How to Get Australian Permanent Residency in 2026

What is permanent residency in Australia?

Australian permanent residency (PR) is a visa status that lets you live and work in Australia indefinitely without needing to renew your visa. A PR visa is not citizenship — you remain a citizen of your home country — but it grants most of the same practical rights.

As a permanent resident you can:

• Live and work anywhere in Australia without restrictions.
• Access Medicare, Australia's public health insurance system.
• Sponsor eligible family members for certain visas.
• Apply for Australian citizenship after meeting the residency requirements (generally four years of residence including one year as a PR).
• Travel to and from Australia freely, within the validity of your Resident Return Visa (which is typically five years from grant, and renewable).

Permanent visas are fundamentally different from temporary visas such as the 482 TSS or student visa, which are time-limited and tied to specific conditions (like a particular employer or course of study). Getting PR means Australia has granted you the right to be here indefinitely.

Skilled migration: 189, 190, and 491

For most applicants, skilled migration is the primary pathway to Australian PR. There are three main skilled visa subclasses, and they operate through a points-based system called SkillSelect.

Subclass 189 — Skilled Independent Visa

The 189 is the most straightforward skilled visa — there is no requirement for state or territory sponsorship or employer sponsorship. You submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect, and the Department of Home Affairs invites you to apply based on your points score. It grants permanent residency directly, with full work rights anywhere in Australia.

The minimum points score to submit an EOI is 65 points. However, the actual points score required to receive an invitation is typically much higher — often 80 to 90+ points depending on the occupation. Invitation scores vary significantly by occupation, so highly sought-after occupations (such as some ICT and engineering roles) can have higher cutoffs.

Subclass 190 — Skilled Nominated Visa

The 190 requires nomination by an Australian state or territory government. Nomination adds 5 points to your score and is a significant advantage. Each state has its own occupation list and requirements — some states focus on specific industries, regional workforce gaps, or require evidence of a job offer.

A 190 visa requires you to live and work in the nominating state for at least two years, though enforcement of this requirement can vary.

Subclass 491 — Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)

The 491 is a provisional visa, meaning it does not grant PR directly. It is a stepping stone. You must live and work in a designated regional area of Australia for at least three years, and earn above a minimum annual income threshold, before you can apply for the Subclass 191 (Permanent Residence — Skilled Regional) permanent visa.

Nomination for a 491 can come from a state/territory government or from an eligible relative living in a designated regional area. Nomination adds 15 points to your score — making it considerably easier to achieve an invitation than the 189 route.

Employer sponsorship: 482 to 186

If you have an Australian employer willing to sponsor you, the employer-sponsored pathway can lead to permanent residency, though it takes longer than the skilled independent route in most cases.

The typical pathway is:

1. Your employer becomes an approved sponsor by applying to the Department of Home Affairs.
2. The employer nominates you for a specific occupation under the Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visa.
3. You work for your sponsor on the 482 for at least two years.
4. Your employer nominates you for the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) Visa — a permanent visa.

The 186 visa has two main streams: the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream for existing 482 holders, and the Direct Entry stream for highly skilled workers nominated for occupations on specific lists. The TRT stream requires at least two years of employment with the sponsoring employer in the nominated role.

Family visas

If you are in a genuine de facto or married relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident, the partner visa is the most common family pathway to PR.

The partner visa is a two-stage process:

• Stage 1 — Subclass 820 (onshore) or 309 (offshore): A temporary visa granted while your application is being assessed. This stage allows you to live and work in Australia while you wait.
• Stage 2 — Subclass 801 (onshore) or 100 (offshore): Permanent residency, automatically granted (if approved) approximately two years after the Stage 1 application date. This requires that the relationship is still genuine and ongoing.

Other family visas include the Parent Visa and Child Visa. Parent visas are notoriously long — the contributory parent visa has wait times of several years, and the non-contributory parent visa queue can exceed 10 to 30 years depending on the subclass. If family reunification is your goal via a parent visa, you should plan well in advance and seek professional migration advice.

Regional pathways: 491 to 191

Australia actively encourages settlement in regional areas — cities and towns outside Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane — through additional points incentives and a dedicated permanent visa for regional migrants.

The Subclass 491 provisional visa leads to the Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa. To be eligible for the 191, you must:

• Have held the 491 for at least three years.
• Have lived and worked in a designated regional area throughout that period.
• Have earned at least the minimum income threshold in each of the three years (the threshold is indexed annually — check the Department's website for the current figure).
• Meet health and character requirements.

The 191 pathway is genuinely accessible for many applicants who might struggle to compete for the 189 or 190 invitation rounds due to lower points scores, because the 491 adds 15 points to your EOI. Many regional areas also have stronger demand for skilled workers, increasing the likelihood of state nomination approval.

Common requirements across pathways

Regardless of which pathway you pursue, almost all Australian permanent visa applications require you to meet the following:

• Skills assessment — Your occupation must be assessed by the relevant assessing authority (for example, Engineers Australia for engineering roles, VETASSESS for many trades and management occupations, ACS for ICT). This confirms your qualifications and experience are comparable to Australian standards.
• English language proficiency — Most visas require at least "competent English" (IELTS 6 in each band, or equivalent in PTE, TOEFL, or OET). Higher scores can earn additional points for the points test.
• Health examination — A medical examination by an approved panel physician is required. Most applicants clear this easily, but certain medical conditions may affect the outcome.
• Character check — A police clearance from every country where you have lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Serious criminal history can lead to refusal under character grounds.
• Valid passport — Your passport must be valid throughout the application process.

Realistic timelines

Processing times for permanent visas vary widely and fluctuate depending on application volumes, departmental resources, and completeness of your application.

• Subclass 189: Typically 6 to 24 months from the date of invitation and application lodgement, though priority processing can be faster for some occupations.
• Subclass 190: Varies significantly by state — some states process state nomination quickly, others have long queues. Total time from EOI to PR grant can be 12 to 36 months.
• Subclass 186 (TRT stream): Usually 12 to 24 months from application lodgement. You must have two years with your sponsor before you can lodge.
• Partner visa (820/801): Stage 1 is usually 12 to 24 months. Stage 2 PR is then granted approximately two years after the Stage 1 application date if the relationship is ongoing — so total time to PR is typically around three to four years from initial application.
• Subclass 191 (from 491): Three years on the 491 in a regional area, followed by the 191 application processing time.

Where to start

The skilled migration pathway begins well before you lodge a visa application. Here is the general sequence:

1. Check your occupation — Confirm your occupation is on a relevant skilled occupation list (SOL, MLTSSL, or STSOL). Lists change and not all occupations are eligible for all visa subclasses.
2. Get a skills assessment — Apply to the relevant assessing authority. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months depending on the body and complexity of your qualifications.
3. Take an English test — If you need to improve your score, factor in preparation time. Higher English scores (IELTS 8 in all bands = "superior English") add significant points.
4. Calculate your points — Use a points calculator to estimate your score. Use our free Points Test Calculator to get your current score and see which factors could improve it.
5. Submit an EOI in SkillSelect — Once you have your skills assessment and other documents, submit your Expression of Interest. You can update your EOI at any time before receiving an invitation.
6. Wait for an invitation — Invitation rounds typically occur monthly. Once invited, you have 60 days to lodge a full visa application.
7. Lodge your application and gather documents — Police clearances, health checks, and certified documents are typically requested at this stage.

Given the complexity of skilled migration and the fact that errors or delays in your application can cost you time and money, working with a Registered Migration Agent (MARA) is strongly recommended — particularly for employer-sponsored and complex family visa applications.