482 or a Points-Tested Visa (189, 190 or 491)?

The 482 needs an employer to nominate the position, while the 189, 190 and 491 are points-tested visas that need an invitation through SkillSelect, a score of at least 65 points and an age under 45 when invited. A 482 holder can lodge an expression of interest for a points-tested visa at any time, because no condition on the 482 bars it, but the expression of interest is not a visa application and gives no bridging visa. The table compares the four visas on who selects you, the points test, age, English, cost and the route to permanent residence.

482 vs 189: the one-line difference

The 482 is employer sponsorship: an approved business nominates a position and the worker applies for that job. The 189, 190 and 491 are selection on points: the worker scores at least 65 points in an expression of interest and applies only after Home Affairs issues an invitation.

482 vs 189, 190 and 491: the comparison table

Charges apply from 1 July 2026, and the queue months are those the Home Affairs visa pages showed on 24 September 2026:

A 482 holder in any stream can use the 186 TRT after that count; the TSS short-term and medium-term streams no longer exist for new applicants, and since 13 September 2025 the 482 English level is IELTS 5.0 in each component or an equivalent score (English Language Test Requirements for Subclass 482 Visas Instrument 2025).

Can you apply for a 189 or 190 while on a 482?

Yes. Schedule 2 clauses 482.611 to 482.613 of the Migration Regulations 1994 impose conditions 8607 and 8501 on a 482, and condition 8303 may be added; none of them is a no-further-stay condition. The conditions that follow from that:

1. The expression of interest is open to a 482 holder. It is lodged in SkillSelect, and a visa application follows only if Home Affairs invites.
2. Age is tested at invitation. A holder who turns 45 after lodging the expression of interest but before an invitation is not invited, because the Home Affairs 189 page requires an age under 45 at the time of invitation.
3. The expression of interest keeps no one lawful. The Home Affairs 189 points-tested page says “An EOI is not a visa application”, so it brings no bridging visa.
4. Condition 8607 keeps binding the holder’s work until the 482 ends or another visa is granted.
5. An onshore 189, 190 or 491 application made while the 482 is valid brings a Bridging visa A that takes effect when the 482 ends.

A 482 holder who also lodges an expression of interest is running two applications with different age, English and occupation tests, and a migration lawyer who checks that the points claims and the employer’s nomination rest on the same, provable facts, and that the holder stays lawful and within condition 8607 throughout, makes both more likely to succeed.

Can you apply for a 482 and a 491 together?

Yes. Nothing in the criteria for either visa bars a 482 holder from lodging an expression of interest for a 491. Each application is assessed on its own criteria.

When the 482 is the faster route

The 482 is faster when an approved employer is ready to nominate and the occupation and salary fit. It needs no invitation, no points and no age test, and Specialist Skills applications have their own Ministerial Direction 121 tier, with 15 days published for 50% of decisions and 45 days for 90%. Core Skills decisions took 4 months for 50% and 9 months for 90% (Home Affairs global visa processing times, 24 September 2026), which is longer than some older pages suggest.

The other side is permanence. The 482 is temporary, and its route to permanent residence needs full-time sponsored work for 2 years in the last 3 before the 186 can be lodged. When an invitation for a points-tested visa will arrive is not published, so the two routes cannot be timed against each other from Home Affairs figures.

Common mistakes

Six mistakes about the 482 and the points-tested visas, each set against the rule and its source:

1. Treating an expression of interest as keeping you lawful. “An EOI is not a visa application”, and it brings no bridging visa (Home Affairs 189 page).
2. Assuming the 482’s lack of an age limit carries over. The 189, 190 and 491 require an age under 45 at invitation (Home Affairs 189, 190 and 491 pages).
3. Using the 482 English score for a points-tested visa. The points-tested visas need at least competent English at invitation, above the 482 level (189 page; English Language Test Requirements for Subclass 482 Visas Instrument 2025).
4. Assuming the Core Skills Occupation List applies to the 189. The points-tested visas use their own relevant skilled occupation lists with ANZSCO 2013 codes; the Core Skills Occupation List (ANZSCO 2022) applies to the 482 and 186 (Home Affairs skilled occupation list page).
5. Stopping work for the sponsor once an expression of interest is lodged. Condition 8607 still applies; more than 180 days at a time, or 365 days in total, without sponsored work breaches it (Schedule 8 condition 8607(5)).
6. Claiming points that cannot be proved. The points claimed must be proved when the application is assessed, and the invitation states the score to be met (189 page, “Check your points”).

Supplementary: related comparisons

Three other comparisons sit next to this one:

• The temporary 482 against the permanent employer-sponsored visa: the difference between 482 and 186 visa row by row.
• The visa the 482 replaced: the 457 visa and the rules former 457 holders still use.
• Every route from a 482 to permanent residence, led by the TRT: the 482 PR pathway.