Northern Territory State Sponsorship

Applying for a Skilled Nominated 190 Visa with  Northern Territory

Home to the famous Uluru rock and numerous other spectacular, bucket-list worthy natural features, the Northern Territory (NT) is advertised as a place that you “come for a holiday and stay for a lifetime”. With a low population density and a young median age, NT promises a great lifestyle and even better opportunities.

State sponsored 190 visas  require that you fulfil the following:

• your nominated occupation to be present on the state’s occupation list(s)
• a suitable skills assessment in that nominated occupation
• satisfying the state’s eligibility criteria
• meeting the minimum Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) score of 60 on the points test  (inclusive of the 5 extra points you get for state sponsorship) and other base requirements such as a health and character conditions
• committing to living and working in the state for at least the first two years upon your move to Australia should your visa be granted

Occupation lists

NT accepts applicants who have nominated occupations on both the state’s occupation list and the consolidated sponsored occupation list (CSOL). NT’s occupation list  has conditions on certain occupations on minimum English requirements or if the applicant is offshore. Be careful when going through these supplementary conditions as English requirements vary if you are nominating an occupation that you need to be licensed or registered for, or if you are from a country where English is not the primary language. Do note that NT only accepts IELTS and PTE tests.

If you are offshore, you must provide materials that prove that your nominated occupation has positive employment prospects. These can come in the form of job offers or market research on the job availability of your nominated occupation, and that you can satisfy the job role. The most convincing document you could provide would of course be a employment contract with an NT employer in your nominated occupation.

Those who are looking for NT sponsorship on the CSOL must:

• Have studied for a minimum of 2 years in NT and graduated from a college or university in NT, OR
• Evidence positive employment prospects, OR
• Have well established family connections in the NT, OR

• Meet the NT residency and work requirements if you are living in Australia

Offshore applicants

If you are an offshore applicant, be sure to check additional requirements if you are on the state’s occupation list. Offshore applicants can also apply for the CSOL as long as you fulfil the above criteria. All offshore applications must come with evidence of full-time employment in the applicant’s nominated occupation for at least a year in the last 2 years. This will be waived if you have Australian qualifications.

International graduates from NT

International graduates from NT must fulfil having studied for a minimum of 2 years in the NT to gain access to the CSOL.

However if you are an international graduate from NT and fulfil the 2 years but you are offshore, you will still need to fulfil any extra requirements on the NT occupation list. You will not have to prove that you have worked in your nominated occupation in the last 2 years however, which is a huge bonus.

International graduates from other Australian states

Who have graduated from other Australian states and hold graduate 485 visas or have graduated from NT but not completed at least 2 years of study in the NT, must have lived and worked in NT in their nominated occupation for at least 3 months (or 6 months months for diploma level welfare workers * ) and have close familial ties to the NT. If you are unable to demonstrate strong family connections, it is unlikely that you will be considered for a 190 PR visa and will be looking at a temporary 489 regional visa instead.

* International graduates nominating the following welfare occupations:

• Welfare Worker [272613]
• Community Worker [411711]
• Disabilities Services Officer [411712]
• Family Support Worker [411713]
• Residential Care Officer [411715]
• Youth Worker [411716]

Are imposed with additional requirements:

• applicant must be living and working in the NT for not less than 6 months prior to submitting an application, AND
• worked within a community based organisation in the nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation for a period of 6 months immediately prior to applying for NT nomination. The position must be full time and paid at the market rate for that occupation in the NT

Other NT application requirements

Now that you’ve figured out your eligibility and/or extra conditions based on your circumstances, these are the rest of the requirements that NT wants you to fulfil:

• Provide a CV
• Evidence of previous employment where you have used employment to attain a suitable skills assessment
• Evidence that you have researched thoroughly what it is like and what it takes to live and work in the NT. This comes in the form of a narrative explaining why you want to live in NT and that you are aware of the job market, climate and settlement and living expenses that you will incur. No plagiarism tolerated!
• Evidence of financial ability to fund your relocation to NT in the form of cover sheet which summarises your assets (in AUD) and is backed with the appropriate documents (certified bank statements etc). If you currently reside in NT, you will not need this