The Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa is a permanent residence visa that offers citizens of participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste a pathway to live, work and settle in Australia permanently.
It is unusual among Australia’s permanent visas because it is not points-tested and there is no skilled occupation list: places are allocated by a random ballot, and successful applicants need only a genuine job offer rather than a particular qualification or occupation.
The visa has two streams:
- The Pacific Engagement stream is open to citizens of a range of participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste, with up to 3,000 places available each program year.
- The Treaty stream is a separate arrangement for citizens of Tuvalu under the Australia–Tuvalu Falepili Union, with up to 280 places each year.
This article sets out how each stream works, who can register for the ballot, what the visa application itself requires, and the practical issues that applicants should keep in mind.
A two-stage process
Unlike many other Australian visas, you cannot simply lodge a subclass 192 application whenever you choose. Access to the visa is controlled by a visa pre-application process, or a ballot conducted under section 46C(1) of the Migration Act 1958.
The process has two distinct stages:
Stage 1: register for the ballot
During the registration open period you register as a ‘registered participant’ and pay a small, non-refundable registration charge (currently AU$25). Registration is not a visa application; it simply enters you into the draw.
Stage 2: apply for the visa (if selected)
Registrations are drawn at random. If you are drawn you become a ‘selected participant’ and receive a ‘notice of selection’. Only then can you lodge a subclass 192 visa application within the timeframe set out in that notice.
Being selected in the ballot is not a grant of the visa, nor even an assurance of one. It is an invitation to apply. The substantive eligibility requirements — job offer, financial capacity, English, health and character — are all assessed at the visa application stage.
Who can register for the ballot?
The registration criteria differ between the two streams, and it is important to identify the correct stream from the outset because an applicant may nominate one stream only.
Pacific Engagement stream
To register for the Pacific Engagement stream ballot, a person must:
- be aged between 18 and 45 (inclusive) at the time the ballot opens (measured at the beginning of the registration open period);
- be a citizen of a participating country – currently the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga or Vanuatu;
- hold a valid passport issued by that country at the time of registration;
- have been born in, or have a parent who was born in, a specified country (the specified list is broader than the participating list and includes, among others, Australia and New Zealand); and
- not be a citizen of New Zealand.
Treaty (Tuvalu) stream
The Treaty stream sits under the Falepili Union between Australia and Tuvalu and has its own registration criteria. To register, a person must:
- be at least 18 (there is no upper age limit in this stream);
- be a citizen of Tuvalu, where that citizenship was not obtained through an investment in Tuvalu;
- hold a valid Tuvaluan passport at the time of registration;
- have been born in Tuvalu, or have a parent or grandparent who was born in Tuvalu; and
- not be a citizen of New Zealand.
The two most practically significant differences at the registration stage are the age rule and the ancestry rule. The Pacific Engagement stream is capped at 45 and looks to the applicant or a parent, whereas the Treaty stream has no upper age limit and extends the birthplace connection to a grandparent.
If you are selected: lodging the visa application
A selected participant must lodge a valid visa application on or before the date specified in their notice of selection. In practice the window is generous but firm:
- around 120 days for the Pacific Engagement stream; and
- around 60 days for the Treaty stream.
At the time of application, the applicant:
- may be in or outside Australia, but must not be in immigration clearance; and
- if in Australia, must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging visa A, B or C.
Where family members are included, their applications must be made at the same time as, and combined with, the primary applicant’s application. A family member cannot be added later.
What does the 192 visa application require?
The primary criteria for the Pacific Engagement stream are the most demanding part of the process, and they are noticeably heavier than the Treaty stream. The core requirements are set out below.
A genuine job offer (Pacific Engagement stream)
Either the applicant, or the applicant’s spouse or de facto partner (where they have made a combined application), must hold a written offer of ongoing employment for a genuine position located in Australia (clause 192.221).
