190 Onshore Bars in 2026: Section 48, No Further Stay and Invalid Applications
Explains when an onshore subclass 190 application is invalid in 2026 — section 48, No Further Stay conditions and the visa you must hold.
If you are in Australia, hold no substantive visa, and you have already had a visa refused or cancelled, you cannot make a valid onshore application for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) in 2026. That answer comes from two places read together: the Department of Home Affairs' Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) page (as at the July 2026 version), which says an onshore applicant must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging visa A (010), B (020) or C (030) or the application will not be valid, and section 48 of the Migration Act 1958, which restricts what a person in Australia without a substantive visa can apply for after a refusal or cancellation.
The practical consequence is harsher than a refusal. An application that fails these threshold rules is treated as invalid — as if it were never properly made — rather than refused on its merits.
Which visas let you lodge a 190 onshore?
The Department's page states the rule in short form: if you apply in Australia you must hold a substantive visa, or a Subclass 010, 020 or 030 bridging visa, otherwise your application will not be valid. The same page also says you must not be in immigration clearance when you apply or when the application is decided.
| What you hold when you lodge onshore | Can the 190 application be valid? |
|---|---|
| A substantive visa (for example a current student, skilled or visitor visa) | Yes, subject to every other lodgement requirement |
| Bridging visa A (010), B (020) or C (030) | Yes — these are named on the Department's page |
| A bridging visa outside that list, granted after you became unlawful | Not on the Department's list; if you have also had a refusal or cancellation, section 48 also applies |
| No visa at all | No |
| A substantive visa, but you are in immigration clearance at lodgement or decision | No |
One more limit sits inside this question. If you currently hold, or your last substantive visa was, a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) or Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa, the Department requires you to have held that visa for at least 3 years at the time you apply.
What is section 48, and when does it stop an onshore 190?
Section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 is the provision relied on here. As set out in the Act itself as currently in force, it is directed at a non-citizen who is in Australia, does not hold a substantive visa, and has had a visa application refused or a visa cancelled since last entering Australia; under the Act, such a person may only apply for the limited set of visa classes prescribed in the regulations. The subclass 190 is not among them. The Department's Procedural Advice Manual (PAM3) summary of the Schedule 1 checks for this visa records the same point: an onshore applicant with no visa who has previously been refused or cancelled cannot apply for a 190 onshore.
The distinction between holding a bridging visa A and holding no visa therefore matters, but the two rules are read together: the Department's page names Bridging visa A (010), B (020) and C (030) as visas that satisfy its own Schedule 1 visa requirement, while section 48 of the Migration Act 1958, as currently in force, may separately bar a person who has had a visa refused or cancelled since last entering Australia, so both must be checked against the Act, the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Schedule 1 requirements because failing either one leaves the application invalid.
Section 48 and the regulations are the authority here. PAM3 is departmental policy guidance rather than legislation; where the two are read together, the current text of the Act and the Migration Regulations 1994 governs, and the prescribed list should be checked against the regulations as presently in force.
My visa has a No Further Stay condition — can I still lodge?
Conditions 8503 and 8534 are "no further stay" conditions that the Department attaches to some temporary visas. A No Further Stay condition prevents you from being granted most further substantive visas while you remain in Australia, unless the condition is waived. Because the Schedule 1 checks for the 190 include whether a No Further Stay condition has been dealt with, lodging without a granted waiver leaves the application invalid rather than merely weak.
Waivers are discretionary and are decided against published policy. The PAM3 summary notes one clear policy posture: holders of the Student Guardian (subclass 590) visa subject to such a condition are, as a matter of policy, expected to be granted a waiver. For other cases, the grounds and the timing of the request are set out in the current policy and regulations, and should be confirmed against the latest published version before you rely on them.
If the condition is never waived, the bar is about your position in Australia, not about your points or nomination. The Department's page confirms the 190 may be applied for from in or outside Australia, so the same person may be outside the onshore rules entirely when they are outside the country.
What else can make an onshore 190 application invalid?
