Subclass 190 Australian Study Requirement 2026: CRICOS and Student Visa Condition
How the 190 Australian study requirement works in 2026: when a CRICOS-registered course and a student visa both affect your skills assessment and points.
If you intend to build a Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated) visa around an Australian degree, diploma or trade qualification, one condition decides whether that qualification can carry the application: where your skills assessment relies on a qualification you obtained in Australia while you held a student visa, that qualification must come from studying a course registered on CRICOS. This is set out on the Department of Home Affairs' official Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190) page, current as at the July 2026 official page. It operates alongside the points you may claim for Australian study, not instead of them — and the two are tested at different points in the process.
What does the 190 actually require of an Australian qualification?
The published rule is narrow and worth reading closely. Your qualification has to come from a course registered on CRICOS only if two things are true at once:
- your skills were assessed on the basis of that qualification, and
- you obtained that qualification in Australia at a time when you held a student visa.
The published test is directed at the course behind the qualification, so confirm the CRICOS registration of the specific course you intend to rely on before you build your skills assessment around it.
It is also worth being clear about what this is not. The requirement is not framed as a question of whether you complied with the conditions attached to your student visa, such as attendance or work limits. On the published wording, the test is about which visa you held when you gained the qualification, and whether the course itself was registered. Those are documentary facts you can establish from your own records, rather than judgements about conduct.
Does the CRICOS rule affect my points, my skills assessment, or both?
Both, but through two separate mechanisms that are easy to conflate.
| Where it bites | What the official page says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Skills assessment | A suitable skills assessment is required; if it is based on an Australian qualification obtained while you held a student visa, the qualification must be from a CRICOS-registered course | The CRICOS condition is a validity gate on the assessment itself |
| Points claims | Your EOI is given an indicative points score; the evidence you must supply can include "Satisfying the Australian study requirement", "Educational qualifications", "Study in regional Australia" and "Professional Year in Australia" | Australian study is a separate claim you have to evidence in its own right |
| Threshold | You must score 65 points or more to be invited | Falling short on any claim pushes you back below the line |
The practical consequence is that Australian study can be relevant to your points score even where the underlying qualification is not what you rely on for the assessment — and conversely, a qualification that helps your points case does not become a valid basis for a skills assessment if it fails the CRICOS test. Keeping the two apart is the single most useful thing you can do before you lodge an EOI.
How long does my skills assessment remain valid for a 190?
Your skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation. If the assessment was issued for a shorter period, that shorter period must not have passed. You must also declare that you hold a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation, and provide a copy of it with your application.
There is one significant qualifier. Following the decision in Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686, delegates of the Minister will now accept a suitable skills assessment for your nominated occupation that was obtained within the 60-day invitation period. The Minister administers the Migration Regulations 1994 in accordance with that decision, but reserves the right to argue in a court that Thapa was wrongly decided. Treat the 60-day window as a real but contestable accommodation rather than a settled entitlement to assess after the fact.
For medical and legal practitioners, the page also accepts specific alternatives in place of a skills assessment: full, unconditional or general registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency; conditional specialist registration with that Agency where it allows you to practise in your specialty with no further training or supervision; or admission to legal practice in the relevant state or territory.
What if my course was not registered on CRICOS?
Assume an applicant completed a course in Australia while holding a student visa, and that course was never registered on CRICOS. On the published wording, a skills assessment based on that qualification cannot serve as the suitable skills assessment for the 190, because the qualification fails the CRICOS condition. Whether the same period of study can support a points claim is a different question, answered by the Department's points calculator and by the assessing authority's own criteria rather than by this condition.
The mirror case matters too. Where a qualification was obtained in Australia at a time when you did not hold a student visa, the condition as published is not triggered by its own terms, because it is expressed as conditional on both facts. That is a reading of the text rather than a guarantee of outcome: how a different fact pattern is treated is not answered on the 190 page, and the safest course is to confirm against the current official guidance and the requirements of the authority assessing your occupation. This article describes published criteria only; it is general information and not advice on any individual case, so your own combination of qualifications, visa history and assessing authority should be checked against the official pages in force when you apply.
