What documents do you need for a skilled migration visa (189, 190, 491)?

Most skilled migration applicants discover the document problem too late. Usually somewhere between submitting the Skills Assessment and receiving the invitation to apply. By that point, qualifications have been translated by the wrong person, dates don't match across documents, and the police check from a country they lived in 12 years ago has expired.

The Skilled Migration program is points-tested and document-heavy. Three subclasses dominate: the 189 (Skilled Independent), the 190 (Skilled Nominated), and the 491 (Skilled Work Regional). They share most of their evidence requirements but diverge in important ways around nomination and regional commitment.

This guide covers every document category, what needs a NAATI certified translation, and the practical mistakes worth avoiding.

The three visas, briefly

The 189 is what most people aim for. It's permanent, unrestricted, and doesn't require a state government to want you. The 190 trades a regional or state commitment for an extra 5 points and a more reliable pathway in over-subscribed occupations. The 491 is regional, provisional, and increasingly the realistic option for occupations where the 189 invitation cut-off has drifted out of reach.

The document load is nearly identical across all three. What changes is the order of operations and, for the 190 and 491, the sponsor or nomination evidence.

Before the visa: the Skills Assessment

Every skilled migration applicant needs a positive Skills Assessment from the assessing authority for their nominated occupation before lodging a visa application. VETASSESS for most professional roles, Engineers Australia for engineers, ACS for IT, AITSL for teachers, CPA Australia or CA ANZ for accountants, AHPRA for healthcare professionals, and so on.

This is where the translation trap usually starts.

The Skills Assessment requires qualifications, academic transcripts, employment references, and often professional registration documents. Some assessing authorities accept translations from any qualified translator. Others require NAATI. Applicants often save money on the Skills Assessment translations, then discover during the visa stage that Home Affairs only accepts NAATI certified translations, and pay twice.

Two practical points worth flagging early:

• If there's any chance you'll need the same documents at the visa stage (you almost certainly will), order NAATI translations from the start. The price gap is small and the rework cost is real.
• Translations for the Skills Assessment should match exactly what you'll later submit to Home Affairs. Different translator, different name spellings, different date formats: those mismatches generate requests for further information that can delay a decision by weeks.

Identity documents

The identity category is standard across all three visas.

• Passport. The biometric data page is what gets submitted. If your passport was renewed during the application, provide both versions plus evidence of the link between them.
• National identity card. Required from applicants whose country issues one. This catches most EU applicants (French CNI, Italian Carta d'Identità, Spanish DNI, Polish Dowód Osobisty) and applicants from several Latin American and Asian countries.
• Birth certificate. The long-form version, not the short extract. If your country has issued you several copies over the years (replacement copies, family book entries), submit the most complete one available.
• Change of name documents. Marriage certificates, deed polls, court orders. Any document that explains why your current legal name differs from the name on your birth certificate.

For NAATI translation: any of the above not issued in English. Passports are usually multilingual on the bio data page and don't need translating.

Qualifications and employment evidence

This is the heaviest section of a skilled migration file, both in volume and in scrutiny.

Qualifications

The basics:

• Degree certificates (bachelor's, master's, PhD as relevant)
• Academic transcripts showing every subject, every grade, every semester
• Professional registrations and certifications relevant to the nominated occupation

The diploma itself rarely causes problems. Transcripts do. A French Master 2 transcript with ECTS credits, a Spanish Licenciatura with semester-by-semester subject lists, a Brazilian Histórico Escolar with grading scales on the back: each needs to be translated in full, including the reverse side if it contains grading methodology or institutional information. Partial translations get flagged and sent back.

Employment evidence

For every role you're claiming points for, expect to provide:

• A reference letter on company letterhead, signed by a supervisor, stating job title, dates of employment, hours per week, duties performed, and salary
• Payslips covering the period (or representative samples across the period)
• Tax statements or social security records
• Employment contracts

Reference letters carry the most weight, and they need to be specific. A French "attestation de travail" that just confirms dates and job title is rarely enough. The assessing authority wants enough detail on actual duties to confirm the role matches the ANZSCO description for your nominated occupation.

One useful workaround: many employers will issue an English version of the reference letter directly if you ask. As long as it's on letterhead and signed, that's acceptable and saves the translation cost. The trick is to draft it yourself and bring it to the signatory, not ask them to write it from scratch.

If you can't obtain a formal reference letter (employer no longer exists, won't provide one, dispute on departure), a Statutory Declaration from a former colleague can sometimes substitute. The rules around this vary by assessing authority. Don't assume; check.

Character documents

Police clearance certificates are required from every country where the applicant has lived for 12 months or more cumulatively in the last 10 years, since the age of 16.

This catches people out. The 12 months is cumulative, not consecutive. Someone who studied in the UK for two semesters of six months each, with a summer break between them, still needs a UK police check. Someone who did a year in Germany followed by another six-month contract three years later needs a German Führungszeugnis.

Police checks typically expire 12 months from the date of issue. They need to be valid at lodgement and, often, at the time of decision. If your case is slow to be decided, expect to be asked for updated certificates.

Translation requirement: NAATI for any police check not issued in English. That includes the French Bulletin n°3, Italian Certificato del Casellario Giudiziale, Spanish Certificado de Antecedentes Penales, Brazilian Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais, and Polish Zaświadczenie o Niekaralności.

Two practical points often missed:

• Order police checks late, not early. They expire fast, and ordering them at the start of the process means you'll likely have to reorder before the decision.
• Check the issuing format. Some countries now issue digital-only certificates with QR code verification. Home Affairs accepts these, but the NAATI translator needs the digital original, not a screenshot.

