Step 1.
Skills assessment
4–16 weeksLodge with the assessing authority for your occupation (ACS, EA, CPA, AHPRA, VETASSESS, TRA). Cost varies by body. Some authorities require their own English evidence — check before paying for PTE.
Australia PR Pathway · Updated 2026
Australia PR Subclass 189 — PTE Score Guide for Nepali Applicants (2026)
Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) is the most popular Australian PR visa for Nepali skilled professionals — and the most competitive. No state nomination, no family sponsor, no employer needed. Just your points score versus everyone else's. This guide explains the points test, the post-7-August-2025 PTE thresholds, and why Superior English (+20 points) is the single best PR investment a Nepali applicant can make in 2026.
Written by Smriti Simkhada (PTE 90/90 perfect scorer) for Nepali skilled migrants — at home in Nepal and the diaspora in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
What is Subclass 189?
Subclass 189 is the Skilled Independent visa — a permanent residence visa for skilled workers who are not sponsored by an employer, a state or territory, or a family member. It is granted purely on the basis of a points test administered through SkillSelect, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) online platform.
189 is the most popular Australian PR pathway for Nepali skilled professionals because, once granted, you can live and work anywhere in Australia, sponsor eligible relatives, access Medicare, and after meeting the residency requirement, apply for citizenship. Unlike Subclass 190 (state-nominated) or 491 (regional), there is no obligation to live in a particular state or area.
The trade-off is competition. Because 189 has the fewest restrictions, it attracts the most applicants, and the invitation cut-off is correspondingly high. Your nominated occupation must appear on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), and you must obtain a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for that occupation (verify the current MLTSSL on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au).
For Nepali applicants, the realistic shape of a Subclass 189 plan in 2026 is: a verified MLTSSL occupation, a positive skills assessment, a points score in the 85–100+ range, and PTE Academic results at the Superior English threshold to unlock the full 20 English points.
The points test in 2026
The Subclass 189 points test awards points across age, English language ability, skilled employment, education, and a handful of bonus categories. The published minimum to be eligible to submit an EOI is 65 points. The realistic invitation cut-off is significantly higher — recent rounds have required 90+ points for most occupations. Every category and bracket is published on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.
| Points category | Maximum | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Age (25–32 years) | 30 | Maximum bracket; sliding scale below/above |
| English language | 20 | Superior = 20, Proficient = 10, Competent = 0 |
| Skilled employment (overseas) | 15 | Up to 15 for 8+ years in nominated/closely related occupation |
| Skilled employment (Australia) | 20 | Up to 20 for 8+ years on the relevant skilled work |
| Educational qualifications | 20 | Doctorate = 20; Bachelor/Masters = 15; Diploma/trade = 10 |
| Australian study requirement | 5 | 2 years of CRICOS-registered study in Australia |
| Specialist education qualification (STEM) | 10 | Master/Doctorate by research in a STEM field |
| Accredited community language (NAATI) | 5 | NAATI Credentialed Community Language test |
| Study in regional Australia | 5 | Australian study requirement met in a designated regional area |
| Partner skill / Single applicant | 10 | 10 for skilled partner with Competent English; 10 for single applicants |
| Partner Competent English (no skill claim) | 5 | When the partner has Competent English but no skill assessment |
| Professional Year in Australia | 5 | Completed Professional Year in accounting, IT, or engineering |
Bracket structures and maximums change. Always verify the current points test on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before submitting your EOI.
PTE Academic score → PR points (post-7 August 2025)
From 7 August 2025, the Department of Home Affairs no longer uses a single flat number across all four skills. Each English level (Competent, Proficient, Superior) has its own component-specific PTE Academic minimums — and the Speaking and Writing thresholds are noticeably higher than the Listening and Reading thresholds. This is the most important table on this page.
| English level | PR points | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competent | 0 PR points | 47 | 48 | 51 | 54 | Minimum English to be eligible to apply for 189 in most cases — but earns zero PR points. |
| Proficient | +10 PR points | 58 | 59 | 69 | 76 | A meaningful boost — but still 10 points behind Superior. Most retakers stall here. |
| Superior | +20 PR points | 69 | 70 | 85 | 88 | The full PR English bonus. Speaking 88 and Writing 85 are the hardest targets in the test. |
Source: Department of Home Affairs (immi.homeaffairs.gov.au). Pearson PTE Academic scoring details on pearsonpte.com. Thresholds shown are effective from 7 August 2025; verify on the official DHA page before lodging.
