Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190)

What is the 190 visa?

The Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) is a permanent points-tested visa for skilled workers nominated by an Australian state or territory government. Nomination adds 5 points to your score and — unlike the 189 — triggers your SkillSelect invitation directly, outside the Department's periodic rounds. The price of that advantage is a second gate: you must qualify under the nominating state's own program rules as well as the federal criteria. Once granted, the 190 is full permanent residency — live, work and study anywhere in Australia, Medicare, and a citizenship pathway.

At a glance (figures updated 12 September 2026)

Figures are set by the Australian Government and change — most index on 1 July each year. Confirm the current charge on the Department of Home Affairs website and nomination criteria with Migration Queensland before lodgement.

How the 190 differs from the 189 (and why it often wins)

The 189 runs infrequent invitation rounds — three in 2025-26 — where your points score competes nationally and most professional occupations needed 80–95 points. The 190 works differently: there are no occupation ceilings and no rounds. When a state nominates you in SkillSelect, your invitation issues directly. The real gate is the state's own program: its occupation lists, its work and residence rules, and its annual allocation of places.

That makes the 190 the practical permanent pathway for strong-but-not- spectacular points scores — if you fit a state program. It also makes state strategy the core of the application, which is where most self-managed 190 attempts go wrong.

Federal eligibility (Home Affairs side)

• Nomination by a state or territory government — a withdrawn nomination invalidates the application

• 65 points or more including the 5 nomination points (your invitation may specify a higher score)

• Under 45 at the time of invitation

• Suitable skills assessment, obtained within the 3 years before invitation

• At least Competent English at invitation

• Occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list

• Health and character requirements at the application stage; onshore applicants must hold a substantive visa or a bridging visa A, B or C at lodgement

Queensland nomination: the rules that actually decide it

Migration Queensland runs two 190 pathways with distinct requirements.

Onshore — skilled workers already in Queensland

• Occupation on the QLD Onshore Skills List

• Living AND working in Queensland for the 9 months immediately before your Registration of Interest (ROI)

• The work must be post-qualification, at least 20 hours per week (casual counts; working from home counts if the employer has a Queensland presence), and in your nominated occupation or one matching the first three digits of its ANZSCO code

• You must still hold the role at ROI, invitation and nomination

• Chefs and cooks working in takeaway or fast-food settings are excluded; 491 holders and applicants are not eligible for QLD 190 nomination

• 65+ points, Competent English

Offshore — skilled workers outside Australia

• Occupation on the QLD Offshore Skills List

• At least 1 year of skilled employment in the nominated (or closely related) occupation as declared in your EOI, and still employed at invitation and nomination

• 65+ points, Competent English

The commitment: Queensland asks nominees to live and work in the state for at least 2 years after grant. Important nuance — this is Migration Queensland's undertaking, not a Home Affairs visa condition. The visa itself permits living anywhere in Australia; the Department's obligations list is simply "obey Australian laws". Breaching the commitment doesn't breach your visa, but it can affect future nominations and is a promise made to the state in your application. We advise treating it as binding.

Program status right now (18 August 2026)

Queensland's 2025-26 program is closed — all 1,850 subclass 190 places (and 750 subclass 491 places) were filled. Migration Queensland is awaiting Commonwealth advice on 2026-27 allocations, and no opening date has been published. Nationally, 2025-26 state-nominated places totalled 20,350 (12,850 × 190, 7,500 × 491); 2026-27 numbers are not yet released.

What to do while the program is shut: this is preparation season, not waiting season. ROIs move fast when the program opens — applicants with a current skills assessment, English result, a clean 9-month QLD work history (onshore) and a ready EOI are the ones who get nominated. Getting decision-ready before opening day is precisely the work to do now.

Processing times: read them with Ministerial Direction 122

The headline figures — 50% in 5 months, 90% in 17 months (processing-times tool, read 12 September 2026) — average across a queue that is not processed in lodgement order. Ministerial Direction 122 has set the order since 19 September 2026. Seven sectors come first: construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources. Roles linked to law enforcement or defence also come first. This applies whether the applicant is in Australia or overseas. Other applicants in Australia come next, then those who applied from overseas. It replaced Direction 119 and applies to applications already lodged. An onshore nurse and an offshore accountant sit at different levels, so never read the averages unqualified. A priority level is an order of work, not a timeframe.

