EOI & State Nomination: Step-by-Step Application Guide

At VJ Consulting and Education, guiding skilled migrants through the EOI and state nomination process has given us a clear picture of where applicants succeed — and where they commonly stumble.

#How to submit an EOI?

Submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect is a structured five-step process — but the preparation before you log in determines whether your EOI is competitive enough to receive an invitation.

Step 1 — Confirm your eligibility. Before submitting, you need a valid skills assessment from the relevant assessing body for your nominated occupation, and you must score at least 65 points on the points test.

This is a common misunderstanding: you do not claim the 5 nomination points when you submit your EOI. You claim them only after receiving a state nomination invitation.

Step 2 — Create or log in to your ImmiAccount. Go to immi.homeaffairs.gov.au and access SkillSelect through your ImmiAccount. First-time users must register.

Step 3 — Complete the EOI form. You will enter:

Step 4 — Review every points claim carefully. One of our clients had her 190 application refused because she overclaimed — she claimed 25 points for work experience when the maximum is 20 points, and also incorrectly claimed 5 points for a professional year that does not apply to her occupation. These errors triggered a refusal. Every claim must be verifiable with documents at application stage.

Step 5 — Submit and receive your EOI ID. Once submitted, your EOI is live in the SkillSelect pool. It is valid for 2 years from submission. You can update most fields — except your occupation — without resetting your submission date.

Tip: If you switch jobs after submitting, update your EOI immediately. One of our clients received a pre-invitation from Victoria but had changed employers three weeks earlier and forgotten to update. Fortunately, the occupation and points remained the same, but the case required careful management during the subsequent application stage.

→ Deep Dive: How to Calculate and Maximise Your EOI Points Score

#How to get state nomination?

State nomination is not a single process — each state and territory runs its own program with its own eligibility criteria, application portals, and invitation rounds. The general pathway is the same across all jurisdictions, but the details vary significantly.

The core process has four stages:

What states actually look for varies by jurisdiction, but common factors include:

• Occupation — must be on the state's occupation list, which is separate from the federal skilled occupation list
• Location — some states require you to be living or working in their region (especially for 491)
• Points score — states set their own cut-off scores, which change each round
• Employment — many states require a genuine intention to live and work in the state, and some require a current job offer or active employment in the state

One of our clients, a marketing specialist offshore with 75 points, described the waiting period after EOI submission as the hardest part of the process — particularly not knowing when a state would next open its program or whether her score would be high enough. This reflects a reality many applicants face: state nomination timelines are opaque and can change without warning.

What happens to your other EOIs after a 190 invitation? Accepting a state nomination and applying for a 190 visa does not automatically withdraw your other EOIs. However, once you have lodged a visa application, continuing to hold open EOIs for competing pathways is generally unnecessary. Our agents recommend withdrawing unused EOIs as a courtesy to other applicants in the pool, unless you have a specific strategic reason to maintain them.

Tip: State nomination does not guarantee a visa grant. The nomination simply adds 5 points to your score and establishes an obligation to live in the nominating state or region for a specified period. All other visa requirements — health, character, English — still apply.

→ Deep Dive: State Nomination in Australia: How to Apply

#Which state is easiest to get nomination?

There is no single "easiest" state — the right answer depends on your occupation, your points score, whether you are onshore or offshore, and the current round priorities. That said, Tasmania, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory consistently offer lower cut-off scores and more accessible nomination criteria for a wider range of occupations compared to New South Wales and Victoria. Among the applicants VJCE has assisted, the most successful outcomes tend to come from those who match their profile to a state's current occupation priorities rather than chasing a state simply by reputation.

Here is a practical comparison of the main jurisdictions as of mid-2025:

Tasmania is frequently cited as the most accessible for lower-scoring applicants. A migration agent we work with explained in a Q&A session: for points calculations under the Tasmanian program, if you are claiming both Australian and overseas work experience in the same occupation, you can only claim one — whichever gives you the higher score. This is a nuance that catches many applicants out and can affect eligibility.

