Discover why Queensland is the most popular state for investors

Queensland nominates skilled workers for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), and it continues to nominate existing provisional business visa holders for the subclass 888.

Migration Queensland runs the state nomination through Registrations of Interest. The Australian Government allocates the state a set number of places for each program year, and Migration Queensland invites candidates from the pool it holds until those places are filled.

In short

Five skilled pathways, covering onshore workers, offshore workers, building and construction workers, Queensland university graduates and regional small business owners
Two occupation lists, one for onshore applicants and one for offshore applicants
A points score of 65 or higher and at least Competent English across every skilled pathway
Business nomination limited to second stage subclass 888 applicants, because the national programme closed to new entrants
Two Designated Area Migration Agreements, in Far North Queensland and in Townsville

What does Queensland nominate now?

Migration Queensland nominates for the subclass 190, which grants permanent residence and asks you to live and work in Queensland, and for the subclass 491, which runs for five years in regional Queensland with a route to permanent residence through the subclass 191.

Registrations of Interest open and close with the program year, and Migration Queensland publishes the settings, the eligibility requirements and the opening date on its own site as each year begins.

Who qualifies as a skilled worker living in Queensland?

Hold an occupation on the Queensland Onshore Skills List
Score 65 or higher on the Department of Home Affairs points test
Hold at least Competent English as Home Affairs defines it
Have lived and worked in regional Queensland for the past six months for the subclass 491, or in Queensland for the past nine months for the subclass 190
Work at least 20 hours a week in a role matching the first three digits of your nominated occupation code, completed after your qualifications
Commit to stay in regional Queensland for three years after grant, or in Queensland for two years for the subclass 190

Who qualifies as a skilled worker living offshore?

Hold an occupation on the Queensland Offshore Skills List, which also shows the subclasses your occupation opens
Score 65 or higher on the points test
Hold at least Competent English
Hold at least one year of skilled employment in your nominated occupation, or one closely related to it

What is the building and construction pathway?

Queensland runs a separate pathway for building and construction workers, marked on the Onshore Skills List.

Hold an occupation flagged as part of the building and construction workforce pathway
Have lived and worked in Queensland for the past three months, rather than the six or nine months the standard onshore pathway asks for
Commit to stay in regional Queensland for three years, or in Queensland for two years, after grant

What does the graduate pathway ask for?

Hold a Bachelor Degree, Master Degree or PhD from a Queensland university, completed entirely in Queensland
Hold an occupation on the Queensland Onshore Skills List
Score 65 or higher and hold at least Competent English
Work in Queensland for at least 20 hours a week after finishing the degree, for six months for the subclass 491 or nine months for the subclass 190

How does the regional small business owner pathway work?

This pathway leads to the subclass 491 only, and it runs in two forms.

Buy an existing registered business outside South East Queensland for at least A$100,000, where that business has traded for at least two years in its current location, then run it for at least six months after settlement
Or start your own business and run it continuously for at least two years, showing a profit and a turnover of at least A$200,000 across the previous twelve months
Employ at least one Australian resident
Hold the business outright since you bought or started it

What happened to investor and business nomination?

The Australian Government closed the Business Innovation and Investment Program permanently to new applications, so Queensland accepts no new subclass 188 nominations.

Migration Queensland continues to assess and process second stage subclass 888 applications for people who already hold a provisional visa, across the Business Innovation, Investor, Significant Investor and Entrepreneur streams.

What does Queensland ask for a subclass 888 nomination?

Hold a current Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)
Have met the Queensland nomination requirements attached to that provisional visa
Register your interest in a Queensland nomination directly with Migration Queensland
Wait to be selected and invited, which Migration Queensland does through the financial year
Lodge the visa application with Home Affairs within 90 days of invitation, and before the provisional visa expires

Which regional agreements operate in Queensland?

Queensland holds two Designated Area Migration Agreements. Each is a formal agreement between the Australian Government and a regional authority that gives employers concessions and greater access to overseas workers.

The Far North Queensland agreement, represented by the Cairns Chamber of Commerce
The Townsville agreement, represented by Townsville Enterprise Limited

Each agreement works through an approved employer, who sponsors the worker into the role.

Did You Know?

Comparing life in Australia to the United Kingdom.

Queensland Against The West Midlands

Queensland has lower unemployment, faster growth and a higher ranked university than the West Midlands. Unemployment and growth come from each statistics agency, and the university ranks come from one global ranking.

Measure	Queensland	West Midlands
Unemployment rate	4.2%	5.6%
Economic growth	2.2%	1.1%
University of Queensland against University of Birmingham, world rank	40th	68th

Sources: ABS; ONS; QS World University Rankings Australian source

Queensland Against The West Midlands: Life Expectancy

People in Queensland live longer than people in the West Midlands, for men and for women. Both sides are measured over the same three year period.

Measure	Queensland	West Midlands
Men	80.5 years	78.7 years
Women	84.7 years	82.8 years

Sources: ABS; ONS Australian source

Brisbane Runs Warmer Than Birmingham, Winter And Summer

Daytime temperatures in Brisbane sit well above those in Birmingham all year round. Each figure is a long term average taken from the official weather station records on both sides.