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Australia work visa requirements for Indian citizens

For India passport holders · Checked 2026-08-15

Route with conditions

Indian citizens are hired in Australia at real volume through the employer-sponsored Skills in Demand visa, points-tested skilled visas, and the India-only MATES scheme — but every route has a gate: an approved sponsor plus a roughly AUD 79,500 salary floor, a points test, or a 3,000-place ballot.

What the employer must have

  • Must be an approved business sponsor with the Department of Home Affairs and nominate the specific role before the worker's Skills in Demand (subclass 482) application.
  • Must pay at least the Core Skills Income Threshold — AUD 79,499/year for nominations from 1 July 2026 (AUD 146,717 for the Specialist Skills stream) — or the market rate if higher.
  • Cannot recover sponsorship or migration costs from the worker.

What you must do before you leave

  1. Australia is NOT on India's ECR country list — no emigration clearance is needed to work there, even with an ECR-stamped passport.
  2. If you use a recruiting agent in India, use only a Ministry of External Affairs-registered agent; unregistered agents selling Australian jobs are a documented fraud pattern.
  3. Separate no-employer option: the MATES ballot (subclass 403) gives a 2-year work visa to Indian nationals aged 18-30 who graduated within the last 2 years from a top-100 NIRF-ranked Indian institution, with a bachelor-level or higher qualification in fields like ICT, engineering, AI, fintech, renewable energy, mining or agtech — up to 3,000 places per year, selection is random. If you are over 30 or graduated more than 2 years ago, MATES is not available to you.

Things to watch

  • The 1 July 2026 thresholds are taken from two matching professional alerts, and one agency publishes slightly lower figures; confirm them on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before relying on them.
  • MATES is a random ballot — registering guarantees nothing; do not pay anyone who claims they can secure selection.
  • Points-tested visas (189/190) require a skills assessment, English test and competitive points score; invitation rounds are selective.
  • The nominated occupation must be on the skilled occupation list — most low-wage roles are excluded.

What you may lawfully be charged

THE MOST A REGISTERED RECRUITING AGENT MAY LAWFULLY CHARGE YOU is ₹30,000 plus 18% GST — ₹35,400 in total, once. Not per year, not per document.

Rule 25(1), Emigration Rules under the Emigration Act 1983.

⚠️ Never pay anyone for a job offer or a visa on this route. Legitimate employers and licensed agents do not charge workers for jobs.

Official sources

This describes the immigration system, not your personal case, and not this specific vacancy.

Common questions

Can an Indian passport holder work in Australia?

Indian citizens are hired in Australia at real volume through the employer-sponsored Skills in Demand visa, points-tested skilled visas, and the India-only MATES scheme — but every route has a gate: an approved sponsor plus a roughly AUD 79,500 salary floor, a points test, or a 3,000-place ballot.

What does an employer in Australia need before hiring a Indian worker?

Must be an approved business sponsor with the Department of Home Affairs and nominate the specific role before the worker's Skills in Demand (subclass 482) application. Must pay at least the Core Skills Income Threshold — AUD 79,499/year for nominations from 1 July 2026 (AUD 146,717 for the Specialist Skills stream) — or the market rate if higher. Cannot recover sponsorship or migration costs from the worker.

What must a Indian citizen do before leaving to work in Australia?

Australia is NOT on India's ECR country list — no emigration clearance is needed to work there, even with an ECR-stamped passport. If you use a recruiting agent in India, use only a Ministry of External Affairs-registered agent; unregistered agents selling Australian jobs are a documented fraud pattern. Separate no-employer option: the MATES ballot (subclass 403) gives a 2-year work visa to Indian nationals aged 18-30 who graduated within the last 2 years from a top-100 NIRF-ranked Indian institution, with a bachelor-level or higher qualification in fields like ICT, engineering, AI, fintech, renewable energy, mining or agtech — up to 3,000 places per year, selection is random. If you are over 30 or graduated more than 2 years ago, MATES is not available to you.

What should Indian workers watch out for with Australia job offers?

The 1 July 2026 thresholds are taken from two matching professional alerts, and one agency publishes slightly lower figures; confirm them on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before relying on them. MATES is a random ballot — registering guarantees nothing; do not pay anyone who claims they can secure selection. Points-tested visas (189/190) require a skills assessment, English test and competitive points score; invitation rounds are selective. The nominated occupation must be on the skilled occupation list — most low-wage roles are excluded.

Should I pay an agent for a job in Australia?

No. Never pay anyone for a job offer, a visa, or a place on a list. Legitimate recruitment for this route does not require the worker to pay for the job itself. Verify any agent against the official registers linked on this page.

Other countries Indian citizens can work in

All work visa guides

977 live Australia vacancies for Indian workers

From job boards and overseas-employment registers. We do not yet hold India's own national register for this country, so these are not nationality-filtered.

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