Skilled workers living offshore

NOTE: The 2023 - 24 program opened on 5 September 2023. Migration Queensland will only consider EOIs lodged on or after 5 September 2023 - updated EOIs will not be considered.

Features

Migration Queensland nominates skilled migrants who are outside of Australia (offshore) under two visa subclasses:

The Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190) – This visa is available for offshore skilled workers who wish to live and work in Queensland permanently, and;

The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – This visa allows nominated skilled workers to live and work in regional Queensland for five years and is a pathway to permanent residency.

Definition of Regional Queensland - applicable regions

Regional Queensland is defined as per the Department of Home Affairs' list of designated regional area postcodes. You must live and work within one of the following postcodes to be eligible for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491):

4019–4022, 4025, 4037, 4074, 4076–4078, 4124–4125, 4133, 4183–4184, 4207–4275, 4280–4287, 4300–4301, 4303–4498, 4500–4512, 4514–4519, 4521, 4550–4575, 4580–4895.

Note: The above postcodes are applicable to those who have been nominated and applied for their 491 visa from 5 March 2022. Further details can be found in LIN 22/022.

If you were nominated or applied for the 491 visa prior to 5 March 2022, the applicable Queensland postcodes can be found in LIN 20/292.

If you were granted a 491 visa prior to 19 November 2019, the Gold Coast is not an eligible region.

To find other visa options that suit your circumstances, use the Department of Home Affairs Visa Finder.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for a Queensland nomination, you must meet both the Australian Department of Home Affairs criteria and Migration Queensland criteria for your chosen visa category.

Home Affairs criteria requires you to:

have a points-test result of 65 or higher, inclusive of state nomination points;
have a positive skills assessment in your nominated occupation;
be under 45 years of age;
meet the minimum English language requirement of Competent, unless a higher level is required by your assessing authority.

Migration Queensland criteria requires you to:

Requirement	Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190)	Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)
Points	Have a points test result of 75 or higher (except for Trades occupations*, which require 70 or higher)	Have a points test result of 65 or higher
Occupation	Have an occupation on the Queensland Skilled Occupation List (QSOL) eligible for the 190 visa pathway	Have an occupation on the Queensland Skilled Occupation List (QSOL) eligible for the 491 visa pathway
English	Have Competent English or higher (except where a higher level of English is required**)	Have Competent English or higher (except where a higher level of English is required**)
Work experience	Must provide evidence of the required years of post-study work experience as per the QSOL. Note: You must be employed in your nominated occupation when you are invited	Must provide evidence of the required years of post-study work experience as per the QSOL Note: You must be employed in your nominated occupation when you are invited
Commitment to living in Queensland	Must commit to living and working in Queensland for two years from date of arrival	Must commit to living and working in regional Queensland for three years from date of arrival

*A trade occupation is defined as an ANZSCO occupation grouping beginning with 3

** Please note that to be registered or licensed in certain occupations, a higher level of English is required. In these cases, it is the responsibility of the applicant to understand the language requirements of the skills assessment and registration process for their nominated occupation. Migration Queensland will not nominate anyone who has lower English than is required for their occupation.

Important notes

If you have been nominated, applied for or hold a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), Migration Queensland will not nominate you for the Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190). This restriction also applies to the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489).

If you are eligible for both the 190 and the 491 visas, please submit one EOI and select both visa classes. Please do not submit multiple EOIs – if you do, we will select the first one in the queue and close the rest. You will be offered one invitation only.
You will receive copies of the State Nomination Application and Settlement Funds Declaration form, if/when Migration Queensland invites you to lodge an application.
If you have more than one skills assessment, please only submit one EOI for the occupation that best meets your current employment.
Please ensure that you read the application process, document checklist and all explanatory notes (below) before submitting your application
Migration Queensland handle a high volume of applications and client enquiries; enquiries about where your application is in the queue or when you will be invited to apply will not receive a response.
Priority will not be given to invitations where documents or visas are expiring.

NOTE: Please ensure that the information on your EOI is correct. If Migration Queensland nominates you and you have made a mistake or fail to lodge your visa application by the required lodgement date, Migration Queensland will not consider any further application from you until at least six months after your last nomination.

Application process

Step 1

Review your eligibility criteria, visa conditions, and document checklist on the Department of Home Affairs website and Migration Queensland website. Ensure that you meet both the Home Affairs eligibility criteria and Migration Queensland criteria and that you have all your documentation – including proof of registration, if required for your occupation – ready before you apply.

Step 2

Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) on SkillSelect. Provide all information on your EOI, including work experience. You must select 'Queensland' as your only state of interest to be considered.

Step 3

Migration Queensland considers all EOIs that meet the above criteria. If you are invited to apply for nomination, you will receive an email invitation to lodge an application and will be requested to provide the documents required (see list below).

Step 4

When you have received your invitation from Migration Queensland:

upload the required documents - only upload one document per file. If you have multiple documents, merge, and save them as one file, and
pay the non-refundable application fee to finalise your application. Do not pay the fee until you have been invited to apply and all your documents have been uploaded.

Migration Queensland will then assess your application and request any further information.

Note: You will be given 14 calendar days to finalise your application from the date of invitation. Applications not finalised within the time frame will be closed and you will need to submit a new EOI if you wish to seek Queensland nomination again.

Step 5

If you are nominated by Migration Queensland, you will also receive an invitation from the Department of Home Affairs to lodge your visa application. You will be given 60 days to lodge your visa application.

Required documents	Skilled workers living offshore
Passport bio page: good quality colour scan of bio-page of your valid passport
State Nomination Application form: required for all applicants. This form is only available when you receive an invitation from Migration Queensland
Skills assessment: a valid skills assessment in the applicant's nominated occupation
Settlement Funds Declaration form and bank statement(s) showing declared funds: completed form and bank statement(s) that show the declared amount of settlement funds. The amount declared in the form and the amount on the bank statement(s) must match. For more information, see the 'Settlement Funds Declaration factsheet' here
Letter from employer: offshore applicants must provide reference letters to evidence at least the minimum period of post-qualification work experience requried for the occupation as per the QSOL
Offshore commitment statement template: offshore applicants are required to complete this form to declare their committment to living and working in Queensland for two years for 190 nomination and three years for 491 nomination (from date of arrival)