A pathway is a checklist, not a promised progression
Reviewed 30 September 2026. Your current subclass alone cannot establish eligibility for another visa. The cards above are a research shortlist. They do not check age, occupation, application location, a no-further-stay condition, previous refusal, health, character, a sponsor or the evidence in your case. Some listed routes will not be available to you. Do not let your current visa expire while waiting for a possible invitation.
Start with the visa you actually hold
- Find the grant notice and check the visa currently in effect through VEVO. Record expiry, work, study and travel conditions.
- Write the proposed next subclass and its application-location rule in a separate column.
- Open its official eligibility checklist. Identify the missing assessment, sponsor, invitation or evidence before comparing costs.
- Keep lawful-status planning separate from application processing. A lodged EOI is not a visa, and a bridging visa grant does not necessarily mean it is already in effect.
Three dates often confused
| Route | Relevant milestone | What it does not promise |
|---|---|---|
| 820→801 or 309→100 | Permanent-stage assessment is usually available two years after the original combined application, subject to exceptions. | It is not two years after temporary grant and is not an automatic grant date. Follow the evidence instructions in ImmiAccount. |
| 491/494→191 | At least three years holding an eligible visa; three ATO notices of assessment from eligible visa years and condition compliance are among the requirements. | No minimum income amount is set. The passage of three years alone does not grant PR. |
| PR→citizenship by conferral | The usual residence test is four years lawful residence immediately before applying, including the final twelve months as a permanent resident or eligible SCV holder, with absence limits. | It is not four years entirely as PR. Exceptions and NZ deeming rules need individual checking. |
Sources: partner stages; 191 requirements; citizenship residence.
Compare two realistic scenarios
A graduate considering skilled migration can record a cautious points total supported by current documents, then a second scenario with a possible nomination. Keep nomination requirements and any EOI invitation wait outside the visa-processing estimate. An employed 482 holder should instead check whether an employer will make a suitable nomination and whether the relevant 186 stream criteria are met. Neither a degree nor sponsored work guarantees a later permanent visa. Use the points calculator for arithmetic and the cost tool for a bounded budget.
Closed and special-case pathways
The Business Innovation and Investment Program closed to new applications on 31 July 2024. The 188 selection here is for existing holders investigating their own stream's later options. It is not an invitation to make a new 188 application. Protection pathways depend on arrival and application history; use the official Resolution of Status rules and qualified legal help rather than a generic switch-to-866 instruction.
Check benefits, health cover and processing separately
Do not budget on “full Centrelink access” from a visa card. Payment-specific residence, waiting-period, income/assets and family rules apply. Likewise, Medicare enrolment can depend on a permanent-residence application or another eligibility route. Open our waiting-period guide and Medicare comparison, then confirm with Services Australia. The official processing-time tool reports recent decisions; it does not include every earlier assessment, EOI or nomination wait.
Before paying or changing your status
Prepare a one-page list of the current visa, expiry, proposed route, evidence gaps, application location and costs. Ask a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner about a refusal, cancellation, application bar or uncertain condition. A request for professional help is particularly useful before withdrawing an application or making travel plans. This tool does not provide those decisions.
Change note: Corrected partner-stage timing, citizenship residence, 191 income wording, closed-program scope and generated pathway cards. Removed unsupported processing forecasts and unconditional benefits/PR promises.