South Australia runs a structured matrix system and accepts a wide range of occupations, including many that are closed in eastern states. For offshore applicants without Australian work experience, SA is often the most viable option.

ACT uses the Canberra Matrix, a separate scoring system that rewards residence, employment, and community ties in the ACT. It is not simply a points-test threshold — applicants who do not live or work in Canberra are rarely invited.

This sentiment is understandable. For offshore applicants in non-critical occupations, 75 points is often sufficient for Tasmania and SA — but timing matters. State programs open and close without fixed schedules, and some rounds are occupation-specific.

For applicants scoring below 75 points, the 491 visa via Tasmania or South Australia is typically the most accessible pathway to Australian permanent residence. The 491 leads to the 191 permanent visa after 3 years of regional living and working, making it a legitimate and increasingly popular route to PR.

Tip: Do not restrict your EOI to one or two states. Select every state for which your occupation is listed. You can decline a nomination if the location does not suit you — but you cannot retroactively receive one you never applied for.

→ Deep Dive: State Nomination in Australia: How to Apply

#What score do you need to get an invitation?

The minimum score to submit an EOI is 65 points, but the score needed to actually receive an invitation is almost always higher — and varies by visa subclass, occupation, and invitation round.

One of our clients, a registered nurse who lodged her EOI with 75 points in February, received her 189 invitation — a relatively uncommon outcome at that score level, reflecting how occupation demand drives cut-offs more than any fixed threshold.

A more common experience: one of our clients, an IT professional, observed that applicants in his occupation with 95 points who submitted EOIs in July were invited after others with 85 points who submitted in October. This happens because SkillSelect applies a tie-breaking rule based on submission date only among applicants with identical scores — it does not invite strictly by score rank across the whole pool. Occupation-specific allocations and visa caps also play a role.

There have also been confirmed cases of EOIs with anomalously high claimed scores appearing in invitation rounds — one of our clients tracking the SkillSelect database identified two EOIs in the June 2024 round claiming 115 points, submitted months apart. This suggests that some EOIs may contain inflated claims that are only scrutinised at visa application stage, not at EOI stage. This is precisely why accuracy matters: overclaimed EOIs that receive invitations face detailed document checks that can result in refusal.

Tip: An EOI is valid for 2 years. If you have not received an invitation and your EOI is approaching expiry, review your migration plan before it lapses — do not simply resubmit without reassessing your strategy.

→ Deep Dive: How to Calculate and Maximise Your EOI Points Score

#How long does it take to get an invitation after submitting an EOI?

There is no guaranteed timeframe. The waiting period ranges from a few weeks to over 24 months, and for some occupations and score bands, an invitation never comes at all.

The waiting period between EOI submission and invitation is, for many applicants, the most difficult stage of the entire skilled migration process. The uncertainty — whether an invitation will come at all, and when — is a genuine psychological burden that our clients frequently describe.

There are a few practical things that affect your waiting time:

• Occupation demand — high-demand occupations (nursing, engineering, certain IT roles) tend to see faster invitation rounds
• Invitation round frequency — the Department of Home Affairs issues 189 rounds monthly; state rounds vary
• Your score relative to others — even a small difference in claimed points can place you above or below the cut-off in a given round

Tip: You cannot expedite your EOI. However, you can improve your score while waiting — completing a professional year, gaining additional Australian work experience, or improving your English test score can all add points without resetting your submission date, provided you update your EOI before a round closes.

#Can you update your EOI after submitting?

Yes — and in most cases, you should. SkillSelect allows updates to your EOI at any time, and updating does not reset your submission date (which is used as a tiebreaker when scores are equal). The only thing you cannot change is your nominated occupation. VJ Consulting agents generally advise clients to treat their EOI as a living document — reviewing and updating key claims such as employment, English test scores, and skills assessments whenever circumstances improve.

Situations where updating is essential:

One of our clients received a pre-invitation from Victoria on 8 October 2024 but had switched jobs on 18 September and forgotten to update his EOI. Because his new role was in the same occupation and his points did not change, the nomination proceeded — but he needed to carefully document the employment transition for the subsequent visa application. Had the job change affected his points claim, this oversight could have been far more serious.

