192 Pacific Engagement visa (subclass 192) – Pacific Engagement stream

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Pacific Engagement stream (subclass 192)
Stay	Permanent; indefinite stay
Cost	From AUD345 main applicant
Family cost	From AUD85 each member
Eligibility timing	Apply within 120 selection days
Ballot requirement	Random PEV ballot selection required
Age	18–45 at ballot opening
Work rights	Work anywhere in Australia
Study	Study anywhere in Australia
Medicare	Access to Medicare
Travel facility	Multiple entry for five years
Citizenship	May apply if eligible
Family sponsorship	Sponsor eligible relatives
Visa record	Electronically linked to passport
Apply from	Inside or outside Australia
Processing	No program estimate available

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Purpose

The Pacific Engagement stream visa allows eligible citizens of Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste to live and work in Australia permanently.

You can apply only after random selection in the Pacific Engagement visa (PEV) ballot.

Eligibility

You must:

• Be selected in the PEV ballot and receive a Notification of Selection letter.
• Apply online within 120 days of selection, by the letter’s stated deadline.
• Be a citizen and valid passport holder of the same participating country declared in your ballot registration.
• Be aged 18 to 45 inclusive when ballot registration opens for your country. If aged 45 at opening and turning 46 during processing, you still meet this requirement.
• Not be a New Zealand citizen.
• Have been born in, or have a parent born in, an eligible listed country.
• Be in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when applying and when a decision is made.
• If applying in Australia, hold a substantive visa or Bridging visa A, B or C.
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Have substantially complied with prior Australian visa conditions, unless compassionate and compelling circumstances apply.
• Have no relevant visa cancellation or refusal that prevents eligibility.
• Repay, or arrange repayment of, Australian Government debts.
• Sign an Australian Values Statement if aged 18 or over.
• Meet the best interests of the child requirement for applicants under 18.

Participating citizenship countries

• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Republic of Marshall Islands
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Timor-Leste
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

Birth or parent-birth countries

You or a parent must have been born in:

• Australia
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• New Zealand
• Republic of Marshall Islands
• Republic of Naoero
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Timor-Leste
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

Australia and New Zealand are included for some eligible citizens born there to access medical facilities.

Employment and Financial Support

You, or an included spouse or de facto partner, must have an offer of employment in Australia.

The offer may be permanent full-time, permanent part-time, or a fixed-term contract with equivalent work entitlements. Casual employment is not considered ongoing employment.

The written offer or contract must include:

• Position details
• Salary and conditions
• Australian employer details
• Business registration and contact details
• Applicable workplace standard or industry award
• Conditions no less favourable than equivalent Australian work

You must have adequate means to support yourself and migrating family members. There is no set financial threshold. The Department may require evidence of support for your first 12 months in Australia.

Evidence may include:

• Expected employment income
• Payslips or bank statements
• Personal funds
• Support from Australian citizen or permanent-resident family

If you do not yet have an employment offer when applying, provide it as soon as possible after application. A free Pacific Engagement visa Support Service can help connect applicants with Australian employers.

English Language

You or your included spouse or de facto partner must show English proficiency through one of the following:

• Secondary-school graduation in a Pacific island country.
• At least 12 months’ work in Australia on a visa with work rights.
• At least 12 months’ secondary or higher study in Australia.
• At least 12 months’ work or study in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada or New Zealand.
• An accepted English test completed within three years before application or decision.

Minimum test results:

Test	Required listening and speaking results
IELTS	At least 5.0 each
OET	At least B each
TOEFL iBT	Listening 4; speaking 14
PTE Academic	At least 36 each
Cambridge C1 Advanced	At least 154 each

If neither you nor your spouse/de facto partner meets the English requirement, you may complete the Pacific Engagement Visa English Language Undertaking. This requires agreement to enrol in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), if eligible, after arrival.

Family Provisions

Include all family members who wish to migrate with you when you submit the application. You cannot add them afterwards.

Family members applying must meet health and character requirements and substantially comply with previous visa conditions. Non-migrating family members may also need to meet health and character requirements.

For children under 18, obtain consent from any non-migrating person with legal authority over where the child lives. Provide either:

• Form 1229; or
• A statutory declaration giving consent; or
• A court order allowing migration; or
• Evidence home-country law permits migration.

Customary adoptions are generally not recognised. Formal adoptions must establish parental rights and comply with Australian migration-law requirements.

Cost

• Main applicant: from AUD345
• Each applying family member: from AUD85

Pay the correct visa application charge. An application is invalid if the correct charge is not paid. Other costs can include health examinations, police certificates and biometrics.

The application charge is not refunded if the application is refused.

Documents

Prepare clear colour scans or photographs. Translate non-English documents into English and provide both originals and translations. Documents do not need certification.

Key evidence includes:

• Current passport biodata page and, if held, national identity card.
• Name-change evidence, where relevant.
• Evidence of your or your parent’s birth in an eligible country.
• Written Australian employment offer or contract.
• Financial-support evidence, if requested.
• Relationship evidence for partners and dependants.
• Birth certificates, adoption papers and parental-responsibility documents for children.
• English-language evidence or PEV English Language Undertaking.
• Australian Federal Police certificate if you spent 12 months in Australia during the last 10 years after turning 16.
• Overseas police certificates for countries where you spent 12 months during that period.
• Military service or discharge records, if applicable.

For de facto partners, provide evidence of a registered relationship or at least 12 months of de facto relationship before application, plus evidence the relationship is genuine and continuing.

Application Steps

1. Receive a PEV ballot Notification of Selection letter.
2. Check your passport is valid.
3. Gather supporting documents.
4. Access the online form through the selection letter or ImmiAccount.
5. Complete the application and attach documents.
6. Pay the visa application charge.
7. Record the transaction reference number (TRN).
8. Submit by the selection-letter deadline.

The Department will not accept applications submitted after the stated deadline.

After Applying

The Department may request more information. You generally have 28 days to respond, or may request an extension with evidence of steps taken.

You may be asked to complete:

• Health examinations
• Biometrics
• Further character checks
• Additional supporting evidence

Attach missing documents as soon as possible through ImmiAccount. The Department may decide the application without requesting further documents.

If applying in Australia, remain lawful. A bridging visa may take effect when your current visa expires. Do not ask for your current visa to be cancelled, as this may make you unlawful and cause a bridging visa to cease.

Tell the Department promptly about:

• Incorrect application answers — use Form 1023.
• Changed address, telephone, email or passport.
• Changed marital or de facto relationship status.
• A child born after application.
• Withdrawal of the application.

Removing an application from ImmiAccount does not withdraw it.

Rights After Grant

This permanent visa lets you:

• Stay in Australia indefinitely.
• Live, work and study anywhere in Australia.
• Access Medicare.
• Sponsor eligible relatives.
• Apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.
• Access settlement services, including AMEP and SETS.
• Access specified education, training and family supports.

Newly arrived residents may need to wait before accessing some Australian Government payments and benefits.

Australian workplace laws protect visa holders regardless of citizenship or visa status.

Travel

You may travel to and from Australia as often as you wish for five years from visa grant, while the travel facility remains valid.

After the initial five-year travel facility ends, obtain a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.

Your first entry must occur by the date in your grant letter, generally 12 months after grant. If you do not enter by that date, the visa will cease.

Check travel-facility validity and visa conditions through VEVO.

Visa Record and Obligations

Your visa is electronically linked to your passport; no passport label is issued.

You and included family members must obey Australian laws. Keep a copy of your visa decision and use VEVO to prove visa status and conditions.