The onshore visa rules and section 48 are only part of the Schedule 1 checklist. Other threshold items that the PAM3 decision pathway treats as validity issues include:
- Nomination withdrawn. The Department's page states plainly that if the state or territory agency that nominated you withdraws your nomination after you apply, your application becomes invalid.
- Skills assessment timing. For the application to be valid, you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation. The Department's page says the assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation (or within any shorter stated period), and that delegates will now accept a suitable assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period, following the decision in Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686 — while noting the Minister reserves the right to argue that case was wrongly decided.
- No invitation, wrong form or wrong visa application charge. The 190 is invitation-only; the Department's page says you can only apply if invited, and the PAM3 pathway lists the form, charge and applicant location as validity items alongside the visa you hold.
Is an invalid application the same as a refused one?
No, and the difference is mostly about what you lose. A refusal follows an assessment of the visa criteria in Schedule 2 — your points, English, skills assessment, health, character and nomination — and the PAM3 summary records that review of a refusal is generally available to the Administrative Review Tribunal within 21 days for onshore applicants and 70 days for offshore applicants. An invalid application never reaches that assessment: it fails at reception, and the PAM3 summary records that it is not reviewable. That is why these onshore bars deserve checking before lodgement rather than after.
How to work through your own position
Read your visa grant notice for the condition codes printed on it, and check three things in order: whether you hold a substantive visa or a 010, 020 or 030 bridging visa right now; whether any No Further Stay condition is attached and whether a waiver has actually been granted; and whether you have had a visa refused or cancelled since you last entered Australia, which brings section 48 into play if you are also without a substantive visa. Then confirm your skills assessment date against your invitation date.
This article explains the published rules in general terms and is not advice about your circumstances or a substitute for advice from a registered migration agent or lawyer who can look at your own visa history; the onshore bars in particular turn on fine details of status and timing, and on rules that change, so the current Departmental pages and the legislation as in force are what count.
常见问题
I am on a bridging visa A after my student visa — can I apply for the 190 onshore?
Yes, on this point. The Department's subclass 190 page names Bridging visa A (010), B (020) and C (030) as sufficient for an onshore application, alongside any substantive visa. Holding one does not decide the rest of your application; the invitation, skills assessment, points and nomination rules still apply.
My visa was refused and I am now unlawful in Australia. Can I lodge a 190 here?
No. A person in Australia without a substantive visa who has had a visa refused or cancelled since last entering is caught by section 48 of the Migration Act 1958, which limits them to a short list of prescribed visa classes that does not include the 190. The PAM3 summary for this visa records the same restriction as a Schedule 1 validity check.
My visa has condition 8503. Can I still apply for a 190 while in Australia?
Only if the condition is waived. A No Further Stay condition such as 8503 or 8534 blocks the grant of most further substantive visas while you remain in Australia, and the Schedule 1 checks treat an unwaived condition as making the 190 application invalid. Waiver grounds and timing are set out in current published policy and should be checked against the latest version.
If my application is invalid, can I appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal?
The PAM3 summary records that an application failing the Schedule 1 validity requirements is invalid and not reviewable — unlike a refusal on the merits, which the same summary says is generally reviewable within 21 days onshore or 70 days offshore. Treat both timeframes as subject to the current published review rules.
I hold a subclass 491 visa. Do I have to wait before applying for the 190?
Yes. The Department's page states that if you currently hold, or your last substantive visa was, a subclass 491 or subclass 494 visa, you must have held that visa for at least 3 years at the time you apply.
The state that nominated me has withdrawn its nomination after I applied. What happens?
Your application becomes invalid. That is stated directly on the Department's subclass 190 page, and it applies even though the withdrawal happens after lodgement rather than before.
Does the skills assessment date affect validity, or only the final decision?
Validity. The Department's page says that for your application to be valid you must declare a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation, obtained in the 3 years before your invitation date. It also notes that, following Thapa, delegates will accept a suitable assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period, while the Minister reserves the right to argue that case was wrongly decided.