Before you start

For the 482: a job offer from an employer holding or applying for Standard Business Sponsorship
For ACT nomination: an occupation on the ACT's list, a positive skills assessment, and in most streams an existing ACT address
An Expression of Interest in SkillSelect, plus a separate Canberra Matrix submission
Minimum English proficiency — and more than the minimum if you want Matrix points for it
Realistic expectations about clearance-gated roles if you are not yet a citizen

Step-by-step

1
Check first whether the jobs you want require a clearance
Read ten real Canberra job ads in your field before anything else. If most say 'must hold or be able to obtain a Baseline/NV1 clearance', they are closed to you as a non-citizen. The universities, health services, construction, hospitality and the unclassified side of consulting are not.
OnlineWho: You
2
Work out which route fits — sponsored, or nominated
Employer sponsorship on a 482 is fastest and needs a job offer. ACT nomination for the 190 or 491 needs no employer but needs points, an occupation on the ACT list and, for most streams, that you already live in Canberra.
OnlineWho: You
3
Get a skills assessment from the relevant authority
Engineers Australia, ACS, VETASSESS, AHPRA and the rest each assess their own occupations. Start early — after overseas police certificates this is usually the longest lead item in the whole process.
OnlineWho: YouCommonly 6–12 weeks≈AUD 500–1,200 depending on the authority
4
Lodge the EOI and submit a Canberra Matrix
The Matrix is separate from SkillSelect and is scored on ACT-specific criteria. Length of ACT residence and a current ACT job in your nominated occupation are the heaviest items, which is why most successful applicants are already here on another visa.
OnlineWho: You
5
Or have your employer lodge a 482 nomination
The salary must clear both the Annual Market Salary Rate for the role in Canberra and the Core Skills Income Threshold, which rose to AUD 79,423 on 1 July 2026. Canberra salaries are the highest in the country on median, so the threshold binds less often here than in Adelaide or Hobart.
Via employerWho: Your employer
6
Complete health examinations and police certificates
Medicals go through a Home Affairs panel physician. Police certificates are needed for every country you lived in 12 months or more over the last decade and are consistently the slowest item.
In personWho: You and any family included2 weeks to 3 months by country
7
Lodge through ImmiAccount, then verify with VEVO after arrival
Attach documents, pay the charge, then use VEVO whenever an employer, agent or bank asks for proof of status and work rights. Nothing is collected in person and there is no residence card.
OnlineWho: YouUse the official Visa Pricing Estimator — charges are indexed each 1 July

Documents you’ll need

Passport valid for the intended stay
Skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority
Employer nomination reference, or an ACT nomination invitation
Evidence of at least one year of relevant experience
English test results, unless exempt
Evidence of ACT residence, for most Canberra Matrix streams
Panel physician health examination results and police certificates

Things most newcomers don’t know

Every Australian security clearance requires citizenship, not permanent residency.

Baseline, NV1 and NV2 all require you to be an Australian citizen. In a city where the Commonwealth and its defence primes are the largest employers, that closes a very large share of the advertised market to a new migrant — and it stays closed through the whole permanent-residency period, since citizenship normally follows four years of lawful residence including twelve months as a PR. A citizenship eligibility waiver exists but requires the role to be critical, unable to be redesigned, unable to be filled by a citizen, and free of conflict with your country of allegiance. Treat it as unavailable when planning.

Source: Australian Public Service Commission — citizenship in the APS; AGSVA clearance eligibility

Canberra is a designated regional area, which surprises almost everyone.

Only Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sit outside designated regional Australia. Canberra is Category 2, alongside Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Hobart and Newcastle. That is 15 extra points on a 491, priority processing, and access to streams the big three cannot touch — while living in a national capital with the highest median income in the country.

Source: Home Affairs — designated regional areas

The Canberra Matrix scores things the federal points test ignores, and residence is the heaviest.

The ACT ranks nominees on its own matrix: how long you have lived in Canberra, ACT study, English above the minimum, a spouse's skills, and employment in your nominated occupation. Most streams require an ACT address before you can even submit. The practical consequence is a two-step migration — arrive on a student, graduate or sponsored visa, then nominate from inside the territory. Offshore applicants are at a structural disadvantage here in a way they are not in every state.

Source: ACT Government — Canberra Matrix and ACT nomination

You will live in the ACT and half your life will happen in New South Wales.

Queanbeyan is fifteen minutes away and across a state border. Many Canberrans live there, and plenty of Canberra employers have staff who do. That means NSW tenancy law, NSW stamp duty and its 9% foreign surcharge, NSW licensing and NSW ambulance rules — a completely different set of state rules for a suburb that functions as part of the same city. Decide which side of the border you are on before you sign anything.

Source: community-reported, consistent with ACT and NSW government material

Common mistakes to avoid

Accepting a Canberra job offer without checking whether the role is clearance-gated — a citizenship requirement is not negotiable and not waivable in practice.
Assuming the national capital is excluded from regional migration; it is Category 2 and carries the 15 points.
Submitting a Canberra Matrix from offshore when the streams you qualify for require ACT residence.
Treating ACT nomination as automatic once you have a Canberra job — it is a separate application to a separate government with its own ranking and quotas.
Renting in Queanbeyan for the price without realising you have moved into a different state's tenancy, duty, licensing and ambulance regime.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.