Migrating to Australia over 45 — what still works

Age is the criterion people discover last and regret most. The skills assessment is done, the employer is willing, the salary clears the threshold — and the permanent visa is unavailable because of a birthday. This page exists so that discovery happens at the planning stage, where it costs nothing, rather than at lodgement, where it costs a government charge that is not refunded.

The rule

The two permanent employer-sponsored routes both carry an age limit:

• Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) — the applicant must be under 45 at the time of the visa application, unless an exemption applies.
• Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional) — the applicant must be under 45 at the time of the visa application. The 494 is the provisional step toward the permanent 191.

The test is applied at the moment the visa application is lodged — not when the job offer is made, not when the nomination is lodged, and not when the visa is decided. That distinction is what makes the arithmetic below matter.

The 482: no age limit

The 482 Skills in Demand visa has no age limit. It can be granted for up to 4 years, and the criteria are about the occupation, the employer, English and the salary — the position must pay at or above the Core Skills Income Threshold of A$79,423 (2026–27) and the annual market rate. A 50-year-old with an in-demand occupation and a willing approved sponsor can be sponsored on a 482 in the same way as a 30-year-old.

What the 482 does not do, on its own, is lead anywhere permanent for someone already over 45. The usual 482-to-PR route is the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream, and the 186 age limit applies there too. So for an over-45 applicant the 482 is either a four-year working chapter, or a bridge to an exemption — and it is worth knowing which before accepting the offer.

The 186 exemptions

The 186 age limit does not apply to every applicant. The exemptions include:

• High-income earners — applicants whose earnings are above the Fair Work high income threshold, which is A$190,100 from 1 July 2026.
• Academics and researchers nominated by an Australian university or research institution.
• Regional medical practitioners.
• Certain long-term temporary residents.

Each of these has conditions attached — about the period of earnings, the nature of the nominating institution, the location and duration of practice, or the length and type of temporary residence — and those conditions must be checked against the current Department of Home Affairs 186 page for your stream rather than assumed from the label. A 49-year-old doctor asking whether the regional medical practitioner exemption applies to them is asking exactly the right question; the answer depends on the conditions as they stand when the application is lodged, and that is what a consultation confirms. The same is true of the high-income exemption: what counts as earnings, and over what period, is defined by the Department, not by a payslip.

The arithmetic at 43

The most common over-40 enquiry is not from someone already over 45 — it is from someone at 42 or 43 who has a 482 offer and wants to know whether the 186 is still reachable. Here is the honest calculation.

The 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream requires 2 years of full-time work with approved sponsors within the 3 years before nomination, and the applicant must be under 45 when the 186 visa application is lodged. Take someone who turns 43 the month their 482 is granted:

• The two qualifying years, if uninterrupted and full-time from day one, end at 45 exactly — the deadline, not a buffer.
• Any delay between job offer and 482 grant shortens the window before the clock even starts.
• A change of sponsor, a gap between employers, or a period of reduced hours can extend the qualifying period past the birthday.
• The nomination and the visa application must both be lodged, and the visa application must be lodged before the 45th birthday.

So at 43 the pathway is possible but has no slack; at 42 there is a year of slack; at 44 the TRT stream is, in practice, unavailable without an exemption. Whether the 186 Direct Entry stream — which does not require the two years but has its own skills-assessment and experience requirements — is the better route depends on the occupation and the employer, and that is a dated, individual calculation. Do it before the 482 is lodged, not after.

Points-tested visas over 45

The independent and state-nominated skilled visas (189, 190, 491) are points-tested. Age is one of the scored factors, and the points awarded for age fall as you get older; the current points test, including the age bands and the eligibility age cut-off, is published on the Department of Home Affairs website. We do not restate the numbers here because they are exactly the kind of setting that changes. Our points calculator gives an indicative score for the whole profile, which is the only fair way to judge whether a points-tested route is worth pursuing.

What this costs to get wrong

The government charges are not refunded if an application is refused or is lodged for a visa you cannot be granted. The 482 visa application charge is A$4,015; the 186 is A$6,140. Neither figure includes the employer's nomination and Skilling Australians Fund charges, which the employer pays and which are also at risk. Age is a criterion that is known with certainty on day one — a refusal on age is entirely avoidable, and that is the point of settling it first.

What to do if you are over 45 — or close

• Over 45 now: check the exemptions honestly against your actual situation, then decide whether a 482 without a permanent pathway is still worth it for you and your family. For many people it is; it should be a decision, not a surprise.
• 42–44 with a 482 offer: map the dates — grant, two qualifying years, nomination, visa lodgement, 45th birthday — on paper, and compare the TRT and Direct Entry streams before anything is lodged.
• Under 42: the age limit is not yet the constraint, but the 3-year window and full-time requirement still are; do not let a sponsor change or a gap in hours create a problem later.

Because the exemption conditions and the dates are individual and change with the rules, this is a page where the honest recommendation is a paid consultation rather than a form: book a 30-minute consultation with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) — $330 inc. GST, credited toward your engagement fee if you proceed — and you leave with the pathway, the exemption position and the dates in writing.

General information only, not migration advice. Age settings, exemption conditions and thresholds are set by the Department of Home Affairs and change; confirm the current position for your stream before relying on it. Advice is provided by Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) after a consultation. No outcome can be guaranteed (s 15, Migration Agents Code of Conduct).