Tip: Set a calendar reminder to review your EOI every three months. Employment changes, test score updates, and changes in your partner's circumstances can all shift your points — and keeping your EOI current ensures your score reflects your actual eligibility.

#What happens if you receive an invitation?

Receiving an invitation does not mean you have a visa. It means you have 60 days to lodge a complete visa application with all supporting documents.

Once invited, you must:

1. Confirm acceptance of the invitation in SkillSelect within the timeframe specified (typically 60 days)
2. Lodge your visa application via ImmiAccount with full documentation
3. Pay the visa application charge — the primary applicant fee for an 189 visa or 190 visa is currently $4,640 (as of 2025), with additional charges for secondary applicants
4. Complete health examinations — these are booked through the BUPA Medical Visa Services portal
5. Provide police clearances — required for every country you have lived in for 12 months or more in the past 10 years

One important situation to manage: if you receive a 190 invitation but your most recent employer information has not been updated, or your EOI contains a discrepancy in points, this is the time to address it — not ignore it. The Department assesses your visa application against your EOI claims, and inconsistencies trigger requests for additional information or, in serious cases, refusal.

Tip: Do not rush to lodge a visa application with incomplete documents. A well-prepared application lodged in week 5 of your 60-day window is significantly better than a rushed incomplete application lodged in week 1.

→ Deep Dive: State Nomination in Australia: How to Apply

#Do EOIs expire?

Yes. An EOI is valid for 2 years from the date of submission. If you do not receive an invitation within that period, your EOI lapses and you must submit a new one — which resets your submission date.

This matters because submission date is the tiebreaker when two applicants have identical points scores. A client who submitted in February 2023 and has not been invited by February 2025 loses that early submission advantage entirely if they need to resubmit.

Key considerations when an EOI is approaching expiry:

Tip: Do not let an EOI expire passively. Use the expiry as a forcing function to reassess your migration strategy, particularly if the skilled occupation lists or state programs have changed since you first submitted.

#How does SkillSelect decide who gets invited?

SkillSelect ranks EOIs by points score first, then by submission date as a tiebreaker. But this is not the whole story — occupation-specific invitation allocations, visa program caps, and Department policy settings all influence which EOIs receive invitations in any given round.

The process works as follows:

1. The Department sets an invitation allocation for each occupation in each round
2. EOIs within that occupation are ranked by points, then by submission date
3. Invitations are issued to the top-ranked EOIs up to the allocation limit

This explains something our clients frequently find confusing: why applicants with 95 points who submitted earlier sometimes wait longer than applicants with 85 points who submitted later. If the higher-scoring applicant is in an occupation with a small allocation, and the lower-scoring applicant is in an occupation with a large allocation, the lower-scoring applicant may be invited first in an absolute sense — even though within their respective occupations, both were invited in ranked order.

There is also a separate issue of accuracy. The SkillSelect database contains EOIs with very high claimed scores — cases our clients have identified where applicants claim 115 points across two EOIs submitted months apart. These EOIs may pass into the invitation pool without verification, but they face scrutiny at visa application stage. Inflated claims do not benefit applicants in the long run; they result in refusals that are difficult and expensive to challenge.

→ Deep Dive: How to Calculate and Maximise Your EOI Points Score

#Should you select multiple visa types and states in your EOI?

Yes — and this is one of the most impactful decisions you make in your EOI. Selecting multiple visa types and states significantly increases your chances of receiving an invitation without any additional cost or effort. In VJ Consulting and Education's experience, selecting a well-considered combination of visa subclasses and nomination streams is consistently one of the highest-impact steps an applicant can take before their EOI goes live in SkillSelect.

Visa type selection:

Our agents recommend selecting all three visa types (189, 190, and 491) unless there is a specific strategic reason not to — for example, if a client is unwilling to live regionally under the 491 visa obligations.