Why Superior English is mathematically the best PR investment
Look at the points table again. Superior English contributes +20 PR points. That is the same as 8+ years of skilled employment in Australia, more than a Doctorate-level qualification (which caps at 20), and double what a skilled partner contributes (10 maximum). And unlike every other category, you can earn it in 6 to 12 weeks of focused preparation — not years.
Compare the alternatives a Nepali applicant typically considers when chasing the missing 10 or 20 points to clear the invitation cut-off:
- More work experience: 5 to 8+ more years on a skilled job to climb from one bracket to the next.
- Australian study: 2 years of CRICOS-registered study at a real Australian university — many lakhs in tuition, plus 2 years of life.
- Professional Year: 12 months and roughly AUD 12,000–15,000 for accounting, IT, or engineering — but only worth 5 points.
- Partner skill: requires your partner to also pass a skills assessment in a relevant occupation — 10 points maximum, not always feasible.
- NAATI community language: 5 points, and not every Nepali language is currently accredited or in demand.
By contrast, Superior English is one test, one preparation cycle, and 20 points that you fully control. The score is valid for 2 years from the test date (per Pearson), giving you a comfortable runway to use the result across an EOI, an invitation, and a visa lodgement.
For most Nepali applicants stuck at 70–80 points, the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable path to the invitation cut-off is climbing from Proficient (10 points) or Competent (0 points) to Superior English (20 points).
Recent invitation rounds — what 65 actually means in 2026
The Department of Home Affairs publishes the Subclass 189 minimum-points cut-off and number of invitations issued after each SkillSelect round on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. The published policy minimum to be eligible to submit an EOI is 65 points. The realistic minimum to actually receive an invitation is much higher.
Across recent rounds, most non-pro-rata occupations have required 90+ points. Pro-rata occupations (Accountants, ICT Business and Systems Analysts, Software and Applications Programmers, ICT Security Specialists, several Engineering occupations) have at times required even more, because the annual ceiling caps how many invitations can go to those ANZSCO codes.
What this means for your planning: do not aim for 65 and hope. Aim for 85–100 points. This usually means combining a strong age bracket (25–32 = 30 points), a Bachelor or Masters (15 points), some skilled work experience overseas and/or in Australia, and Superior English (20 points). The PTE score is the single most controllable lever in that stack.
Invitation cut-offs vary by round, by occupation, and by quarter. Always verify the current cut-off and your occupation's pro-rata status on the SkillSelect rounds page at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before deciding your target points.
Skills assessment by occupation cluster
Before you can lodge an EOI for 189, you need a positive skills assessment from the assessing authority for your nominated occupation. Different ANZSCO families go to different bodies — and each body has its own fees, document requirements, processing times, and (in some cases) a separate English requirement at the assessment stage that may differ from the visa English requirement.
| Occupation cluster | Common occupations (examples) | Assessing authority |
|---|---|---|
| ICT / IT (ANZSCO 2611–2633) | Software Engineer, Developer Programmer, Analyst Programmer, ICT Business Analyst, Network Engineer | ACS — Australian Computer Society |
| Engineering (ANZSCO 2331–2339) | Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Telecommunications, Software (also via EA), Mining engineers | EA — Engineers Australia (CDR pathway for many Nepali applicants) |
| Accounting & Finance (ANZSCO 2211) | Accountant (General), Management Accountant, Taxation Accountant, External Auditor | CPA Australia, CA ANZ, or IPA |
| Healthcare — Nursing & Midwifery | Registered Nurse (variants), Midwife | AHPRA / NMBA — registration also required (separate English standard) |
| Healthcare — Allied & Medical | Physiotherapist, Pharmacist, Medical Practitioner, Dentist, Occupational Therapist, Radiographer | Relevant National Board under AHPRA + profession-specific assessor |
| Trades (Cookery, Automotive, Electrical, Construction) | Cook, Chef, Motor Mechanic, Electrician, Carpenter, Welder, Plumber | TRA — Trades Recognition Australia |
| Other Professional / Vocational | Marketing Specialists, Social Workers, Teachers (school — via AITSL), Construction Project Managers, many others | VETASSESS (general & professional) or profession-specific body (AITSL for teachers) |
This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. The full mapping of ANZSCO codes to assessing authorities is published on immigration.homeaffairs.gov.au — verify your exact occupation before paying any assessment fee.
Step-by-step 189 application timeline
A realistic timeline for a Nepali applicant going from "I want to apply for 189" to "visa granted" is 12–24 months, sometimes longer depending on occupation and points score. Here is the sequence.
Step 2.