Where 190 applications go wrong (and how to avoid it)

1. Treating the state gate as a formality — federal points don't matter if you never fit a state's occupation list and work rules

2. Breaking the QLD 9-month rule mid-process — changing roles or dropping below 20 hours before nomination is decided

3. ANZSCO mismatch between your actual duties and the first three digits of your nominated occupation

4. Age-45 timing — assessed at invitation; sitting in an ROI pool at 44 needs a fallback plan

5. Stale skills assessments — the 3-year validity is tested at invitation

6. Nomination withdrawn after a change the state wasn't told about — this invalidates the visa application itself

7. Points inflation in the EOI — every claimed point must survive evidence at the application stage; refusal, not correction, is the outcome

If a 190 application is refused, review rights at the Administrative Review Tribunal are strictly time-limited. Our visa refusals and appeals page explains the process and deadlines.

190 planning — every state, onshore or offshore

Migration Vision runs 190 strategy for clients across Australia and offshore — every state program, not just Queensland. If you are already working in Australia, the question is whether your onshore history, hours and ANZSCO alignment hold up, and whether your points are competitive for your occupation. We run that audit online or in person: work-history mapping against the QLD lists, points modelling, EOI and ROI strategy, and the 189/491 fallbacks if the 190 door is slow to open. We advise in English, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the 190 visa cost in 2026?

The Home Affairs application charge is $6,140 for the main applicant for applications lodged on or after 1 July 2026, plus $3,070 per additional applicant 18+ and $1,535 per child under 18. A second instalment of $4,885 applies to each adult applicant with less than functional English. Queensland's nomination fee is separate — $573 offshore or $630.30 onshore, non-refundable.

How long does the 190 visa take to process?

The Home Affairs processing-times tool, read on 12 September 2026, shows 50% of applications decided within 5 months and 90% within 17 months — but Ministerial Direction 122 has set the order since 19 September 2026. Seven sectors come first: construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources. Roles linked to law enforcement or defence also come first. This applies whether the applicant is in Australia or overseas. Other applicants in Australia come next, then those who applied from overseas. So where you sit in the queue depends on your occupation and where you applied from.

Is Queensland nomination open right now?

No. As at 18 August 2026 Queensland's 2025-26 program is closed with all 1,850 places filled, and the 2026-27 opening date is not yet announced. Use the closure to get decision-ready — ROIs move quickly once the program opens.

How many extra points does state nomination give?

A successful state or territory nomination adds 5 points, and — unlike the 189 — the nomination triggers your SkillSelect invitation directly, outside the Department's periodic rounds.

Do I have to stay in Queensland for 2 years?

Queensland asks nominees to commit to living and working in the state for at least 2 years after grant. It is a commitment to Migration Queensland, not a Home Affairs visa condition — but breaching it can affect future dealings with the state, and we advise treating it as binding.

Should I apply for the 190 or the 189?

Run both EOIs. The 189's June 2026 round invited most professional occupations at 80–95 points, while the 190 has no occupation ceilings — if you fit a state program, nomination is usually the faster, more reliable door at moderate points scores.

Is the 190 visa permanent residency?

Yes. The Subclass 190 is permanent from grant — full work rights, Medicare, sponsor eligible relatives, a five-year travel facility and a citizenship pathway.

Why Migration Vision for your 190

• QLD work-history and ANZSCO audit before you lodge an ROI

• Dual-compliance preparation — state program rules and federal criteria as one file

• Points modelling against real program behaviour, not the 65 floor

• Fallback strategy across 189, 491 and employer-sponsored routes

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Processing-priority section updated 23 September 2026 (Ministerial Directions 121 and 122). Updated 12 September 2026 — fee, points, allocation and processing figures verified against the Department of Home Affairs website and the Home Affairs processing-times tool on that date. The Queensland nomination section was last reviewed on 18 August 2026 and is re-checked against migration.qld.gov.au when the 2026-27 program opens. Figures current as at the dates shown; confirm with the Department of Home Affairs before lodgement. This page is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.