Information current as at 10 October 2026. If you are on a 482 visa and wondering when you can move to permanent residency, or you are an experienced professional with an employer ready to sponsor you straight to PR, the 186 visa requirements in 2026 come down to five things: the right stream, an approved employer nomination, your age, Competent English and a salary that meets the current threshold. This guide sets out each requirement, the fees from 1 July 2026, realistic processing times and the mistakes that cause refusals.

The Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) is a permanent visa. From the day it is granted you can live and work in Australia indefinitely, include your partner and children, access Medicare and later apply for citizenship. It is also the most common way 482 holders from India and Malaysia turn sponsored work into PR.

186 visa requirements 2026: key facts at a glance

• Visa type: permanent residency, sponsored by an Australian employer.
• Three streams: Temporary Residence Transition (TRT), Direct Entry and Labour Agreement.
• Age: generally under 45 when you apply, with limited exemptions.
• English: Competent English, for example IELTS 6.0 in each band, unless exempt.
• Salary: at least the Core Skills Income Threshold of A$79,423 (nominations lodged from 1 July 2026) and no less than the market rate for the role.
• Visa fee: A$6,140 for the main applicant from 1 July 2026.
• Employer costs: A$540 nomination fee plus a Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy of A$3,000 or A$5,000, which cannot be passed on to you.
• TRT: generally two years of full-time sponsored work in your nominated occupation within the three years before nomination.
• Direct Entry: occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List, positive skills assessment and generally three years of relevant experience.

The three 186 streams and who each one suits

Choosing the stream is the first decision, because the evidence you need changes completely between them.

Stream	Best suited to	Skills assessment	Work experience
Temporary Residence Transition (TRT)	Current or former 482 (or 457) holders already working for an approved sponsor in Australia	Not normally required	Generally 2 years full-time sponsored work in the nominated occupation within the 3 years before nomination
Direct Entry	Skilled workers who have not held a 482, or have not yet met the TRT work period, including applicants still in India or Malaysia	Required, generally issued within the last 3 years	Generally at least 3 years of relevant post-qualification experience
Labour Agreement	Workers nominated by an employer that has a labour agreement with the Australian Government (including DAMA arrangements)	Depends on the agreement	Depends on the agreement

Most of our clients come through TRT. Direct Entry is the faster route for people who already have strong overseas experience and an employer willing to sponsor them for PR from day one, but it carries the extra cost and time of a skills assessment.

186 TRT stream requirements (482 to PR)

1. Sponsored work history

You generally need at least two years of full-time work in your nominated occupation while holding a 482 or 457 visa (or an associated bridging visa), within the three years before your employer lodges the nomination. The requirement was cut from three years to two in November 2023.

Two details catch people out:

• Only time with an approved sponsor counts. Since late 2025, periods where your employer's sponsorship approval had lapsed or was still pending generally do not count toward the two years. Ask your employer for their sponsorship expiry date early.
• Unpaid leave and part-time work. The requirement is for full-time work. Extended unpaid leave can push your eligibility date back, so keep a record of any leave taken.

Under the Skills in Demand framework, sponsored work with more than one approved sponsor can generally count toward the period, but the employer who nominates you for the 186 must still be the one offering the permanent role. If you are thinking about changing employers, read our 482 visa eligibility, fees and PR pathway guide first, because the timing of a move affects when you can lodge.

2. Same occupation

The 186 nomination must be for the same occupation you have been working in on your 482. A 482 approved as a Software Engineer cannot be converted into a 186 as an ICT Project Manager without moving to a different stream or meeting other requirements.

3. Skills assessment

A formal skills assessment is not normally required for TRT. However, the Department can still ask for evidence that you have the skills for the role, so keep your qualification certificates, payslips and a duty statement ready.

186 Direct Entry stream requirements

Direct Entry has the most demanding paperwork because you are proving your skills from scratch.

1. Eligible occupation: the nominated occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List.
2. Skills assessment: a positive assessment from the relevant assessing authority (for example Engineers Australia, ACS for ICT roles, or VETASSESS for many professional and trade occupations), generally issued within the last three years. A skills assessment obtained for a 485 visa is not accepted.
3. Experience: generally at least three years of relevant full-time work experience at the required skill level.
4. Age and English: under 45 and Competent English, unless exempt.

Direct Entry is also the stream for people who already hold PR-standard experience in India or Malaysia and have secured an Australian job offer. You can apply from outside Australia.

Age limit and exemptions

For TRT and Direct Entry you must generally be under 45 when you lodge the visa application. Exemptions exist for a limited group, including:

• certain academics, scientists and researchers;
• certain medical practitioners working in regional Australia;
• TRT applicants who have earned at least the Fair Work high income threshold (A$190,100 from 1 July 2026) in their sponsored role;
• certain transitional 457 and 482 holders who meet specific conditions.

If you will turn 45 within the next year, lodge timing matters more than anything else. Many TRT applicants plan their two-year date backwards from their 45th birthday.

English requirement for the 186 visa

You need Competent English. For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, the minimum scores include:

Test	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking
IELTS (General or Academic)	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
PTE Academic	47	48	51	54

Your result must be valid when you lodge. Holders of current passports from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland are generally exempt from testing. Indian and Malaysian passport holders are not exempt, so plan a test well before you lodge.

Adult family members do not need Competent English, but if they cannot show Functional English, a second instalment of the visa charge (A$4,890) can be payable before grant.

