This visa allows an immigrant to live and work in Australia as a permanent resident. It is for points-tested skilled workers who are not sponsored by an employer or family member or nominated by a state or territory government. To be eligible to apply for this visa, you must submit an Expression of Interest and then be invited through  SkillSelect to proceed with your application. With this visa, you and your family members who have also been granted this visa can:

With this visa, you can

• Stay in Australia permanently
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
• Sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years
• If eligible, become an Australian citizen

You Must

• have an occupation on the relevant skilled list
• have a suitable skills assessment for the occupation
• be invited to apply for this visa
• satisfy the points test

Eligibility

You can only apply for this visa if you are invited. To get invited, you need to submit an expression of interest (EOI) to let the Department of Immigration and Border Protection know that you would like to apply for the visa.

After you have submitted an EOI, you will be ranked against other intending applicants and might be invited to apply for the visa.

To submit EOI you need to

• Have a suitable skills assessment
• You must be aged under 45
• Be able to score 65 points or more
• Have this level of competent English language
• Meet the skills requirement
• Meet health requirements
• Meet character requirement
• Have paid back your debt to the Australian government
• Sign the Australian values statement
• Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused