187 visa which is officially known as the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) subclass 187 still remains one of the cornerstones of the Australian migration scene for skilled professionals who are committed to start a life in the regional part of Australia. While the migration scene of Australia has gone through a massive shift, the subclass 187 visa continues to be the visa program that serves as a critical Permanent Residency (PR) pathway for specific group of legacy visa holders in Australia. The 187 visa program lets Australian employers to nominate skilled workers to live and work independently in the regional part of Australia in exchange for PR pathway.
With more than 13 years of experience in providing visa services, BJay Education & Visa Services have provided support to numerous clients all over the world. This meticulous guide has been drafted with the latest, verified data from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to help you with all the recent changes in the current migration scenes of Australia. This guide provides a deeper dive into the current scenario of the 187 visa program, requirements, status to help you with your application process.
187 Visa
The 187 visa program under the various visa programs provided by the Australian government is a Permanent Residency (PR) visa that is designed to cater skilled workers in Australia who are to be nominated by an approved Australian employer to work in the regional region of Australia. As the 187 visa is a permanent visa program, once you have been granted with the 187 visa, it grants you with the right to live, work and study in Australia while providing full access to services like Medicare and a pathway to Australian citizenship.
Benefits of 187 visa
The 187 visa or the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme provides a set of benefits and provides security for the skilled migrant workers in the regional part of Australia. As the subclass 187 visa is a direct pathway to PR in Australia, it provides stability and benefits like no other visa program does.
Full Work & Study Rights
As a 187 visa holder in Australia, you have full access to work & study rights. You have full rights to work for your nominated employer and you, and your family (if applicable) are eligible to study at any Australian institution.
Medicare Access
Once you have been granted with a 187 visa, you are now eligible to access the Services Australia. With this visa, you and your family (if applicable) are eligible to enroll into the Australia’s public healthcare scheme (PBS) Medicare. As a result, you are now eligible to receive benefits like health insurances that include treatments, and subsidized costs on GP visits and prescribed medicines.
Immediate Permanent Residency
This is most significant benefit that the 187 visa provides as it grants PR in Australia as soon as the visa has been granted. Unlike other visa programs like 491 or 494, which require a 3 year long provisional waiting period, this visa program provides PR and enables you to stay in Australia for an indefinite period of time. Ultimately, due to this it eliminates the stress of future policy changes and risk of being deported as PR is granted.
Unlimited Travel and Re-entry
The 187 visa program provides you with the facility to travel in and out of Australia for as many times as you would like for the total duration of 5 years. In case that the 5 year facility is expired, your PR in Australia will be valid and you can simply renew the travel facility via a Resident Return Visa (RRV).
Direct Pathway to Australian Citizenship
As the 187 visa program is a PR visa program, everyday that you spend on this visa program will count as a point to the four-year residency requirement for Australian Citizenship. Due to this, you do not have to reset your residency clock and can be the fastest route to achieving an Australian citizenship.
Current Status of 187 visa
Even though the demand for the 187 visa program is very high, this visa program has been categorized as a Legacy Program by the DHA. The availability of this visa program is now strictly limited to specific transition pathways. As of April 2026, the 187 visa program has officially been closed to new applicants under the Direct Entry System and has been replaced by the Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional) visa for individuals seeking regional opportunities. Although the direct entry system has been closed, the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) Stream is still active.
Under the TRT stream, only the “transitional” workers are eligible to apply which basically means that the workers who had applied or held the subclass 457 or 482 visa before the program was restructured are eligible. In case you have worked for your employer who nominated you for the required period of time on a 482 visa then you may still be eligible to apply for the 187 visa program.
187 Visa Requirements
As the direct entry stream for the 187 visa was officially closed in 2019, if you are currently looking to apply for the 187 visa requirement then under the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream both nominating employer and the applicant are required to satisfy a set of requirements.
Requirements for the Applicant (TRT)
If you want to lodge a 187 visa application under the TRT stream in 2026, you are required to satisfy the following requirements that are given by the DHA.
Transitional Status: To apply for the 187 visa in 2026, you are required to be a transitional worker who has held or had applied for 457 or 482 visa programs before March 20, 2019.
Employment History: You are required to have worked for your nominating regional employer for at least 3 years out of the 4 years you hold your 457 or 482 visa.
English Language Proficiency: In this requirement, you are required to show that you have competent English by providing an English language test result from a DHA approved English test like IELTS, PTE, TOEFL etc. You are required to have a minimum IELTS score of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent scores)
Age Limit: Under this requirement, you are required to be under the age of 45 years while you apply for the 187 visa program. If you are a medical practitioner, a high-income holder or a senior academic nominated by a university then you may be exempt from the age limit.
Health & Character: You and your family (if applicable) are required to meet the health requirements and character requirements of Australia. Every family member is required to meet the Australian PIC 4005/4007 health standards to satisfy the health requirements. As for the Character requirement, you are required to provide police clearance certificates for every country that you have lived in for more than 12 months over the duration of last 10 years.
Employer Nomination Requirements
As the regional employer nomination is the mandatory first step in the 187 visa application process, the employer who is nominating you must satisfy the following requirements:
Regional Location: In order to nominate an employe, the business must be active and lawfully operating in a designated regional area of Australia.
Need for workers: Under this requirement, the Employer is required to prove that the business is genuinely in need of skilled migrants, and the need cannot be filled with the existing workforce.
Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR): Your salary is required to meet the ASMR and can’t be less than the TSMIT (Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold) which is AUD $ 76,515 as of April 2026.
Skilling Australians Fund (SAF): If you are nominated by the employer, then they should pay the SAF levy at the time of nomination which is AUD $3,000 for small businesses which have the turnover less than AUD $10million and AUD $5,000 for other businesses.
