In short: The subclass 190 is a permanent visa granted after a state or territory nominates you, which also adds 5 points. Each state runs its own program with its own occupation list, residence preferences and invitation rounds, and the 2026–27 Migration Program gives state nomination 35,500 places. Because the 190 is permanent from day one, you can buy as a first home buyer the week it is granted.
Key takeaways
- A 190 grant is permanent residency; there is no provisional stage, unlike the 491.
- Every state prioritises people already living and working there, so where you settle on your 485 or 482 matters.
- Occupation lists differ by state; a nurse, accountant or chef may be wanted in one state and closed in another in the same year.
- After grant you are eligible for the First Home Guarantee and your state's first-home-buyer duty concessions, all of which have different price caps.
- Plan the deposit for the state that will nominate you, not the city you live in today.
Nepali applicants ask us about the 190 more than any other visa, usually because a friend received a nomination from a state they had never considered. The visa has a national framework, but nominations come from eight separate programs that behave differently. This post walks through them without quoting cut-off scores or quotas, because those numbers move between rounds. Check each state's official migration website and speak to a MARA-registered agent for current settings.
How the states nominate
| State or territory | How the program generally works at the time of writing | Occupations Nepali applicants often hold |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Registration of interest, then selection based on the state's priority sectors, with a strong preference for people living and working in Victoria | Registered nurses, aged and disability carers, early childhood teachers, software engineers, civil engineers |
| New South Wales | Invitation-based, targeting priority sectors and applicants already working in NSW; separate streams for Sydney and regional NSW | Nurses, ICT professionals, accountants, chefs, engineers |
| Queensland | Migration Queensland assesses applicants in ranked pathways, favouring those employed in Queensland | Nurses, mechanics, early childhood teachers, ICT |
| Western Australia | State nomination with a general stream and a graduate stream; WA-based work and study weigh heavily | Nurses, chefs, motor mechanics, engineers |
| South Australia | Points and occupation-based, with strong pathways for South Australian graduates and workers | Nurses, accountants, ICT, aged care, chefs |
| Tasmania | Pathways built around living, studying or working in Tasmania for a minimum period | Nurses, cooks, carers, accountants |
| ACT | The Canberra Matrix ranks applicants on Canberra residence, work, English and other factors | ICT, nurses, accountants, early childhood teachers |
| Northern Territory | Nomination for people living and working in the NT, with some offshore streams | Nurses, chefs, mechanics, carers |
The pattern is the same everywhere: live and work in the state, in an occupation on its list, and your chances rise. Occupation lists, invitation rounds and residence periods change without much notice. The national rules for the visa itself are on the Home Affairs 190 page.
Victoria
Victoria's program is popular with Nepali nurses and carers because health is a priority sector and the community in Melbourne's north is large. Living in Craigieburn or Epping while working in a Victorian hospital is exactly the profile the state has favoured. Melbourne is not regional for migration purposes, which is one reason the 190 rather than the 491 is the Victorian route.
New South Wales
Sydney's Nepali community is concentrated in the south and west, around Rockdale, Hurstville, Auburn and Blacktown. NSW nominations lean toward priority sectors and people already employed in the state. If you are nominated, note that the First Home Guarantee price cap for Sydney, Newcastle and the Illawarra is $1,500,000 and the NSW duty exemption for first home buyers runs to $800,000 with a concession to $1,000,000 at the time of writing. Our Sydney mortgage broker page covers buying there.
Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia
Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have growing Nepali communities and, for property, more affordable entry points than Sydney or Melbourne. Each has generous first-home-buyer rules for new homes: Queensland charges no transfer duty on a new home or vacant land for first home buyers, South Australia has no duty for first home buyers of new homes and a $15,000 grant, and Western Australia offers a $10,000 grant with a duty exemption up to $500,000. Check the state revenue office for current settings.
Tasmania, ACT and Northern Territory
Smaller programs, but real pathways. Tasmania's first-home-buyer duty exemption on established homes up to $750,000 is unusual, the ACT's concession scheme is income-tested, and the NT offers large new-build grants at the time of writing.
Buying a home after a 190 grant
Because the 190 is permanent, you leave the foreign-person rules behind on grant day: no FIRB approval, no foreign purchaser surcharge and access to the First Home Guarantee. The caps below are the First Home Guarantee price limits from October 2025.
| State | Capital city cap | Rest of state cap |
|---|---|---|
| VIC | $950,000 (Melbourne and Geelong) | $650,000 |
| NSW | $1,500,000 (Sydney, Newcastle, Illawarra) | $800,000 |
| QLD | $1,000,000 (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast) | $700,000 |
| WA | $850,000 (Perth) | $600,000 |
| SA | $900,000 (Adelaide) | $500,000 |
| TAS | $700,000 (Hobart) | $550,000 |
| ACT | $1,000,000 | n/a |
| NT | $600,000 | n/a |
Confirm current caps with Housing Australia and check your eligibility with our First Home Guarantee calculator.
Worked example: a nurse nominated by South Australia
Anita, a registered nurse from Pokhara, moves from Melbourne to a hospital in Adelaide's north on a 485 and receives SA nomination and a 190 grant eighteen months later. She and her husband buy a new $560,000 house in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
- Deposit under the First Home Guarantee (5%): $28,000, with no LMI.
- South Australian FHOG for a new home: $15,000, which they put towards costs.
- Stamp duty: nil for a first home buyer of a new home in SA at the time of writing.
- Loan: $532,000. For illustration, at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years that is about $3,190 a month, and the lender tests it at 9.00% under the APRA buffer.
The same couple buying a $560,000 home on their 485 would have needed a 20% deposit, FIRB approval and SA's 7% foreign purchaser surcharge ($39,200). The borrowing power calculator shows whether their income supports the loan at the buffered rate. Anita can work with our Adelaide mortgage broker service by phone and video.
Frequently asked questions
Does state nomination for the 190 mean I must live in that state?
You commit to living in the nominating state, usually for at least two years, as a condition of nomination. It is a commitment to the state rather than a visa condition enforced by Home Affairs, but breaking it can affect future applications. Treat it seriously and plan your home purchase in that state.
Which state is easiest for Nepali applicants to get a 190?
There is no single answer, and anyone quoting a cut-off score is describing a past round. States favour applicants already living and working there in priority occupations. The practical question is where you can get a skilled job now. A MARA-registered agent can compare current settings.
Can I buy a home before the 190 is granted?
While you wait on a temporary or bridging visa you remain a foreign person, so you cannot buy an established home until at least 30 June 2029 and would need FIRB approval and pay a surcharge on a new one. Most applicants wait for the grant, then buy as a first home buyer with a 5% deposit.
Do lenders treat a 190 differently from citizenship?
No. Permanent residents are assessed like citizens for standard home loans, and the First Home Guarantee is open to them. A lender will still want to see stable Australian income, genuine savings and a clean credit file. See our home loans for new migrants guide.
Talk to GNT Finance
Wherever your nomination comes from, we can arrange the loan: our lender panel is national and we work by phone, video and e-signature outside Victoria. Gorakh Timilsina speaks Nepali and will explain the numbers for your state, at no cost to you for our home-loan service in most cases. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703, or start with our Australia-wide mortgage broker page.
This is general information, not migration, legal, tax or credit advice. Migration rules change often — confirm with a registered migration agent (MARA) or the Department of Home Affairs.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.