Australia Permanent Residency Points

Criteria

·         Nominated occupation 

·         Age 

·         English language proficiency 

·         Skilled employment 

·         Educational qualifications 

·         Spouse/partner skills and qualifications 

·         Professional year 

·         Nominations and sponsorship (Subclasses 190 and 489 only)

Points	Current Australia PR Processing time
75-80 points	Invitation within 0-1 months
70 points	Invitation within 5-6 months
65 points	The invitation is currently taking more than a year – not guaranteed

Nominated Occupation

To be qualified to apply under the program applicant must still nominate a skilled occupation on Australia's Skilled Occupations List (SOL)* OR the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL)** depending on their visa type, and must also have their skills assessed by the relevant assessing authority for their occupation.

Age

Applicants are scored according to which age group they fall into at the time of their application, with those aged between 25 and 32 gaining the most points.

Age	Points
18-24	25
25-32	30
33-39	25
40-44	15
45-49	0

 English language proficiency

Most Skill select applicants are required to take an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. Those from native English speaking countries and applicants who have been awarded a tertiary degree (equivalent to an Australian Bachelor’s degree or higher qualification) from a University where English is the main language do not need to take an English language proficiency test. However, in order to claim points for Superior or Proficient English language skills all applicants must take the IELTS test.

English language proficiency (IELTS score)	Points
Superior (IELTS score of 8 or more)	20
Proficient (IELTS score of 7 or more)	10

Skilled employment

Applicants are awarded points for employment experience in a skilled occupation, either in Australia or another country. Experience must be in a nominated occupation on Australia's Skilled Occupations List or occupation that is closely related to earning points for skilled employment and must have been gained within the last ten years.

Educational qualifications

Points are awarded for the applicant's highest qualification only. For example, if the applicant has both a doctorate and a Bachelor's degree points will only be awarded for the doctorate. In order to be awarded points any qualifications must be related to the applicant's nominated occupation, and must be recognized as comparable to Australian qualifications; this will usually be verified during the skills assessment for the applicant's nominated occupation.

Qualification	Points
Doctorate	20
Bachelor's or Master's degree	15
Australian Diploma or trade qualification	10
Award or qualification recognized by the assessing authority in an assessment of the skilled occupation	10

Spouse/partner skills and qualifications

If the applicant's spouse/partner is included in the visa application and is not an Australian resident/citizen, their skills can count towards the point’s total. In order to gain points, the spouse/partner must meet the Australian General Skilled Migration basic requirements (listed above) for age, English language proficiency, and nominated occupation.

Professional year

Applicants also score 5 points if they have completed an approved Professional Year in Australia in the last 4 years. A Professional Year is a structured professional development program which combines formal training with on-the-job experience. The professional year must have been in their nominated occupation or a closely related occupation.

Nomination and sponsorship (Subclass 190 and Subclass 489 only)

Applicants for Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and Skilled Nominated or Sponsored visa (Provisional) (Subclass 489) are awarded points for being sponsored by an Australian state or Territory government. For more