State selection: Select every state and territory where your occupation appears on their current list. You are not committing to live in a state simply by including it in your EOI. You can decline a nomination if you receive one from an undesirable location. But if you have pre-emptively excluded a state, you cannot receive an invitation from it.

Once you have lodged a visa application, there is no practical benefit to holding open additional EOIs. Our agents typically recommend withdrawing them as a courtesy to others in the pool.

Tip: If your occupation appears on the 491 visa list for Tasmania or South Australia but not the 190 list, selecting 491 for those states is often your fastest path to an invitation — and the 491 remains a legitimate PR pathway via the 191 visa.

#What documents do you need to support your EOI claims?

You do not submit documents with your EOI — but you must hold all supporting documents at the time of claiming those points, because you will need to provide them if you receive an invitation and lodge a visa application.

The most common documentation failures our agents see at visa application stage:

• Work experience gaps — employment letters that do not specify hours worked per week (relevant when claiming part-time work experience)
• Overseas experience — documents not translated by a NAATI-certified translator
• Skills assessment — claiming experience that was already counted in the skills assessment as a separate points claim (some assessing bodies assess based on experience you cannot then also claim as work experience points)
• English test expiry — test results that were valid at EOI submission but have since expired at visa application stage

Tip: Treat your EOI as a legally binding declaration. Every box you tick is a claim you must prove with documents. Our agents conduct a pre-EOI document audit for every client to ensure all claims are supportable before submission.

#Can you apply for skilled migration without a job offer?

Yes. The skilled independent 189 visa, state nominated 190 visa, and skilled regional 491 visa are all points-based and do not require a job offer. This is a fundamental design feature of Australia's points-tested skilled migration program.

However, a job offer — or existing Australian employment — can indirectly strengthen your EOI in two ways:

1. Australian work experience points — if you are already working in Australia in your nominated occupation, you may be claiming additional points for this experience
2. State nomination eligibility — some states give priority to applicants who are currently employed in the state, or who have a confirmed job offer from an employer in the state

For applicants who prefer employer-sponsored pathways, the 482 Skills in Demand visa and 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa are separate streams that do require employer sponsorship. These are not EOI-based and operate independently of SkillSelect.

Tip: If you are currently in Australia on a 485 Temporary Graduate visa and working in your nominated occupation, you are already accumulating Australian work experience points that can improve your EOI score. Do not delay submitting your EOI while on a 485 — the earlier you submit, the better your submission date tiebreaker position.

→ Deep Dive: How to Calculate and Maximise Your EOI Points Score

#What is the Canberra Matrix and how does it affect ACT nomination?

The ACT's nomination system — the Canberra Matrix — is fundamentally different from every other state's nomination process, and applicants who do not understand this often apply incorrectly.

Rather than selecting EOIs purely by points score, the ACT assigns its own internal score based on:

An applicant with 90 federal points who lives in Sydney is unlikely to receive ACT nomination over an applicant with 75 federal points who has lived and worked in Canberra for two years. The Matrix rewards presence and commitment to the ACT, not just migration points.

For applicants who are already living and working in Canberra, the 190 visa via the ACT is often the fastest available nomination pathway. For those elsewhere, it is generally not a realistic option.

Tip: If you are considering relocating to Canberra specifically to improve your ACT Matrix score, the timeline to build sufficient community ties and employment history typically takes 12–18 months of genuine residence. Factor this into your overall migration timeline.

→ Deep Dive: State Nomination in Australia: How to Apply

#Take the Next Step

Submitting a competitive EOI requires more than filling out a form — it requires an accurate points assessment, correctly supported documentation, and a strategic decision about which visa type and states to select. A single misclaimed points category can mean the difference between an invitation and a refusal.

Our MARA-registered migration agents at VJ Consulting provide a comprehensive EOI review and strategy session, covering your points assessment, documentation gaps, and the state nomination programs most likely to invite your profile.

Book a consultation with our team to get a clear picture of your position in the SkillSelect pool and the fastest realistic pathway to your Australian visa.

Contact VJ Consulting | Explore Skilled Migration Pathways | State Nomination Guide