The Essential Guide to 186 Visa Requirements and Eligibility

Understanding the requirements of a 186 visa well in advance of your desired Australian permanent residency, via your employer, can potentially save weeks of going back and forward (and a great deal of angst!). At Stepping Stones Career Solutions, we have found that the vast majority of hold-ups occur when the wrong stream is chosen, and inadequate preparation of information regarding skills, language, and work history.

The required criteria to be met for a 186 visa application is different for each of the streams, namely Direct Entry, TRT, and Labour Agreement. In most instances, a nominated Australian employer, work experience, generally 3 years for Direct Entry and 2 years for TRT, Competent English, and meeting health and character requirements are necessary.

Direct Entry usually needs a skills assessment, while TRT is tied to your recent sponsored visa history. Labour Agreement (including DAMA-linked arrangements) can include concessions, but only if they’re written into the agreement.

 

What is the Subclass 186 Visa?

The Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) is a permanent residence visa, which is meant for skilled workers to be employed in Australia. It has three streams:

• Direct Entry
• Temporary Residence Transition (TRT)
• Labour Agreement (this is where many DAMA-related pathways sit)

 

186 Visa Requirements at a Glance

Most applicants must be able to show:

• An Australian employer nomination for a genuine, eligible position
• Correct stream eligibility (Direct Entry / TRT / Labour Agreement)
• Relevant work experience (stream-specific)
• English at the required level (often Competent English)
• Skills assessment (commonly required for Direct Entry but exempted for TRT stream)
• Health and character checks (police clearances + medicals)

 

Requirements for Stream 1: Australia 186 Visa Direct Entry 

The Australia 186 Visa Direct Entry Requirements commonly include:

• • Nomination for an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL)

• Age should be under 45 years at the time of lodging your application (unless an exemption applies)

• At least 3 years relevant work experience (unless exempt)
• Skill assessment (unless an exemption applies)
• Meeting English requirements  

Occupation list note: Home Affairs explains that the combined skilled list covers things like ANZSCO codes, caveats, and assessing authorities, and that TRT streams don’t use an occupation list in the same way. 

Does Direct Entry need a skills assessment?

In practice, Direct Entry often expects a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for your occupation (unless an exemption applies). Your occupation’s assessing authority is set out in the legislative instrument for Subclass 186 occupations. 

 

Requirements for Stream 2: 482 Visa to 186 Visa (TRT stream)

If you’re asking about 482 Visa to 186 Visa Requirements, you’re usually talking about the Temporary Residence Transition stream.

Home Affairs’ TRT stream summary states applicants must:

• • Hold a subclass 457, 482 (or an eligible bridging visa), and
  • Usually have worked in eligible sponsored employment for at least 2 years (full time)

• Age should be under 45 years at the time of lodging your application

This is the pathway many sponsored workers use once they’ve built the required time with their employer.

(In our experience at Stepping Stones Career Solutions, TRT refusals are often evidence-based: job continuity, payroll records, and role alignment with what was sponsored.)

 

Requirements for Stream 3: 186 DAMA Visa (Labour Agreement stream)

The 186 DAMA Visa is a permanent pathway to 186 through a Labour Agreement that’s linked to a DAMA.

Key point: concessions only apply if they’re written into the agreement.

Government guidance around DAMA-related labour agreements flags that concessions can be requested for things like English and age (and permanent residence pathways), but they must align to what’s already agreed in the relevant template arrangement.

Some DAMA programs also publish that concessions may exist across areas like English, age, skill, and salary, depending on occupation and agreement settings. 

 

186 Visa English Requirements  

For many applicants, 186 Visa English Requirements come down to proving Competent English, unless an exemption applies.

Home Affairs lists passport-based exemptions (e.g., certain English-speaking passport holders) and approved tests + minimum scores. 

186 Visa English requirements PTE  

Home Affairs separates PTE requirements by test date:

• PTE Academic taken on or before 6 August 2025: 50 in each component 
• PTE Academic taken on or after 7 August 2025: Listening 47, Reading 48, Writing 51, Speaking 54

Home Affairs also notes:

• Test results must generally be from the 3 years before applying (subject to visa rules), and
• Fully online/at-home English tests are not accepted for visa purposes. 

