Subclass 192 – Pacific Engagement visa

The Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa, also known as the PEV, is a new Australian permanent residence visa available for eligible citizens of participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste.

This visa is part of Australia’s permanent migration program and is aimed at increasing Pacific and Timor-Leste communities in Australia to strengthen our ongoing connections.

There are 3,000 permanent places available annually, inclusive of the main applicant and their partners and/or dependent children. These visa places are made available through a ballot process.

To apply for the Pacific Engagement Visa (subclass 192), you must:

• First register for the PEV ballot.

• If you are randomly selected in the ballot, you can then proceed with your visa application.

Please note that to register for the PEV ballot and to apply for the visa, you must not be a citizen of New Zealand.

To be eligible to register for the PEV ballot, you must:

• be aged between 18 and 45 years old (inclusive) when your country's ballot registration opens

• hold a valid passport for a participating country *

• be born in, or have a parent born in an eligible country **

• not be a citizen of New Zealand

• not already be registered in another country’s PEV ballot

• be able to pay the AU$25 registration fee

• Applicants can apply inside or outside of Australia. Applications must be submitted before the ballot closes on August 2, 2024. Check the PEV Country Ballot Status page to see the status of each participating country’s ballot.

* Countries participating in the first PEV ballot include:

• Federated State of Micronesia

• Fiji

• Nauru

• Palau

• Papua New Guinea

• Solomon Islands

• Timor-Leste

• Tonga

• Tuvalu

• Vanuatu

**Eligible countries where the ballot applicant can either be born in, or have a parent born in:

• Australia***

• Federated State of Micronesia

• Fiji

• Kiribati

• Nauru

• Palau

• Papua New Guinea

• New Zealand*

• Republic of Marshall Islands

• Samoa

• Solomon Islands

• Timor-Leste

• Tonga

• Tuvalu

***Some eligible citizens may have been born outside of their country of citizenship to access alternative medical facilities. Australia and New Zealand have been included in this list to recognise this.

1. Ballot opens

• Ballot opened on June 3.

• Each participating country will have a separate ballot and details of each country’s status can be seen on the PEV Country Ballot Status page.

2. Register in the ballot

• Registration is only available when the ballot is open.

• Submit a registration through ImmiAccount

• If there are any dependents (such as a partner and/or legally dependent children), include them in the ballot registration. Dependents cannot be added after submitting the ballot application.

3. Ballot selection

• The Pacific Engagement visa ballot is an electronic random selection process. The process ensures that there is equal access for those who have participated in the ballot, regardless of their skill level, gender, or occupation.

• After the ballot period closes, there will be a random selection process for each participating country.

• Participants who have been chosen will receive a Notice of Selection letter.

• This letter provides a link to the visa application and details on how to apply for the Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa.

4. Application for the visa

• Once selected, the primary applicant must apply for their Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa within 120 days from the date of selection.

• The visa application must be submitted on or before the date specified in the Notice of Ballot Selection letter. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

To apply for the Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa, the primary applicant must be randomly selected in the PEV ballot and lodge their visa application online within 120 days from the date of selection.

There are separate costs for the visa application process itself:

• AU$325 for the primary applicant

• AU$80 for each dependent

The visa holder is responsible for other costs, such as flight tickets, health checks, costs of moving and settling in Australia, and so on.

As part of the visa requirements, applicants must have adequate means to support themselves and their dependents included in the application while in Australia. This may mean having to show adequate means of financial support for the first 12 months in Australia.

To apply for the visa, the applicant may be inside or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance.

Regardless of the visa outcome, the application charge will not be refunded.

To apply for the Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa, applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• be selected through the Pacific Engagement ballot process

• be a citizen of a participating country

• be born, or have a parent born in, a listed country

• be within the age range required (18 to 45)

• meet English language requirements

• have an offer of employment in Australia

• meet the health requirement

• not be a New Zealand citizen

• along with other requirements listed in the DHA website

Read about the other eligibility requirements listed in the Department of Home Affairs website.

Those who wish to apply for the Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa must meet the minimum English requirements.

To satisfy this requirement, applicant may take an English language test, and achieve the required result, in either the 3 years before:

• the date of submitting a valid visa application or

• the result of the visa application, if evidence of an English language test was not given at the time of application

The IELTS test is an approved English language test for the PEV application.

Applicants are required to achieve a minimum score of at least 5.0 in both the Listening and Speaking components.

No minimum test score required for Reading and Writing components. A minimum overall test score is also not required.

Book your IELTS test

As the Pacific Engagement visa is a permanent residency visa, successful applicants who are awarded the visa will be able to:

• live, work and study anywhere in Australia

• travel to and from Australia for 5 years, as long as the travel facility permits

• sponsor eligible relatives to come to Australia

• access Australia's public health care scheme, Medicare

• if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship.

Read more on the Department of Home Affairs website.

This is a permanent visa and allows the visa holder to stay in Australia indefinitely.

As an Australian permanent resident, visa holders must obey all Australian laws.

How is the Pacific Engagement Visa different to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme?

The Pacific Engagement visa is a permanent residency visa. It will allow eligible citizens of participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste to migrate to Australia. It is designed to grow Pacific and Timor-Leste communities in Australia with ongoing connections to their home countries.

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is a temporary migration program for eligible citizens of participating Pacific countries and Timor-Leste to work temporarily in Australia. The PALM scheme aims to help meet workforce shortages in rural and regional Australia, support the economic development of Pacific countries, and build skills for when workers return home.

Eligible PALM scheme workers can still register for the Pacific Engagement visa ballot when the ballot period is open.

Compare PEV vs PALM scheme

Legislation about immigration changes frequently. It’s important to check the Australian Department of Home Affairs website for changes that may apply to you.

If you are interested in Australian student visas, work visas, or looking to migrate permanently, you need to lodge an application with the Australian Government. You may want to consider getting support from a lawyer or migration agent.

Hoping to apply for the Pacific Engagement visa?

Take your IELTS test to meet the English language requirement.