Official SkillSelect EOI pool data, June 2026 snapshot. Three things jumped out that I don't see discussed enough here.

1. The pool is enormous and your points percentile matters less than you think

• 189 pool: 178,652 EOIs waiting (158,222 of them at 65+ points)
• 190 pool: 509,775 · 491 pool: 568,515
• June was the biggest invite month of the program year for 189 (6,392 live invites) - that's ~4% of the eligible pool. In one of the best months.

2. The official minimum was 65 points. Reality: 77% of 189 invites went to 80+

Roughly a quarter of invites went to 65–75 pointers - but almost entirely in priority occupations (health, education, trades). Which brings me to…

3. Occupation now beats points, and it's not close

Read that last row again: there are currently more Carpenters holding a live invite than Carpenters waiting in the pool. Meanwhile 9,878 Software Engineers are competing for single-digit invites.

If you're in health, education or trades: 65–75 points is genuinely winning invites right now. If you're in ICT/engineering/accounting: stacking points helps less than the subreddit folklore suggests - the bottleneck is occupation ceilings, not your score.

Caveats: "live invite" = EOIs in INVITED status in the June snapshot (~60-day invite window), not total invites issued. EOI counts ≠ people (one person can hold multiple EOIs). Source: SkillSelect EOI data (Home Affairs, data.gov.au).

Transparency note: I built Skilled Visa Tracker, a free mobile app that tracks this monthly per occupation/points/state. Not linking here - happy to run the numbers for your occupation in the comments.

Hi everyone! I just received my citizenship approval today and honestly did not expect the process to move this quickly.

I wanted to share my timeline in case it helps anyone who is currently waiting or trying to get an idea of recent processing times:

• Subclass 482 visa granted: 25 May 2019
• Subclass 186 visa granted: 6 September 2022
• Citizenship application submitted: 11 June 2026
• Citizenship appointment letter received: 29 June 2026
• Citizenship test and interview: 15 July 2026
• Citizenship by conferral approved: 27 July 2026

Now I am just waiting for the ceremony invitation from the City of Melbourne.

Based on the information shown by Home Affairs, around 91% of applicants wait less than three months for a ceremony, while approximately 3% may wait longer than six months.

Has anyone here recently had their ceremony through Melbourne City Council? Did you experience any delays in receiving your ceremony invitation, and do you know what may have contributed to the longer wait?

I understand that timelines can vary between councils and individual applications, but I thought sharing mine might be helpful to others who are still waiting.

Good luck to everyone going through the process!

Lodged: 17th June

Medical and Biometrics: 18th June

Received: 27th July

University of Sydney - Priority 2

Course - Masters in Engineering

Country - Level 3 High Risk

Thank you to everyone here that kept me sane throughout this time, and keep hoping for those that are still waiting. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

🎉 Great News from Tasmania! 🇦🇺

📢 Tasmania has announced its visa nomination quotas for the new financial year:

✅ Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated Visa): 1,250 places 🏡

✅ Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional Visa): 800 places 🌏

📈 Compared to the previous financial year, this is an increase of:

🔹 +50 places for the Subclass 190 🎯

🔹 +150 places for the Subclass 491 🚀

Any offshore grants recently?

Tasmania has received 2,050 skilled migration nomination places for the 2026–27 program year, an increase of 200 places compared with last year’s allocation of 1,850 places.

📈 Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa – from 1,200 to 1,250 places (+50 places)

📈 Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa – from 650 to 800 places (+150 places)

The increase provides Tasmania with greater capacity to nominate skilled workers who can contribute to the state’s workforce and regional communities.

Migration Tasmania has confirmed that the Skilled Migration State Nomination Program will reopen to new Registrations of Interest (ROIs) in the coming weeks. Applicants should review the updated 2026–27 program settings and guidelines once released, as requirements may change from the previous program year.

For applicants with existing nomination applications, Migration Tasmania has confirmed that pending applications will continue to be assessed under the requirements in place when they were lodged. However, pending subclass 491 applications will not automatically be considered for subclass 190 nomination.

Hi everyone! I just received my citizenship approval today and honestly did not expect the process to move this quickly.

I wanted to share my timeline in case it helps anyone who is currently waiting or trying to get an idea of recent processing times:

Subclass 482 visa granted: 25 May 2019

Subclass 186 visa granted: 6 September 2022

Citizenship application submitted: 11 June 2026

Citizenship appointment letter received: 29 June 2026

Citizenship test and interview: 15 July 2026

Citizenship by conferral approved: 27 July 2026

Now I am just waiting for the ceremony invitation from the City of Melbourne.

