Moving to Australia

A published points formula, a hard skills assessment in front of it, and the world's most expensive visa fees.

Australia runs one of the oldest and most systematic points-tested migration programmes in the world. Age, English, qualifications and skilled work experience are converted into a score, the score goes into a central pool called SkillSelect, and the Department of Home Affairs invites the highest-ranked candidates to apply. As in Canada, the formula is public, so the arithmetic can be done before any money is spent.

What distinguishes Australia is the gate in front of the formula. Before points are counted, the occupation must appear on a relevant skilled occupation list, and a designated assessing authority for that occupation must formally assess the qualifications and experience as equivalent to the Australian standard. That skills assessment, not the points score, is where most plans stop. It is a separate process with its own fee, its own evidence rules and its own timeline, and a negative outcome ends the skilled route regardless of how strong the rest of the profile looks.

The system has also tightened. The temporary skill shortage visa was replaced by the Skills in Demand visa in late 2024, the student visa's genuine temporary entrant test was replaced by a genuine student requirement, financial thresholds for students were raised, and the post-study Temporary Graduate visa had its age limit and eligibility narrowed. Visa application charges are among the highest of any comparable country, and the partner and parent categories in particular carry costs and queues that are outliers globally.

Region	Oceania
Capital	Canberra
Population	about 27 million
Foreign-born residents	roughly 30% of residents
Official language(s)	English
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)

Why people move to Australia

• Skilled migration is decided by a published points test, so candidates can estimate their standing in advance.
• Several skilled visas grant permanent residence directly on grant, rather than a temporary status that must be converted.
• Permanent residents can generally apply for citizenship after roughly four years of lawful residence, including one year as a permanent resident.
• Dual citizenship is permitted, so an original nationality usually does not have to be surrendered.
• Medicare covers permanent residents, and reciprocal agreements cover visitors from a number of countries.
• Employers must pay compulsory superannuation contributions on top of salary, which raises effective pay.

What to know before you commit

• Visa application charges are among the highest in the world, and the partner visa in particular runs into thousands of dollars.
• The mandatory skills assessment is a separate, slow and strict process that ends many applications before the points test is reached.
• Housing costs in Sydney and Melbourne are extreme by international standards and consume a large share of an average salary.
• Parent visa queues are measured in many years, and the cheaper contributory options are heavily oversubscribed.
• Occupation lists and state nomination streams change without warning, so a plan built on last year's list can lapse mid-preparation.
• Regional visas carry genuine obligations to live and work outside the major cities, and compliance is monitored.

The eight guides

Official sources

• Department of Home Affairs — Immigration and citizenship
• Explore visa options
• Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority

Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.