Health requirements

All applicants over the age of 15, and accompanying family members of any age, need a health examination by a panel physician approved by Home Affairs. The list of approved doctors is on the Home Affairs website, organised by country.

Results are communicated directly between the panel clinic and Home Affairs through the eMedical system. You won't receive paper certificates to upload, and nothing needs to be translated.

Two things worth knowing:

• Schedule the health exam after you receive the invitation to apply, not before. Results expire and they're not free.
• If you have any pre-existing condition that could affect the health waiver assessment, talk to a registered migration agent before the exam. It changes the strategy.

Partner and dependent family documents

If your partner is migrating with you, every document requirement above applies to them as well. This is where the document load often doubles unexpectedly.

Family-specific documents:

• Marriage certificate if married
• De facto relationship evidence if unmarried but in a de facto relationship. The bar is similar to a partner visa: 12 months of cohabitation before lodgement (with limited exceptions), plus evidence of joint finances, social recognition, and ongoing commitment
• Children's birth certificates for each dependent child, showing both parents' names where applicable
• Custody documents if you have children who are not migrating with you. In many cases, consent from the non-migrating parent is required
• Previous marriage documents (divorce certificates or death certificates of previous spouses) if either applicant was previously married

Translation requirement: NAATI for anything not in English.

A note on the partner who isn't claiming points. They still need an identity document trail, police checks, and health exams. They don't need a Skills Assessment unless you're claiming Partner Skills points, which is a separate calculation.

State nomination and family sponsor documents (190 and 491)

The 189 doesn't require external sponsorship. The 190 and 491 do.

For a state-nominated 190 or 491, each state runs its own process, occupation list, and points incentives. Once nominated, the state issues a nomination approval that's lodged with the visa application. You may also need to provide evidence of your commitment: a Statement of Commitment, a job offer, a settlement plan, or evidence of regional ties.

For the family-sponsored 491, your eligible relative needs to:

• Be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Be at least 18 years old
• Live in a designated regional area
• Be one of the eligible relatives defined by Home Affairs (parent, child, adult sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or grandparent of the applicant or their partner)

From the sponsor you'll need:

• Identity documents (passport, citizenship certificate, or visa grant)
• Evidence of residence in a designated regional area (lease, utility bills, rates notice)
• Proof of the relationship to the applicant (birth certificates establishing the family link)

If any of the sponsor's documents are in a language other than English (rare but possible for older citizenship certificates), NAATI translation applies.

English language tests

Most skilled migration applicants prove English through IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1 Advanced, or OET. These are issued in English by design, so no translation is needed.

A few specifics:

• Test results are valid for 3 years for skilled migration purposes
• Different score levels translate to different points (Competent, Proficient, Superior)
• Some occupations require occupation-specific English (OET for healthcare, for example) as part of the Skills Assessment, separate from the visa points test
• If your partner is migrating with you, they need to demonstrate Functional English or pay the second instalment of the visa application charge. Functional English can be evidenced through a test result or, in some cases, through evidence of secondary or tertiary education completed in English

Which documents actually need NAATI translation

For a French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or Polish speaking applicant, expect to need NAATI certified translations of:

• Birth certificate
• National ID card (if your country issues one)
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce certificate or death certificate of previous spouse, if applicable
• Diplomas and degree certificates
• Academic transcripts
• Employment reference letters (unless issued in English by the employer)
• Payslips and tax statements (often required by the Skills Assessment)
• Police clearance certificates
• Children's birth certificates

Documents that don't need translation:

• Passport
• Health examination results (handled through eMedical)
• English test results
• Documents already issued in English by the source institution
• State nomination approval
• Any sponsor document already in English

The mistakes that cost months

A few patterns that come up repeatedly.

Translations done too early. A police check translated 18 months before the visa decision will need to be redone, because the underlying police check has expired. Translate documents in the window where they'll actually be used.

Wrong translator at the Skills Assessment stage. Documents translated by a non-NAATI translator for the Skills Assessment will need to be redone for Home Affairs. If there's any chance you'll need the document twice, go NAATI from the start.

Inconsistent name spellings. Marie-Hélène on one translation, Marie Helene on another, Mariehelene on a third. Pick one transliteration of your name and stick with it across every document and every form. A good translator will flag this if you tell them what spelling appears on your passport.

Incomplete reference letters. A reference letter without hours per week, specific duties, or signed authority on company letterhead will be rejected by the assessing authority. Brief your former employers before they write the letter, and provide them with the ANZSCO description for your nominated occupation as a reference.

A police check missing from a country you forgot. That semester abroad in Germany in 2018, the year-long contract in Singapore in 2016: both count if they total 12 months or more in the last 10 years. Map every country you've lived in before you start ordering checks.

Documents not in their final form. A French "extrait d'acte de naissance" issued more than 3 months ago is often considered out of date. Some countries require an apostille or legalisation before the document can be translated and submitted. Check the validity rules for each document type at the time you need it.

Quick reference checklist

Translation packages for skilled migration

A complete skilled migration file from a non-English speaking country usually runs to 8 to 15 separate NAATI translations across the Skills Assessment and visa stages. Ordering individually adds up.

If you're at the start of the process and ordering several documents at once, we can quote a package rate. The most common combinations include birth certificate, marriage certificate, police clearance, academic transcripts, and employment references. Each additional document from AU$69.