STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR 190 VISA (2021-22 YEAR)
190 visa is points based and allows skilled workers who are nominated by an Australian state or territory government to live and work in Australia as a permanent resident. In order to apply for the visa subclass 190, applicants must first successfully obtain a nomination from a state/ territory government. It is worth noting that besides the minimum requirements from the Department of Home Affairs, each state/ territory government has their own set of requirements that all applicants who want to be nominated must meet. Navigating the state/ territory requirements is often complicated.
Understanding these difficulties, we have compiled the basic requirements of all states/ territories in this article so you can have a better idea of what need to be met to increase your chance of getting invitations.
The allocations show the maximum number of visas each state/ territory is allocated each year.
| State | Skilled nominated (SC 190) Visa | Skilled Work Regional (SC 491) Visa | Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) |
| ACT | 600 | 1,400 | 30 |
| NSW | 4,000 | 3,640 | 2,200 |
| VIC | 3,500 | 500 | 1,750 |
| QLD | 1,000 | 1,250 | 1,400 |
| NT | 500 | 500 | 75 |
| WA | 1,100 | 340 | 360 |
| SA | 2,600 | 2,600 | 1,000 |
| TAS | 1,100 | 2,200 | 45 |
| Total | 14,400 | 12,430 | 6,860 |
Below is a summary of the state requirements for the 190 visa.
Key Summary
NSW |
VIC |
ACT |
WA |
NT |
QLD |
TAS |
SA |
|
| Residence | Reside in NSW | Reside in Victoria for at least 6 months | Reside in Canberra for at least 6 months | No | Yes | Closed | Reside in Tasmania | Reside in SA |
| Local Employment | Not required | Yes | Yes – at least 6 months | Yes | Must show good job prospect | Closed | Yes if not apply under Graduates category | No |
| Offshore invite | No | No | No | No | No | Closed | Yes – if have job offer | No |
| Fees (AUD) | $300 | Nil | $300 | $200 | $300 | $220 | $220 | $330 |
New South Wales 190 visa criteria
To be eligible for the NSW state nomination, applicants must:
- be under 45 years of age.
- Have a positive skill assessment in an occupation in the NSW Skilled Occupation Lists for 190 visa.
- have at least a competent level of English. Citizen of the USA, UK, Canada, Republic of Ireland or New Zealand are not required to complete an English assessment.
- be currently residing in NSW. NSW will not invite EOIs submitted from people currently residing in another Australian state or territory, or offshore.
NSW nomination is competitive due to a huge amounts of applications throughout the years. Therefore, you must increase your points as much as possible to maximise the chance of being nominated.
Offshore candidates- NSW 190 visa
Offshore candidates skilled in occupations within some ANZSCO unit groups are now eligible for NSW nomination.
Note: to be eligible as an offshore applicant, you must have continuously resided offshore for the past three months.
Work experience requirement- NSW 190 visa
You now must have a minimum three years work experience in your nominated (or closely related) occupation for all occupations within some ANZSCO unit groups. These changes apply to all SkillSelect EOIs regardless of when they were submitted or amended and apply to both onshore and offshore EOIs.