As explained in a previous post, former international students have a new possible employer-sponsored route to permanent residence via the Skills in Demand visa. But their options for points-tested visas are likely to decline.
In this post, I outline the points-tested visas, report on international student success in obtaining these visas, and describe the level of demand for them. I conclude with migration planning levels for 2026-27, which allocate fewer total places to points-tested visas.
In a following post, I will look at long-foreshadowed changes to points-tested visas and how these may affect international students.
What are points-tested visas?
The key idea behind points-tested visas is that applicants get ‘points’ for various attributes. The more points applicants accrue the more likely they are to get a visa. The theoretical maximum number of points from standard attributes across all three visas is 145. The minimum points to be eligible for a points-tested visa is 65.
But a specific number of points does not equal a visa. People who want points-tested visas submit expressions of interest. An EoI lasts for up to two years. Periodically the Department of Home Affairs invites people from the EoI pool to apply for a visa linked to listed occupations.
Three points-tested visas are currently available: the subclass 189 Skilled Independent visa, the subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa, with the nomination by state and territory governments, and the subclass 491 Work Regional (Provisional) visa, also state and territory nominated. Some older visas are included in the data below: the subclass 489 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa, which was replaced by the subclass 491 visa from November 2019, and the subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment visa, which closed to new applicants on 31 July 2024.
International students and points-tested visas
As noted in my earlier post on international students and permanent residence, only former students moving directly from a student visa or a temporary graduate visa can be tracked using my main data source. This misses people who previously held a student-related visa but hold a different visa when seeking or receiving a points-tested visa. The figures presented are therefore at the lowest end of a range.
The subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa is the most significant points-tested visa for international students. It has been the largest single category since 2019-20, on several occasions making up more than half the total. It was 48% of former international student visa grants in 2024-25.
