.
• What the contract needs: at least the market salary for the role and the threshold, and duties that match the nominated occupation.
• What you have ready: your skills assessment (if needed), English test, health insurance and 5 years of employment history.

Salary is often where the conversation stalls. Our salary negotiation guide covers how to discuss the package without losing the offer.