Salary requirement: CSIT and market salary

For TRT and Direct Entry nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, the base salary must be at least the Core Skills Income Threshold of A$79,423. It must also be no less than the Annual Market Salary Rate, which is what an Australian citizen or permanent resident would be paid for the same job in the same location. If the market rate is higher than the CSIT, the higher figure applies.

A common problem in TRT cases is a 482 contract signed years ago at the old threshold. Your employer may need to issue a new contract at the current rate before the 186 nomination is lodged.

186 visa cost in 2026

Government charges rose by around 25% from 1 July 2026. The figures below are the published charges for applications lodged from that date. Check the Home Affairs work visa pricing table before you pay, as fees are reviewed each July.

Item	Who pays	Amount (AUD)
Visa application charge, main applicant	Applicant	$6,140
Additional applicant aged 18 or over	Applicant	$3,070
Additional applicant under 18	Applicant	$1,535
Second instalment (adult without Functional English)	Applicant	$4,890
Nomination fee	Employer	$540
SAF levy (annual turnover under $10 million)	Employer	$3,000
SAF levy (annual turnover $10 million or more)	Employer	$5,000

For a couple with one child, the government visa charges alone come to A$10,745 before health checks, police certificates, English tests and professional fees. Card payments also attract a surcharge. The employer must pay the nomination fee and SAF levy and cannot recover them from you; asking a worker to pay them is a breach of sponsorship obligations.

How the 186 application works, step by step

1. Confirm eligibility. Check your stream, age at lodgement, English result validity, and (for TRT) the exact date you reach two years of eligible sponsored work.
2. Employer lodges the nomination. The employer shows a genuine need for a full-time position that is expected to last at least two years, the salary meets the CSIT and market rate, and pays the nomination fee and SAF levy.
3. You lodge the visa application. This can be lodged together with the nomination or after it. Applications are generally made within six months of nomination approval.
4. Health and character checks. Complete health examinations when requested and provide police certificates for each country where you have lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16.
5. Bridging visa. If you apply in Australia, you will usually receive a bridging visa that keeps you lawful while the application is processed.
6. Grant and start work. After grant you are expected to start in the nominated role, generally within six months of grant, and the position is expected to last at least two years.

186 visa processing time in 2026

Processing has been slow across permanent employer-sponsored visas. Recently published Home Affairs data has put the 50% mark for TRT and Direct Entry at roughly 10 to 14 months, with the 90% mark stretching to well over a year. Labour Agreement cases have generally moved faster. Check the live global visa processing times tool for current figures.

Processing order now follows Ministerial Direction 122, which took effect on 19 September 2026 and replaced Direction 119. For the 186, priority goes first to applications in priority sectors (healthcare, teaching, construction, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, law enforcement and defence), then to primary applicants who lodged in Australia, then to certain offshore applicants, then everything else. A complete, decision-ready application is still the single biggest factor you control.

Common mistakes that delay or sink a 186 application

• Counting the two years wrongly. Time on an unapproved or lapsed sponsor, unpaid leave and part-time periods can all reduce your eligible period.
• Occupation mismatch. Your actual duties, payslips and employment contract must match the nominated ANZSCO occupation. A title such as "Analyst" on payslips with duties of a different occupation invites questions.
• Old salary. A contract that no longer meets the current CSIT or market rate will cause the nomination to fail.
• Expired English results. Results must be valid at the time of lodgement, not just when you started preparing.
• Turning 45 mid-preparation. Age is assessed at lodgement, so a few weeks can decide the case.
• Weak genuine position evidence. Small businesses in particular need organisation charts, financials and a clear explanation of why the role is needed.
• Inconsistent documents. Different dates of employment on your CV, reference letters and tax records are a frequent source of requests for more information.

Tips for applicants from India and Malaysia

For Indian applicants, the biggest time sinks are usually police certificates and document consistency. Indian police clearance certificates are obtained through the Passport Seva system (or the Indian mission if you are already in Australia), and Direct Entry applicants should start their skills assessment early, since assessing bodies such as ACS and Engineers Australia can take several weeks or months. Make sure your name is spelt the same way on your passport, degree certificates and employment letters, or prepare a statutory declaration explaining any variation.

Malaysian applicants are also not exempt from English testing, so book IELTS or PTE early. If you have lived in Malaysia and another country such as Singapore for 12 months or more, you will need police certificates from both.

If you are still on a 482, use our guides on finding a 482 sponsor employer and labour market testing for the 482 to choose an employer who can also support a 186 later. An employer with an unstable sponsorship history can cost you PR eligibility.

How EazyViza can help

EazyViza is backed by Collins Quarters, a migration and commercial law firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Chennai and Kuala Lumpur. Our team handles both sides of a 186: the employer's nomination and the worker's visa application. We can:

• map your exact TRT eligibility date and check it against your age and English test validity;
• assess whether Direct Entry is faster in your situation and guide your skills assessment;
• prepare the employer's sponsorship and nomination documents, including salary and genuine position evidence;
• audit your documents for consistency before lodgement to reduce requests for further information.

Not sure which stream fits? Start with our free eligibility checker or book an initial assessment with our migration team.

Official sources

• Department of Home Affairs: Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa
• Home Affairs: 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream
• Home Affairs: current work visa pricing
• Home Affairs: global visa processing times

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not legal or migration advice. Visa requirements, fees and processing priorities change regularly. Check the official Home Affairs pages or speak with a registered migration agent or lawyer about your circumstances before you apply.