Encouragingly, there is no minimum skill level and no occupation restriction, and the position can be in any field. What matters is that the employment is genuine and ongoing (permanent full-time, permanent part-time, or a fixed-term contract), and that the employment conditions are no less favourable than those that apply to an Australian citizen performing equivalent work at the same location.
The department must also be satisfied that there is no adverse employer information about the employer (clause 192.112) — for example that the employer has contravened a Commonwealth, State or Territory law, is under investigation or subject to disciplinary action, has become insolvent, or has provided a bogus document or false or misleading information.
Applicants who do not yet have a job offer are directed to the PEV Employment Service ([email protected]), which assists with connecting selected participants to Australian employers.
Adequate means of support
The applicant must have adequate means, or access to adequate means, to support themselves and each family unit member who has made a combined application for the first 12 months in Australia (clause 192.222).
This is a genuine settlement-funds requirement, and applicants should be prepared to evidence savings, income or other financial support covering that initial period.
English language ability
The applicant (or their partner, where a combined application is made) must meet an English language requirement specified by the Minister (clause 192.223).
In practice this is a relatively modest threshold: a score of at least 5.0 in each of the Listening and Speaking components of IELTS (or an accepted equivalent test), with no minimum required for Reading and Writing and no minimum overall score. The test result generally must be no more than three years old at the time of application.
Compliance, health and character
As with other permanent visas, applicants must show substantial compliance with the conditions of their previous visas (clause 192.211), and satisfy the standard public interest and special return criteria covering character, security and health (clauses 192.212 to 192.215 and the health criteria in 192.231 to 192.236). Health examinations, including a chest x-ray in most cases, and police/character checks apply to the applicant and to accompanying family members.
How is the Treaty (Tuvalu) stream different?
By contrast, the Treaty stream does not require a job offer, evidence of financial capacity, or an English language test. A selected Treaty stream applicant essentially needs to demonstrate substantial compliance with past visa conditions and satisfy health and character requirements. This reflects the distinct policy basis of the Falepili Union, which is designed to provide Tuvaluan citizens with special mobility arrangements rather than to fill labour-market needs.
What does the visa give applicants?
The subclass 192 is a permanent residence visa, so a successful applicant (and included family members) may live, work and study in Australia indefinitely and can access a pathway to citizenship in the usual way.
If the visa is granted while the applicant is outside Australia, first entry must be made before a date specified by the Minister (clause 192.611).
Can family members be included?
Partners and dependent children can be included as members of the family unit, provided their applications are combined with, and lodged at the same time as, the primary applicant’s.
Are there any review rights if my 192 visa is refused?
A decision to refuse a subclass 192 visa is reviewable by the Administrative Review Tribunal under section 338(2) of the Migration Act 1958, and the application for review may be made by the non-citizen who is the subject of the decision (section 347A(1)(a)).
Strict time limits apply to lodging a review application, so prompt advice is important if an application is refused.
Why it is important to seek advice
Although the subclass 192 is deliberately accessible in some respects, several features make careful preparation essential:
- An application cannot be made without being selected. Registrations are drawn at random, and the registration criteria (age, citizenship, birthplace and passport) must be satisfied precisely at the relevant time;
- once selected, the deadline in the notice of selection is unforgiving, and there is a great deal to assemble — job offer, settlement funds, English results, health and character evidence — within it;
- the role must be a real, ongoing position on conditions no less favourable than for an Australian citizen, and adverse information about the employer can defeat an otherwise strong application;
- family members must be included at lodgement and cannot be added afterwards;
- applicants may nominate one stream only, and the streams differ significantly in eligibility and in what the visa ultimately provides.
Require assistance?
The Pacific Engagement visa is a valuable but time-pressured opportunity: selection in the ballot opens only a short window in which to assemble a well-evidenced application, and the requirements around employment, settlement funds and family inclusion leave little room for error.
If you would like assistance assessing your eligibility, preparing a ballot registration, or preparing a visa application if you are selected, please feel free to contact us by email at [email protected] or phone +61 3 9016 0484.
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