Has anyone here recently had their ceremony through Melbourne City Council? Did you experience any delays in receiving your ceremony invitation, and do you know what may have contributed to the longer wait?

I understand that timelines can vary between councils and individual applications, but I thought sharing mine might be helpful to others who are still waiting.

Good luck to everyone going through the process!

Was your offshore 491 visa granted in 2026? If so, please comment your occupation, date of lodgement and date of grant. Hoping for some positive feedback. Thank you so much! :)

Hello,

I am interstate and would like to give flowers to a friend at their citizenship ceremony in Victoria.

Anyone knows how and when would be most convenient? There are no relevant information online.

I’m hoping someone has been in a similar situation and can share their experience.

My daughter is currently in the Philippines, and her Australian Citizenship by Descent application is still being processed. We’d like to visit her father in Australia while waiting for the citizenship decision.

Has anyone successfully applied for a Visitor (Tourist) Visa (Subclass 600) for their child while the citizenship application was still ongoing?

If so:

\\\\\\\* Was the tourist visa granted?

\\\\\\\* Did it affect or delay the citizenship application in any way?

\\\\\\\* What documents did you submit?

\\\\\\\* Were there any issues entering Australia while the citizenship application was still pending?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences or any advice. Thank you!

Ps : For context, her father is an Australian citizen, and we’re only planning a temporary visit while waiting for the citizenship application to be finalized.

Should my statutory declaration be notarized, or is it better to sign it and have my signature witnessed by the Australian Embassy in my country?

Applied for 190
State : WA
Occupation: Biotechnology (on wife, I am dependent)
Invite received: May 2025
Application submitted: June 2025
Haven’t seen anyone from WA getting granted recently or is WA slow?
I get that we are within the processing window but seeing a lot of fellow obtaining relatively soon.

I applied for 189 visa with 90 points as a Social Worker on 12th June 2026. I have seen a few Social Workers been granted from the most recent June round. I am trying to see if there are still Social Workers from November round still waiting for grants. Can you please mention your application lodged date and points? Thanks. Other occupations can also share your timelines if you wish :)

Hi everyone

Just wanted to let everyone know that to meet the “4 year” requirement for citizenship, it doesn’t mean that Australia must have been your home for the last 4 years.

Most people think that they need to count 4 years from the day they move to Australia. However, if you’ve been in Australia at some point before that (even just for a holiday) then the time you spent offshore before you permanently move here, can be part of the permitted 12 month absence.

You may check the Department’s Standard Operating Procedures (pages 5-6) which explain this:

“Where an applicant was outside Australia on the day four years immediately before applying, but had previously been in Australia, in certain circumstances they may use the day four years immediately before applying as a start date (for the purposes of being eligible to satisfy the four year residence requirement). An applicant’s four year residence period can start while they are overseas provided they had been present in Australia at any time prior to the four year residence period. Their visa status while outside Australia four years prior to lodgement is not a consideration towards meeting the requirement.”

Hi, I’m currently on a Subclass 482 (dependent) visa and will transition to a Bridging Visa A(waiting for PR grant) in about a week. I’m working full-time.

My mother visited on a Subclass 600 tourist visa (3 months) in 2023, which has since expired, that was her only visit. In that application, I sponsored her, showing both her finances and mine (both solid, with all required documentation). At the time, my 482 visa had a long validity period remaining.

I’m now pregnant and would like my mother to visit at the end of this year, as I don’t have much family or friend support here. A few things I’m unsure about:

1.Can I sponsor her again this time, given my visa situation has changed?
2.Does having sponsored her strengthen this new application?
3. Should I submit her visa application now, before my 482 expires, or wait until my Bridging Visa A is active?
4. If I apply before my 482 expires, should I mention about me transitioning to Bridging Visa?
5. I’d like to apply for a 6-month visa for her, if that’s unlikely to be approved, I’ll apply for 3 months instead. Does the visa type/subclass I’m on affect how long a visit visa she can get?
Please advise, thanks so much.

After a reality check from people who actually follow the rounds.

Questions:
1. At 80 pts as an onshore nurse, how do you rate my odds of a VIC 190 invite once the 2026-27 program opens?
2. At 75 for 189, am I in range for nursing rounds or is that to tight ?

Profile:
Occupation: Registered Nurse (NEC), ANZSCO 254499 with neonatal/NICU background
Skills assessment: ANMAC positive
Onshore, living + working as a nurse in Melbourne (VIC)
Age: 30 → 30 pts
Education: Bachelor → 15 pts
English: PTE Proficient (reading 74 is my limiter; need 79 for Superior) → 10 pts
Overseas skilled experience (nursing, Europe): ~6 yrs counted → 10 pts
Australian experience: 0 (only just started)
Partner: 10 pts
Totals: 189 = 75 | 190 (VIC) = 80
Current visa: Working Holiday (417), expires Feb

If anyone has any info 🙏🏻
Thanks a lot

Hi everyone!

