Direct entry stream

Get your skills assessed

Get a skills assessment if you need to. The assessment will prove you have the right skills and qualifications to do your job.

Organise English exams

Make sure your English test results are current for this visa. Have English exams if necessary

Organise health exams

You need to have health examinations. You can complete them before you apply or you can wait until after you apply.

Find out the examinations you need and how to arrange them if you want to have them before you apply.

Get help with your application

You don’t have to use a migration agent to apply for any visa. But if you want to, see how to find a registered migration agent.

Anyone can help you fill out forms or give you general help with your application. But you must let us know if you want someone to:

• receive your correspondence
• provide immigration assistance and act for you

Get the Nomination TRN

Make sure your employer has submitted a nomination application. They will receive a nomination Transaction Reference Number (TRN) when they do.

Ask your employer for the TRN. You need it to apply for the visa.

Your rights and your employer's responsibilities

Criminal and civil penalties can be applied to anyone who asks for, receives, offers or provides a benefit in exchange for visa sponsorship. Learn more about work visa scams.

Provide accurate information

Provide accurate information. See what happens if you can't prove your identity or don't provide true information.

Identity documents

Provide the pages of your current passport showing your photo, personal details, and passport issue and expiry dates.

Also provide:

• a national identity card, if you have one
• proof of change of name

Documents that prove a change of name include:

• a marriage or divorce certificate
• change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, or the relevant overseas authority
• documents that show other names you have been known by

Licencing, registration and membership

Provide evidence of any licence, registration or professional membership mandatory to perform the nominated occupation in the state or territory you intend to work in, if applicable.

If you are a doctor, provide one of these certificates issued by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency as proof of full registration:

• unconditional or general medical registration
• conditional specialist registration which allows you to practise only in your particular specialty with no further training or supervision requirements

If you are a barrister or solicitor, provide proof of admission to practise as a lawyer in the relevant state or territory.

Skills and qualifications documents

Provide either:

• documents that prove your skills and qualifications
• documents to prove you are exempt from proving your skills and qualifications

Age exemption documents

If you are 45 years old or older, provide documents to show you are exempt from the age eligibility criteria.

You are exempt from this criteria if any of the following apply to you:

• you are nominated as an academic (university lecturer or faculty head at Academic Level B, C D or E) by a university in Australia
• you are nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical (scientific) specialist at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2 by an Australian scientific government agency
• you currently hold a Special Category (subclass 444) or New Zealand citizen's family member (subclass 461) visa and have worked for the employer who nominated you, in the nominated position, for at least 2 years in the last 3 years immediately before you apply. The 2 years excludes periods of unpaid leave.

See more about age, skill and English language exemptions in the relevant legislative instrument, IMMI 18/045.

English language documents

Provide documents that show you have Competent English.

Health documents

You do not need to provide health documents. If you have had medical exams, the results are sent to us by your doctor.

Character documents

Provide an Australian police certificate if you have spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since you turned 16. We only accept complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police . We do not accept standard disclosure certificates or national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police. For immigration purposes, Australian police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

Also provide:

• an overseas police certificate from every country, including your home country, where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16
• military service records or discharge papers if you served in the armed forces of any country

Tell us you are getting help

To nominate someone to:

• receive your correspondence, use Form 956a Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient
• provide immigration advice, use Form 956 Advice by a migration agent/exempt person of providing immigration assistance
• act for you but not provide immigration assistance, let us know in writing what they can do on your behalf (such as submit or withdraw an application for you). Upload your written notification in ImmiAccount

See more about getting help with your application.

Partner documents

Provide:

• identity documents
• character documents

Provide either:

• your current marriage certificate or
• enough documents to prove your partner has been in a de facto relationship with you for at least 12 months before you apply

Documents that prove a de facto relationship include:

• joint bank account statements
• billing accounts in joint names
• joint leases or mortgages
• documents that show you have both lived at the same address

Proof of Functional English

You must show that your partner has Functional English

Dependants under 18 documents

For every dependant under 18 years who is applying with you provide:

• identity documents
• proof of their relationship with you such as a birth or marriage certificate
• character documents, if applicable

Dependants over 18 documents

For every dependant 18 years old or older who is applying with you provide:

• identity documents
• documents about other relationships, if applicable
• character documents

Prepare your documents

What will happen after you apply

We will let you know when we have received your application.

Status updates

We can’t give updates on applications within the time.

Wait for us to contact you.

Travel after you apply

If you are in Australia, you don't have to tell us if you want to travel outside Australia while we process your application. This is because you can be outside Australia when we decide on your application.

But if you leave Australia, make sure you have a valid visa to return.

Learn about visa expiry.

Learn about Bridging visas.

Health exams

If you didn't have health examinations before you applied, we will let you know if you need them. Check ImmiAccount.

Biometrics

We might ask for biometrics (fingerprints and photo). We will let you know if you need to provide them.

Attach more information

We might ask you to provide more information. Attach any additional documents we ask you for as soon as possible in ImmiAccount..

Stay lawful

Make sure you stay lawful by holding a valid visa while we process your application.

When you apply for this visa in Australia, you are likely to be granted a bridging visa. If your current visa expires before we decide your application, the bridging visa will start. You can stay in Australia on the bridging visa while we process your new visa application.

Learn more about visa expiry.

Pay the second instalment

If you need to pay a second instalment, we will send you an invoice after you have met all other requirements for the visa. Pay the instalment after you get the invoice. Do not ask for the invoice.

Add family

You can add family members to your application after you apply but before we decide on your visa.

For the purpose of adding family members to this visa, your family members are:

• your partner
• your dependent child
• your partner’s dependent child

Mistakes on your application

Let us know as soon as you can if you made a mistake on your application.

