Nurse Visa Sponsorship on a 482: Registration, Streams and PR

Registered and enrolled nurses can be sponsored for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) in the Core Skills stream at a salary of at least $79,423, because all 14 registered nurse occupations and Enrolled Nurse (411411) are on the Core Skills Occupation List with no applicable circumstance, for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026. A nurse cannot work as a nurse in Australia until registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra. Condition 8607 requires that registration within 90 days of arrival, or of grant if the visa is granted in Australia. The first step is to match the role to its ANZSCO code and start registration, which Ahpra runs separately from the visa.

Are nurses on the CSOL?

Yes. Sixteen nursing and midwifery occupations are on the CSOL in LIN 24/089 on the Federal Register of Legislation, and none carries an applicable circumstance:

The exception is Nurse Manager (254311), which is not on the CSOL. Because it sits in ANZSCO Major Group 2, a Nurse Manager can still be nominated in the Specialist Skills stream at earnings of $146,576 or more, or under a labour agreement that lists it.

The specialty matters because the tasks of the position must correspond to the ANZSCO tasks of the code nominated. Registered Nurse (Aged Care) 254412 and Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) 254415, for example, are separate occupations with their own ANZSCO tasks.

Do you need AHPRA registration first?

Registration comes before nursing work, but not before the visa application. The two rules sit in different places.

Before you work

Ahpra registers nurses on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, and a nurse must be registered before practising in Australia.

Before the visa is granted?

No. Registration is not a 482 criterion for nurses at lodgement; only medical practitioners have a recognition criterion (clause 482.215 of the Migration Regulations 1994). Condition 8607(6) then applies after the grant. A nurse must:

• hold the registration within 90 days of arriving in Australia, or of the grant if the visa is granted in Australia;
• keep it while working as a nurse, and comply with its conditions;
• tell Home Affairs in writing as soon as practicable if the registration application is refused, or if the registration is cancelled or ends;
• not work outside the registration.

How registration works for internationally qualified nurses

Ahpra’s information for international practitioners sets out how internationally qualified nurses apply. Registration is a separate process from the visa.

Which stream applies to nurses?

The stream depends on the salary and on whether the employer holds a labour agreement.

Core Skills stream

A nurse is nominated in the Core Skills stream where the occupation is one of the listed nursing occupations and guaranteed earnings are at least $79,423 but below $146,576. The employer must test the labour market, and the nurse needs 1 year of relevant experience in the last 5 years.

Specialist Skills stream

At guaranteed earnings of $146,576 or more, regulation 2.73(6) requires the Specialist Skills stream, because registered nurses are in Major Group 2 and enrolled nurses in Major Group 4. A nurse paid at that level cannot choose the Core Skills stream instead.

Labour Agreement stream

A labour agreement applies only where a company-specific agreement or a DAMA lists the occupation. A DAMA’s own list, such as the NT Government’s NT DAMA occupations list, shows whether a nursing occupation is included and on what terms.

Applications relating to the healthcare sector are the first priority group under Ministerial Direction 121, whichever stream they are in. The published processing times on 24 September 2026 were 4 months for half of Core Skills applications and 15 days for half of Specialist Skills applications, across all sectors.

What English do nurses need?

For the 482, the nurse needs IELTS 5.0 in each of the four components, or the equivalent score in another accepted test, such as the Occupational English Test (OET), taken no more than 3 years before the evidence is given. The other tests’ scores are on the 482 visa English requirements page. A nurse is exempt with:

• a passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States;
• at least 5 years of full-time study delivered in English;
• a registration granted after meeting an English standard equal to or higher than the 482 level (paragraph (d) of the “exempt applicant” definition in section 4 of the English Language Test Requirements for Subclass 482 Visas Instrument 2025).

A registration counts only if, to be granted it, the nurse had to show English at least equal to the 482 test standard. For the 186, the standard is Competent English.

Can aged care providers sponsor nurses?

Yes. An aged care provider that is an approved standard business sponsor can nominate a nurse in the Core Skills or Specialist Skills stream, using Registered Nurse (Aged Care) 254412 or Enrolled Nurse 411411.

The Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement does not cover registered or enrolled nurses. It covers only Nursing Support Worker 423312, Personal Care Assistant 423313 and Aged or Disabled Carer 423111, according to the Home Affairs industry labour agreements page updated on 23 June 2026. The rules for those roles are in the guide to aged care visa sponsorship.

How do nurses move to PR?

The main pathway from a 482 to permanent residence is the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream, which takes four steps:

The 186 Direct Entry stream is the alternative. It needs the occupation on the CSOL, which the nursing occupations are, a positive skills assessment from the assessing authority specified for the occupation, and 3 years of relevant experience. Under Ministerial Direction 122, 186 applications relating to healthcare come first in the processing order. The wider picture of the 482 visa to PR covers the other pathways.

An Australian migration lawyer makes a nurse’s 482 more likely to succeed by lining up the ANZSCO specialty, the stream and the registration timetable before the nomination is lodged. That matters because a nurse paid at or above the Specialist Skills threshold must be nominated in that stream, and a nurse without registration within 90 days of arrival breaches condition 8607.