187 Visa Cost
As financial planning is an essential part of everything, you need to always account for it. As the 187 visa program needs to be nominated by an employer there are several charges that must be budgeted for by both the applicant and the employer.
The latest cost for the 187 visa program given by the DHA as of April 2026 is provided in the following table:
| Fee Category | Cost | Payer |
|---|---|---|
| Main Applicant Base Fee | AUD $4,910 | Applicant |
| Additional Applicant (18+ Years) | AUD $2,455 | Applicant |
| Additional Applicant (< 18 Years) | AUD $1,230 | Applicant |
| Second Installment (English Charge) | AUD $4,890 | Applicant* |
| SAF Levy (Small Business <$10M) | AUD $3,000 | Employer |
| SAF Levy (Large Business >$10M) | AUD $5,000 | Employer |
187 Visa Processing Time
The processing time for the 187 visa program as of April 2026 is heavily influenced by its status as a legacy visa program. The 187 processing times under the MD105 are depended on their specific stream.
The following table shows the current processing times for the subclass 187 based on the data provided by the DHA as of April 2026.
| Visa Stream (Subclass 187) | 50% of Applications | 90% of Applications | 2026 Priority Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transition Pathway (TRT) | 11 Months | 19 Months | High Priority (Regional) |
| Direct Entry (Legacy) | 38 Months | 51 Months | Low Priority (Closed) |
| Employer Nomination | 4–6 Months | 9 Months | Standard Processing |
187 Visa Application Process
The visa application process for the 187 visa in 2026 is designed in such a way that both the sponsoring employer and the applicant meet the requirement of this legacy visa application. As this visa program currently is limited to specific transitional pathways, you are required to follow the given steps to make sure your application has a positive outcome.
Step 1: Find an Eligible Employer in a Regional Area
The first step in the 187 visa application process is to firstly find an eligible employer who can sponsor you under the current 2026 framework. For the business to be eligible, it is required to be actively operating in the regional area of Australia. Due to the 187 visa currently being a legacy visa option in 2026, you are required to be already enrolled on a 457 or 482 visa and can’t just find a new employer for the grant in 2026.
Step 2: Employer Lodges the Nomination
After you have found an eligible employer who is willing to sponsor you, the next is from the employer where they are required to submit a formal nomination to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) before you even think of applying for the visa application. During the nomination phase, the employer is required to pay the mandatory SAF levy fee according to the scale of the business. In most cases, the employer is also required to obtain advice from the Regional Certifying Body (RCB) to prove to the DHA that there is a skill shortage which cannot be fulfilled locally.
Step 3: Prepare and Lodge the 187 Visa Application
After your employer lodges their nomination, the next step needs to be done by you to prepare and lodge the 187 visa application. You must lodge your visa application for the 187 visa within the 6-month timeframe. While lodging you visa application, you are required to gather required documents like years of work history, your Competent English results from a DHA approved English test like IELTS, PTE and TOEFL etc. and your skills/qualifications.
Step 4: Processing and Visa Grant
The final step in the 187 visa application process is to wait for the visa application to be processed and be granted with the visa. in this step, a case officer from the concerned authorities will assess you case and require you to provide health and character certificates. Once the case officer with satisfied with your 187 visa application, you will receive a notification from the DHA that your visa has been granted.
FAQs
No. the 187 visa is not available for new applications in 2026. The subclass 187 was officially closed on March 20,2019 for the Direct Entry Stream. Even though this visa program provides a Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream, it is only available for the transitional worker who have held or applied for certain visa programs like 457 or 482 before the change. All new applicants for this visa program are redirected to Subclass 494 (Provisional) visa.
Yes. As compared to other visa programs under the regional pathways which are provisional, the 187 visa is a permanent visa option which provides you with a PR in Australia as soon as it is granted. As it is a permanent visa, it provides you with indefinite rights to stay in Australia.
For most cases, you are generally required to be under the age of 45 to apply for the subclass 187. However, there are some exemptions if you are a medical practitioner, high-income individual or a senior academic.
Yes, you can move from a 187 visa to an Australian citizenship. As the subclass 187 is a PR visa program, the time you spend in Australia on this visa counts towards the 4 years residency requirement for an Australian Citizenship.
As the Direct Entry stream with the 187 visa has officially been closed as of March 20, 2019 the only stream left is the TRT stream. The TRT stream processing time is usually 11 months with 90% of the applications being processed within 19 months. As the 187 visa is a regional visa, it is designated as a high priority visa and is processed faster than other visa programs.
As the 187 visa is now a legacy visa program, the process has become more and more scrutinized and requires you to have a strategic partner who can help you through the complexities of the visa.
Why BJay?
Proven Expertise: With 13 years of experience in Visa services in Australia, we here at BJay Education & Visa Services have been providing tailored services to help you navigate through the complex migration scenes of Australia.
Expertise Team: Led by Mr. Jay Oli (MARN: 1570827), we have an exceptional team that is there to solve any queries and help you with your application. The team is well trained to provide the services that you may require assistance with.
Global Presence & Local Support: With offices present in multiple locations throughout Nepal (Putalisadak and Birtamode) and a head office in Sydney, BJay provides you with seamless support you may require whether you are in your home country or already in the turf of Australia.
End-to-End Career Support: We here at BJay provide you with the service that ranges from the starting of your career as a Chef in Australia to your final Permanent Residency (PR) Grant making sure no obstacles cause your application to be rejected.
Proven Regional Success: With over 13 years of experience in visa services and thousands of positive outcomes we have been providing regional help to the applicants to find and land their jobs.
Are you someone with in the TRT Stream and looking to secure your PR with 187 visa? Book a Free Consultation with BJay and get expert help.
