Choose the subclass and check your occupation
Compare 189, 190 and 491 first: an independent invitation, state or territory nomination, and regional nomination or eligible-relative sponsorship have different criteria. Home Affairs uses different occupation lists for different visas. Find your nominated occupation on the relevant list, its assessing authority and the exact subclass requirements before treating an EOI as your route.
Use the official points calculator to check potential points. SkillSelect calculates an indicative score from your answers. Home Affairs says 65 is the minimum invitation threshold for these points-tested visas; reaching it does not guarantee an invitation. Check the age and other timing rules on your chosen visa page, too.
Official EOI overview and points threshold · Skilled occupation lists · Official points calculator
Gather the facts behind the EOI
Home Affairs' EOI instructions ask for a skills assessment in the nominated occupation before submitting the EOI. Record the assessment date, assessing authority and reference or receipt number. If you need an English test, enter its details and results; the official instructions describe a passport-based way to show competent English for citizens of Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Check the current subclass and English evidence rules before relying on an exemption or claiming extra points.
Prepare education details including the qualification, course, institution, campus, country and dates. For work, Home Affairs asks for the past 10 years: position, employer, dates and whether the work relates to your nominated occupation. Check all other claimed points, including partner and nomination or sponsorship points, against your own documents. Do not round up dates or claim experience you cannot support.
Official EOI information to collect · Skills assessment guidance
Use SkillSelect for the EOI, then save the ID
Start the EOI in the official SkillSelect system. It asks for your name, date of birth, passport country, citizenship, country of residence, relationship status and email address. Those passport and residence answers are separate: living in a country does not change your passport country. SkillSelect emails an EOI number and account details after setup. Save them privately, complete the relevant sections and check the answers before submission.
Submitting an EOI is not a visa application, a grant or permission to remain in Australia. If you are already in Australia, keep checking your current visa status and conditions separately. For a 190 or 491 state nomination, follow that state or territory's current criteria as well as SkillSelect; an EOI alone is not a state nomination.
Update your EOI before any invitation
Home Affairs says a submitted EOI stays active for two years. You can update it before an invitation if your circumstances change. Recheck it after new work experience, a higher qualification, a better English result, a new skills assessment or a family change. Updates can change the indicative points score. An EOI cannot be edited after an invitation, so keep the claims accurate while it is still open.
No invitation is guaranteed, even at or above 65 points. Published invitation rounds do not establish your personal selection date. Keep your EOI contact details usable and check official messages rather than relying on a forecast.
Official EOI validity and updates · Official invitation process
Check the 60-day application deadline and evidence
Home Affairs says an invited applicant has 60 days from the invitation date to complete and submit the separate online visa application in ImmiAccount. Read the invitation and the current page for the exact 189, 190 or 491 route. Compare each EOI points claim with evidence you can upload, and check the visa's health, character, location and family requirements that apply to you. An invitation does not itself decide those requirements or grant a visa.
If you cannot support a claimed fact, do not assume the EOI can be corrected after invitation. Use the current official instructions for the exact visa and obtain qualified advice if the discrepancy matters to your application. Keep your existing visa status and any expiry dates in view while deciding next steps.
Official 60-day invitation and application steps · ImmiAccount
Check every EOI claim before submitting
Save a plain-text list of your route, assessment, English, study, work and points evidence on your own device. We do not need these personal records or an email address.