Beyond the study question: what else has to line up?
Once the qualification issue is settled, the rest of the 190 framework is largely mechanical:
- Expression of interest. You must submit an EOI through SkillSelect. There is no fee for submitting an EOI, and it is not a visa application; you select the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa and receive an email confirming submission.
- State or territory nomination. Your completed EOI becomes visible to state and territory government agencies, each of which has its own nomination criteria. You can only apply if you are invited, and if the nominating agency withdraws its nomination after you apply, your application becomes invalid.
- Invitation mechanics. Once invited you have 60 calendar days to apply, and this cannot be extended. An invitation can arrive up to 2 years after you submit your EOI, and if you do not apply after two invitations your EOI is removed from SkillSelect.
- Age and English. You must be under 45 when you are invited; turning 45 after the invitation is fine, but turning 45 after submitting your EOI and before invitation means you will not be invited. You need at least competent English at the time of invitation.
- Occupation, health, character and other criteria. Your occupation must be on the relevant skilled occupation list for the 190, and you and accompanying family members must meet the health and character requirements. Any debt to the Australian Government must be repaid or arrangements made, and applicants aged 18 or over sign the Australian Values Statement.
- Lawful status if you apply onshore. If you are in Australia when you apply, you must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging visa A, B or C. If your current or most recent substantive visa was a Subclass 491 or 494, you must have held it for at least 3 years at the time you apply.
What evidence will I need to assemble?
The documents you must provide are those that support the claims you made in your EOI, checked against the points table. Depending on your claims, the listed categories include your skills assessment, English language skills, Australian and overseas skilled employment, educational qualifications, satisfying the Australian study requirement, specialist education, accredited community language, study in regional Australia, partner skills, and a Professional Year in Australia.
Two habits reduce risk here. First, treat the CRICOS status of each course as something you verify at the level of the individual course and record, rather than assuming it from the fact that you were issued a student visa for it. Second, reconcile your skills assessment date against your invitation date before you rely on the 3-year rule or the Thapa 60-day accommodation — the two operate differently, and the difference is not curable after the invitation expires.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 190 require my Australian course to be registered on CRICOS?
Yes, where your skills assessment is based on a qualification you obtained in Australia while you held a student visa. The Department of Home Affairs states that the qualification must be from studying a course registered on CRICOS. Where that qualification is not the basis of your assessment, the condition is not engaged by its own terms.
Is the Australian study requirement the same thing as the CRICOS rule?
No. The Australian study requirement appears as a points claim you may need to evidence, listed among the EOI claim categories on the official page. The CRICOS condition is a separate validity requirement attached to a qualification used as the basis of your skills assessment. Satisfying one does not automatically satisfy the other.
What if I was not on a student visa when I completed my Australian qualification?
The published condition is expressed as applying where the qualification was obtained in Australia while you held a student visa, so a different visa history is not caught by its wording. That is a reading of the official text rather than a confirmation of outcome, so it should be checked against current official guidance and your assessing authority's criteria.
How old can my skills assessment be when I receive my invitation?
It must have been obtained in the 3 years before your invitation date, or within a shorter validity period stated on the assessment if one applies. Following the Thapa decision, delegates will also accept a suitable skills assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period, although the Minister reserves the right to argue that the case was wrongly decided.
Do I still need to hold a student visa when I apply for the 190?
No. The CRICOS and student visa condition concerns the visa you held when you gained the qualification, not the visa you hold when you apply. If you apply while in Australia you must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging visa A, B or C, which is a separate requirement.
Does the CRICOS test apply to my whole study history or just one course?
It applies to the course behind the qualification your skills assessment relies on. Other study can still be relevant to points claims such as the Australian study requirement or study in regional Australia, which are evidenced separately through the points table.
What happens if I am invited but cannot produce a suitable skills assessment in time?
You must declare a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation and provide a copy with your application. Once invited you have 60 calendar days to apply, and that period cannot be extended, so an assessment that cannot be obtained within the window is a practical problem rather than a curable one.