PTE Academic preparation + first sitting
6–12 weeksMost Nepali applicants need 6–12 focused weeks to reach Superior English. Score reports are issued within ~2 business days for most candidates and stay valid for 2 years from Pearson; DHA may accept results up to 3 years old in specific scenarios — verify the visa-specific rule.
Step 3.
EOI submission via SkillSelect
Same daySubmit your Expression of Interest with claimed points. EOI is free and stays in the pool for 2 years. You can update it (e.g., when your PTE score improves) without losing your queue position.
Step 4.
Invitation round
Variable — weeks to many monthsInvitations are issued in periodic SkillSelect rounds. The minimum-points cut-off varies by round and by occupation. Recent rounds have required 90+ points for most popular occupations.
Step 5.
Visa application + supporting documents
60 days from invitationYou have 60 days from invitation to lodge the visa application with full evidence: identity, skills assessment, English test, work-experience references, health and character checks.
Step 6.
DHA processing → grant
Several months (varies)Health, character, and security checks are completed by Home Affairs. Median processing times for 189 are published on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au and shift quarter to quarter.
Common mistakes Nepali applicants make
Patterns we see across hundreds of WhatsApp conversations from Nepali 189 applicants — at home and in the diaspora. Avoiding these will save weeks of preparation and tens of thousands of rupees in retake or re-assessment fees.
Booking PTE before the skills assessment is locked in
PTE results are valid for 2 years (Pearson). If your skills assessment takes longer than expected — or your assessing authority asks for additional evidence — you may burn a chunk of that 2-year window before you're even ready to lodge an EOI. Get the assessment moving first; book PTE once your timeline is clear.
Chasing 79+ when your assessing authority only needs Competent
Some authorities (notably ACS for ICT) accept Competent English (PTE Academic ~50 each) at the assessment stage. You don't need Superior English to pass the assessment — but you almost certainly need Superior English to be invited under the 189 points test. These are two separate thresholds. Don't burn weeks pushing Speaking 88 if your blocker is the EOI math, not the assessment.
Ignoring the 2-year PTE validity window
If your invitation does not arrive within 2 years of your PTE test date, you will likely need to retake before lodging. Plan a refresh sitting if your EOI has been in the pool for 18+ months without invitation.
Treating Speaking and Writing as one problem
Post-7-Aug-2025, Superior English needs Speaking 88 and Writing 85 — two very different skills with very different fixes. Speaking 88 is usually an Oral Fluency problem (Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence). Writing 85 is usually a Grammar or Spelling problem (Summarize Written Text, Write Essay). They need separate practice plans.
Claiming partner points without verifying the partner pathway
Partner skill points (10) require the partner to also pass a skills assessment in a relevant occupation and meet Competent English. Partner Competent English alone (no skill claim) earns 5 points. Single applicants get 10 points automatically. Confirm which bracket applies before submitting your EOI with inflated numbers.
Underestimating health and character checks
PCC (Police Clearance Certificate) from Nepal and every country lived in for 12+ months in the last 10 years, plus a panel-doctor health exam, are non-negotiable. Start gathering documents early — some Nepali applicants delay grant by 3–6 months because of slow PCC turnaround from a third country.
How 1-on-1 mentorship gets you to Superior English
Speaking 88 and Writing 85 are the hardest individual targets in PTE Academic — harder than the old flat 79 ever was, because you no longer have the buffer of overshooting Listening and Reading to compensate. Each component is now measured on its own. This is exactly where group batches break down.
A 15-day group batch in Bharatpur or Kathmandu cannot personalise feedback for ten students at the same time. One student needs Oral Fluency repair on Read Aloud. Another needs Grammar repair on Summarize Written Text. A third needs Spelling repair on Write From Dictation. The instructor delivers a generic curriculum and hopes everyone catches the relevant pieces.
1-on-1 mentorship inverts that. Smriti Simkhada (PTE 90/90) starts every plan with a free score-report diagnosis: the enabling-skill bars beneath your communicative scores reveal the exact 2–3 tasks pulling Speaking under 88 or Writing under 85. Sessions are then targeted at those specific tasks, with real-time corrections you cannot get from YouTube or a recorded course.
For Nepali applicants in the diaspora — Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Toronto, London, Doha — 1-on-1 sessions run in your local time zone. Early-morning Nepal time aligns with Sydney evening; late evening Nepal time aligns with Toronto morning. There is no need to attend a 7 PM Bharatpur batch from 12:15 AM AEDT.