Complete Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers.

Help with your application

Let us know if you no longer want someone to:

• receive your correspondence - complete Form 956a Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient
• provide immigration advice - complete Form 956 Advice by a migration agent/exempt person of providing immigration assistance
• act for you - let us know in writing by uploading your advice in ImmiAccount

See more about withdrawing your nomination.

Tell us if things change

Tell us if things change after you submit your application but before we decide on your application.

Things you need to let us know about include:

• you want to withdraw your application
• changes to your phone number, address or passport
• changes to your relationship status
• the birth of a child

See what to do if your situation changes.

About visa outcome

If we grant your visa, we will tell you:

• your visa grant number
• the date your visa starts
• your visa conditions, if applicable

Keep a copy of the decision.

If we refuse your visa, we will tell you:

• why we refused the visa
• whether you have a right to a review of the decision

We will not refund the visa application charge if we refuse your application.

Get the position assessed

The nominated position must be assessed by a regional certifying body.

Assessments provide us with information about local labour market conditions and other relevant regional matters that we might not be aware of. We use this information to assess your nomination against the following criteria:

• the identified person would be paid at least the annual market salary rate for the occupation
• there is a genuine need for the identified person to be employed in the position, under the direct control of the nominator
• whether the position can be filled by an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident who is living in, or would move to, the local area concerned

To correctly reflect local labour market conditions, the RCB assessment should not be older than 3 months when you make your nomination application.

You might have to pay for the RCB assessment.

Find your closest regional certifying body.

Make sure the applicant is eligible

Make sure that the applicant you want to nominate is eligible for this visa through the Direct Entry stream.

If they are not eligible, we might refuse your application.

Advice of assessment by a regional certifying body

Include the advice of assessment you received from the regional certifying body that assessed the position.

Applicant's employment contract

The contract must indicate:

• the base salary - if the worker will earn less than AUD250,000 a year, their salary must not be less than the annual market salary rate
• the total remuneration and terms and conditions of employment - these conditions must not be less favourable than the conditions that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• that the position is full-time, ongoing and available for at least 2 years

We can't approve the nomination application unless the nominee will be employed in a position under the direct control of the nominator.

Proof your business is actively and lawfully operating in regional Australia

Provide:

• certificate of registration for tax purposes (ABN) for all businesses
• certificate of registration of business name (if operating under a trading name)
• certificate of registration with ASIC (if a company)
• relevant pages of the trust deed specifying the parties to the trust (if you are a trust or trustee of a trust)
• current lease agreement
• letter of support from the accountant of your business

Also provide either:

• audited balance sheet and profit and loss statement for the most recently concluded fiscal year with comparative figures for previous fiscal year, or
• business tax returns and associated tax assessment notices for the most recently concluded fiscal year

If the fiscal period of the financial statements or tax returns ended more than three months before you lodge your application, also provide a business activity statement (BAS) for each complete quarter from the end of the fiscal period to the date you lodge your application.

If your business has operated for less than 12 months, also provide:

• business activity statements (BAS) for each complete quarter from the start of operations to the time you lodge the nomination, and
• statements for the business bank account from the start of operations to the time you lodge the nomination.

Proof you need a paid employee

Provide:

• detailed organisational structure chart
• the name of the occupation and its ANZSCO code
• detailed position description including specified tasks and duties of the position

Also provide these where applicable:

• evidence that the position has existed and been previously occupied but has become vacant through attrition
• evidence that the position is currently occupied by a temporary resident, if applicable
• evidence of an increase in business activity (e.g. new contracts won) requiring workers in the nominated occupation
• evidence of overtime work or increase in overtime work for employees currently in the nominated occupation
• if your business is diversifying, evidence of appropriate market research, business plans detailing proposed expansion and timelines, financial budgets covering expenditure and anticipated revenue and evidence of availability of funding (such as own funds or bank loans)

Proof you will pay the annual market salary rate

If the employee will earn less than AUD250,000 a year, see how to prove you will pay them the annual market salary rate (AMSR) for their occupation.

Clearly identify and explain your evidence. If you provide unlabelled salary surveys or vague details on how you determined the AMSR, we might refuse your nomination.

Where there is a difference between the determined AMSR and the nominee's proposed salary, explain why.

Where a caveat applies

Caveats apply to some occupations for the subclass 187 visa. These caveats exclude the occupation from eligibility under the employer nomination scheme in some circumstances.
Where we might assess the occupation you are nominating as ineligible due to a caveat, provide evidence that it is eligible.
For example, one caveat applied to the occupation of chef is that the nominated position can’t be in a fast food or takeaway food service. Provide evidence to show the caveat does not apply to the position so that we don’t assess it as ineligible, such as:

• a detailed position description
• an explanatory statement and evidence that describes the core activities of your business
• a copy of the menu
• a link to your website
• a floor plan
• photographs of the premises that show the size and type of your establishment
• details of food preparation done on the premises
• details of table service provided and the volume of in-restaurant dining
• any other evidence you consider relevant

You can also ask us to consider the broader circumstances when we assess caveats - for example, the turnover and salary caveats, including those of an overseas parent company. Submit your request to us in writing.

We list any caveats that apply to occupations on the skilled occupations list.

Send more documents

If you did not include all documents when you applied, send them as soon as you can. We might also ask you to provide more information.

Tell us if things change

Contact the relevant visa processing office to report changes that could affect your application.

When you write to us, include your:

• business name
• ABN or ACN
• nomination Transaction Reference Number (TRN)

Withdraw your nomination application

You can withdraw your application any time before we decide on your nomination application.

To withdraw your nomination, email the processing area.

Note: Removing your application from ImmiAccount does not withdraw the nomination. Generally, we do not refund the nomination fee.