 

Age: Who is Eligible For Subclass 186?

Age settings can vary by stream and exemptions, but Home Affairs material for labour agreement settings states the age limit for an ENS 186 visa is 45 years of age (unless the agreement provides otherwise). 

 

How Much Experience Is Needed For A 186 Visa?

This depends on stream:

• Direct Entry: Home Affairs’ Direct Entry summary refers to at least 3 years relevant work experience (unless exempt). 
• TRT: Home Affairs’ TRT summary refers to at least 2 years in eligible sponsored employment (usually). 
• Labour Agreement / DAMA: can vary based on what the agreement allows.

 

Does 186 need skill assessment?

Common rule of thumb:

• Direct Entry: often needs a skills assessment (unless exempt)
• TRT: usually hinges more on your sponsored visa history and role history, not a fresh skills assessment

Your occupation and assessing authority for subclass 186 (including codes and caveats) are formally specified in the legislative instrument. 

 

186 Visa Requirements for Chefs

Chef nominations under the Subclass 186 Direct Entry stream often need closer review.
The role, day-to-day duties, work records, and employer evidence should all support Chef (ANZSCO 351311). 

For chef nominations, the evidence should point clearly to skilled chef duties. That usually means the payslips, rosters, duty statements, references, and kitchen responsibilities should all match the occupation properly. 

Caveats can apply to some occupations

Some occupations in the Subclass 186 Direct Entry stream carry caveats. These caveats can stop a nomination from fitting, even if the occupation is included in the current instrument. Home Affairs also makes clear that caveats apply to the ENS Direct Entry stream. 

For Chef, the main caveats mean the position must not be:

• involved in mass production in a factory setting
• in a limited service restaurant

What “limited service restaurant” can include

This can cover businesses such as:

• fast food or takeaway food service
• fast casual restaurants
• drinking venues with only limited food service
• limited service cafes, including coffee shops or mall cafes
• limited service pizza restaurants

The subclass 186 occupation instrument includes:

• Chef (ANZSCO 351311) — assessing authority listed as TRA 

(At Stepping Stones Career Solutions, we often see chefs succeed faster when their payslips, rosters, duty statements, and references all line up clearly with ANZSCO task expectations.)

 

186 Visa Partner Requirements

Applicants can usually include eligible family members, including a partner. For 186 Visa Partner Requirements, focus on:

• Proof of relationship (marriage certificate or de facto evidence)
• Shared finances/household evidence (for de facto)
• Identity documents
• Health and character requirements for your partner as well
• Family members above 18 years of age have to show proof of functional English or else pay additional fees per adult applicant, which currently stands at $4,890.

What Documents Do I Need for a 186 Visa?  

A practical checklist (varies by stream and occupation):

For The Main Applicant

• Passport + identity docs
• English evidence (unless exempt)
• Skills assessment (Direct Entry, and some other cases)
• CV/resume + detailed employment references
• Payslips, tax summaries, super records  
• Qualifications, training certificates, registrations/licences (if required)
• Police clearances + health exam results (when requested)

For The Employer

• Nomination approval evidence / nomination reference
• Position details (contract, duties, salary, location)
• Business documents (ABN, financials, organisational chart if relevant)

For Partner/Dependants

• Relationship evidence
• Birth certificates (dependants)
• Passports/IDs
• Police checks (age-dependent) and health checks

 

A Simple Application Flow  

1. Confirm the right stream (TRT vs Direct Entry vs Labour Agreement/DAMA)
2. Check occupation + assessing authority (especially Direct Entry)
3. Build a document pack that proves:
   • role alignment
   • lawful, consistent employment history
   • English threshold met (or exemption) 
4. Lodge nomination + visa in the correct sequence for your case
5. Respond to any requests for more information quickly and cleanly

 

Ready To Act on Your 186 Visa Requirements?

If you want a clear yes/no on eligibility (and the fastest stream for your situation), Stepping Stones Career Solutions can assess:

• your visa history (especially for TRT),
• your occupation fit and skills assessment pathway,
• English evidence (including PTE timing),
• employer nomination readiness.

Book a consultation with Stepping Stones Career Solutions and we’ll map your next steps in plain English.

 

FAQs on 186 Visa Requirements And Eligibility