The PTE Nepal 1-on-1 mentorship is Rs. 15,000 for the full course, all-in. Most retakers stuck at Proficient reach Superior English in 5 to 8 weeks of 2–3 sessions per week plus daily targeted practice.
Frequently Asked
Do I need a state nomination for Subclass 189?+
No. Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) is one of the few Australian PR pathways that does not require state or family sponsorship. You apply purely on the strength of your points score and an invitation from SkillSelect. This is also why 189 is the most competitive — everyone wants the freedom of choosing where to live in Australia.
What occupations are on the MLTSSL for Subclass 189?+
Subclass 189 draws from the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). The list spans ICT, engineering, accounting, healthcare (nursing, allied health, medical), education, several trades, and many professional occupations. The list is updated periodically by the Department of Home Affairs — verify your specific ANZSCO code on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before lodging an EOI.
How many PR points do I really need to get invited under Subclass 189 in 2026?+
The published minimum is 65 points to be eligible to submit an EOI. The realistic minimum to actually get invited is much higher. Recent SkillSelect rounds have generally required 90+ points for most popular occupations — and pro-rata occupations (accountants, ICT, some engineering) have at times required even more. The honest framing: target as close to 90+ as you can get, and treat 65 as the absolute floor, not a likely-to-invite score.
Can I claim points for my partner's English?+
Yes — but the structure is specific. If your partner sits a recognised English test and reaches Competent English (PTE Academic ~50 each), you can claim 5 points. If your partner additionally passes a skills assessment in an MLTSSL/STSOL occupation and is under 45, you can claim 10 points. If you are single (or your partner is an Australian citizen/PR), you also receive 10 points automatically. Don't claim partner skill points if your partner has not been independently skills-assessed — that is a common refusal trigger.
Is 65 enough or do I need 79+ in PTE?+
Two different scores. 65 refers to your PR points total (the minimum to lodge an EOI). 79 is the legacy single-band PTE score that used to map to Superior English. After 7 August 2025, Superior English is component-specific: Listening 69, Reading 70, Writing 85, Speaking 88 — not a flat 79 in everything. For practical purposes: yes, you almost certainly need Superior English (the new component thresholds) to be invited, because Superior contributes 20 of the 90+ points most rounds now require.
How long does the 189 process take from Nepal?+
Realistically, 12–24 months from skills assessment to visa grant for most Nepali applicants. Skills assessment alone is 4–16 weeks. PTE preparation to Superior English is typically 6–12 weeks. EOI-to-invitation depends on your points score and occupation — could be weeks (for high-points applicants in non-pro-rata occupations) or many months. Visa processing after lodgement varies; the Department publishes median times on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.
What if my PTE score expires before I get invited?+
Your PTE Academic score is valid for 2 years from the test date (per Pearson). If your EOI sits in the pool past that window without an invitation, you will need to sit PTE again before lodging the visa. This is one reason we advise: do not book PTE until your skills assessment is moving. For some pathways, DHA may accept results older than 2 years (up to ~3 years) — but treat 2 years as the planning baseline and verify the visa-specific rule on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.
Does Subclass 189 lead to Australian citizenship?+
Yes. Subclass 189 is a permanent visa from grant. After meeting the residency requirement (currently 4 years of lawful residence including 12 months as a permanent resident, with limits on absences), you can apply for Australian citizenship. Conditions and waiting periods change — confirm the latest residency rule on the Department of Home Affairs site before planning your citizenship timeline.
Can I switch from Subclass 482 or 485 to 189 later?+
Yes — many Nepali applicants in Australia on a 482 (Skills in Demand) or 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa work towards 189 in parallel. The advantage: years lived in Australia can contribute Australian work-experience points (up to 20) and, if you completed an Australian degree, Australian study points. The PTE plan is the same regardless of where you currently live — Superior English is the goal.
Why is Superior English the best ROI of any PR points category?+
Mathematically, +20 points for ~6–12 weeks of focused PTE preparation is the cheapest 20 points in the entire points test. The alternatives: 8+ years of skilled work experience for 15–20 points; 2 years of regional Australian study for 5; a STEM Master/Doctorate for 10. Most of those take years and significant money. Superior English is one test, one focused study cycle, one outcome that you fully control.
Free Subclass 189 score assessment
Send Smriti Didi your previous PTE Academic score report (or your target Subclass 189 points score). You'll get back an honest read on the blocking skill, your realistic distance to Superior English, and how many weeks of 1-on-1 mentorship you actually need. No pressure to enrol.
See the full 1-on-1 mentorship details, compare against the Australia PR coaching checklist, or browse PTE Academic coaching.