How to get permanent residence through the subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa
If you’re a skilled Filipino worker with an occupation on Australia’s skilled list, the Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa could be your direct path to permanent residence — not a stepping stone, but the real thing, from day one.
Here’s what you need to know before you start.
What this visa gives you
The subclass 190 is a permanent visa. Once it’s granted, you can stay in Australia indefinitely. You become a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted — or, if you’re outside Australia at the time, on the day you first enter on the visa.
With this visa you can:
- work and study anywhere in Australia
- enrol in Medicare, Australia’s public health care scheme
- attend free English language classes through the Adult Migrant English Program, if eligible
- sponsor relatives to come to Australia
- travel in and out of Australia for 5 years from the date of grant
- if eligible, become an Australian citizen
After those 5 years, you’ll need a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter as a permanent resident.
The four things you must have
The Department of Home Affairs is clear about the core requirements. You must:
- have an occupation on the relevant skilled list
- have a suitable skills assessment for that occupation
- be invited to apply
- satisfy the points test
You cannot simply lodge an application. You must be invited — and that invitation only comes after a state or territory government nominates you.
How the nomination process works
This is where many applicants get tripped up, so pay attention.
You start by submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect. State and territory government agencies can see your completed EOI and may choose to nominate you. Only after a nomination will the Department invite you to apply.
Every state and territory runs its own nomination programme with its own criteria. You’ll need to contact them directly to understand what they’re looking for. The eight nominating bodies are:
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
This gets tricky if your nominated state or territory withdraws your nomination after you’ve already applied — the source page is explicit: your application becomes invalid if that happens.
Your skills assessment and timing
For your application to be valid, you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation. Importantly, the Department will accept a skills assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period — a position that came out of the Federal Circuit Court decision in Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686. You’ll need to provide a copy of that assessment with your application.
Applying from the Philippines — or anywhere else
You can be inside or outside Australia when you apply and when the Department decides your application. If you’re already in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa, a Bridging visa A (subclass 010), a Bridging visa B (subclass 020), or a Bridging visa C (subclass 030) at the time you apply — otherwise your application won’t be valid.
Costs and family members
You can include members of your family unit in your application — either when you lodge it or after, as long as it’s before a decision is made. All family members must meet health and character requirements.
The source page does not specify the base visa application charge for the main applicant at the time of writing — use the Department’s Visa Pricing Estimator for a current figure. What the source does confirm: if any family member aged 18 or older has less than functional English, a second instalment charge applies. That charge is AUD 4,885 per family member. The Department will only ask for it if they’re about to grant the visa.
Processing times
The Department assesses applications case by case. Factors that affect how long it takes include whether you’ve lodged a complete application, how quickly you respond to requests, and how many places are available in the migration programme. For current processing times, use the Department’s visa processing time guide tool.
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First published by the Department of Home Affairs — Immigration and citizenship website. Read the full source at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-nominated-190.
This is general information, not migration advice. For your specific case, consult a MARA-registered agent — find one in our directory.