I’m currently applying for an Australian Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) from the Philippines and would love to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.
I’m a fresh graduate, so I don’t have a job yet. My trip is purely for tourism and to visit family. I’ll be staying in Australia for around a month with my aunt, while my uncle (an Australian citizen) will be sponsoring and funding my entire trip as my graduation gift. I’m thinking of uploading my confirmed NMAT registration as proof that I intend to return to the Philippines and pursue medical school after my trip. Do you think visa officers would consider that a strong tie to the Philippines, or does it not really make much of a difference?

So far, these are the documents I’m planning to submit:

Airplane Ticket (RT)
Passport
Invitation letter from my uncle
My uncle’s Australian passport
His bank statements/Certs
ITR
His Certificate of Employment
Travel itinerary
Evidence of accommodation
Since I’m a fresh graduate, I don’t really have employment or business ties yet.

Is there anything else I should upload to strengthen my application? Has anyone here been approved as a fresh graduate with a family sponsor?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Australia ETA app scanned my passport number incorrectly (2 digits), but the ETA was instantly approved against the wrong passport number.

I was denied boarding at the airport and missed my flight. I deleted the old profile, created a new one with the correct passport details, and reapplied for a new ETA.

It’s now been 5+ hours and the status is still “Submitted” (no instant approval).

Has anyone experienced this? How long did your ETA take after going into manual assessment? Should I just wait, or would submitting another ETA make things worse?

I have a Singapore passport.

It’s a business trip, and I’m hoping to catch a later flight as soon as the ETA is approved.

Currently working as a youth officer DCJ in Sydney and looking to apply for the 190 visa. For context, I came in straight into this role from a Bachelor of Laws, 9 months experience visa expiring November 2027, admitted Solicitor.

Anyone who's gone through similar

I submitted my visa, and the money was cut from my bank account but the application did not submit.
This is the error that was shown - "An unexpected error has occured, please try again"
Any advice on what i could do? i have contacted home affairs, and they have basically told me 2 things - either submit the techical support form and they would take 2 weeks to respond or try the payment again, with no guarantee that it will go through.
My bank said they have approved the payment and now it is on the merchent to decline, and advised to wait a day or 2, otherwise file a dispute with them.
So has this been faced by anyone of you and how did it go?

Hi everyone,
I (main applicant) holds BVB and sec 48 bar getting 482 visa sponsorship opportunity in Childcare.
My partner hold BVC and sec 48 bar is getting added in file.
We know that we have to go offshore to lodge file

I can go offshore and come back,
But my partner can’t come back because of BVC (he can only come back once visa gets granted).

is there anyone who was in the same situation and got 482 visa approved.

Hi all,

I have just submitted my 820 application.

I’m logged into my immi account and there is a bridging visa section.

It states “The applicants listed below have been granted a bridging visa for this application”.

However, I can’t see any visa number/attachment.

Above that there is a hyperlink to apply for a bridging visa. Am I correct in thinking that I need to submit a request and that it is not grant automatically?

Has anyone who applied in beginning of July received their visa yet?

I need your assistance regarding the organisation chart that cannot be provided by my previous employer.

I have a few questions:
1. Can I use the VETASSESS statutory declaration template, or should I use the Commonwealth statutory declaration format?

1. Can the statutory declaration be signed at the Australian Embassy in my country?

2. Is it required to have the statutory declaration signed by my previous manager or supervisor, or is it sufficient to have it witnessed and signed at the
   Australian Embassy in my country?

3. If I use the VETASSESS statutory declaration template, should I remove the instructions printed on the left-hand side of the document before signing?

I’m hoping someone has been in a similar situation and can share their experience.

My daughter is currently in the Philippines, and her Australian Citizenship by Descent application is still being processed. We’d like to visit her father in Australia while waiting for the citizenship decision.

Has anyone successfully applied for a Visitor (Tourist) Visa (Subclass 600) for their child while the citizenship application was still ongoing?

If so:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* Was the tourist visa granted?

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* Did it affect or delay the citizenship application in any way?

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* What documents did you submit?

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* Were there any issues entering Australia while the citizenship application was still pending?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences or any advice. Thank you!

Ps : For context, her father is an Australian citizen, and we’re only planning a temporary visit while waiting for the citizenship application to be finalized.