190 Onshore Lodgement 2026: Visa Holding Requirements for Onshore Applications

Yes — if you lodge a Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) application while you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa, a Bridging visa A (subclass 010), a Bridging visa B (subclass 020) or a Bridging visa C (subclass 030). Hold anything else and, in the Department's own words, your application will not be valid. The Australian Department of Home Affairs states this on its Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) page, as at the July 2026 official page, and it is the visa-holding requirement that must be met for any application lodged in Australia.

For anyone preparing a 190, this is the cheapest check available: it takes minutes, it depends only on your own visa record, and getting it wrong means the application is never assessed on its merits.

What exactly must you hold at the moment you lodge?

The requirement applies at the time you apply, not at the time you were invited or nominated. Home Affairs lists four options:

Your position when applying	What you must hold
In Australia	A substantive visa, or Bridging visa A (010), Bridging visa B (020), Bridging visa C (030)
Outside Australia	No equivalent visa-holding rule applies
Either location	You must not be in immigration clearance

That last row matters more than people expect. You can be in or outside Australia both when you apply and when the Department decides your application, but you cannot lodge while you are in immigration clearance — for example, in the arrivals hall before you pass through the border.

Does "substantive visa" include the temporary visa I'm on now?

In Australian migration law a substantive visa is broadly any visa that is not a bridging visa, so a student, visitor, temporary skilled or partner visa held on its own grant is a substantive visa. The practical trap is the transition period: once that visa ceases and you move onto a bridging visa, your status depends entirely on the bridging subclass number on your grant notification, not on what your adviser or employer called it.

Which bridging visas count — and which don't?

Only subclasses 010, 020 and 030 appear on the Department's list. Bridging visa B (020) is the one of the three that carries travel rights; A (010) and C (030) do not, which is a separate question from validity but often decides whether someone can travel while the 190 is pending.

Two cautions follow from the list itself. First, no other bridging subclass is listed, so a bridging visa outside 010/020/030 does not satisfy the requirement as published. Second, holding one of the three does not freeze your position: the bridging visa has its own conditions and expiry, and a BVA generally ceases on a defined event such as the refusal of the application it supports.

What if your last substantive visa was a 491 or 494?

This rule sits on top of the bridging rules and is the one that catches regional visa holders. If you currently hold, or your last substantive visa held was, either:

• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491), or
• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494)

then you must have held that visa for at least three years at the time you apply. Satisfying the bridging limb does not waive it.

A hypothetical makes the interaction clear: suppose an applicant held a 491 for two years, then applied for something else onshore and moved onto a Bridging visa A. The BVA satisfies the visa-holding limb, but the three-year holding period on the 491 has not been met, so the 190 application would not be valid at that point.

What else can make a 190 application invalid?

Visa holding is the first gate, not the only one. The same official page flags two other validity points:

• Live nomination. If the state or territory agency that nominated you withdraws your nomination after you have applied, your application becomes invalid. Nominating agencies each set their own criteria for who they nominate.
• Skills assessment. For the application to be valid you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation, and the assessment must have been obtained in the three years before your invitation date, unless it was issued for a shorter period that has not passed. Following Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686, delegates will now accept a suitable skills assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period. For medical practitioners, full, unconditional or general registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, or conditional specialist registration of the kind that requires no further training or supervision, is accepted as proof; for legal practitioners, admission to practice in the relevant state or territory.

Validity is also distinct from whether you will be granted the visa. The published eligibility criteria additionally include an invitation (which you cannot apply without), nomination by a state or territory government agency, being under 45 when invited, a points score of 65 or more, at least competent English at the time of invitation, an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list, and meeting health, character, debt-to-government and Australian values statement requirements.

A pre-lodgement check, in the order it should be run

Working through these in sequence avoids re-checking the same record twice:

1. Identify the visa you hold right now by subclass number, from your visa grant notification or VEVO record, not from memory.
2. If it is a bridging visa, confirm whether it is 010, 020 or 030.
3. If you hold or last held a 491 or 494, count whether you have held it for at least three years as at your intended lodgement date.
4. Confirm you will not be in immigration clearance at the moment you submit.
5. Confirm your nomination is still current and your skills assessment sits inside the applicable window.

This is general information about published validity criteria rather than advice on your own circumstances, and because the outcome turns on your personal visa history and on the Department's current published requirements, check the official page and, if you are paying for immigration assistance, confirm the person is a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner before you lodge.

Frequently asked questions

Can I lodge a subclass 190 onshore while holding a bridging visa?

Yes, but only a Bridging visa A (010), Bridging visa B (020) or Bridging visa C (030). Home Affairs lists these three by subclass number on the subclass 190 page, as at the July 2026 official page, and no other bridging subclass is listed as satisfying the requirement.

What happens if I lodge a 190 without holding a qualifying visa?

The application will not be valid, per the Department's "apply from" statement on the subclass 190 page. An invalid application is not assessed against the visa criteria, and the lodging fee does not buy you a place in the queue.

I previously held a 491 — how long do I need to have held it?

At least three years at the time you apply, if you currently hold a 491 or 494 or your last substantive visa was one of them. This is an additional condition that applies even where you otherwise hold a qualifying substantive or bridging visa.

Can I lodge while I'm in immigration clearance at the airport?

No. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply and when the Department decides your application, but not in immigration clearance. Plan the lodgement for a moment when you are lawfully in the community or offshore.

My state nomination was withdrawn after I lodged — is my application still alive?

No. The Department states that if the nominating state or territory agency withdraws your nomination after you have applied, your application becomes invalid. Keeping the nominating agency's own ongoing requirements satisfied matters until the visa is decided.

Does holding the right visa mean my 190 will be granted?

No — it only clears the validity threshold. Grant still depends on the published criteria, including invitation, nomination, age at invitation, points, English, a suitable skills assessment, and the health, character and other requirements set out on the subclass 190 page.

References

• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)