English Requirement | 186 & 187 visa

The primary visa applicant will need to demonstrate ‘Competent’ English’ language ability. The English examination scores that you need to achieve are as follows: 

English Requirement - 186 & 187 visa

 ListeningReadingWritingSpeaking
IELTS6666
TOEFL iBT12132118
PTE Academic50505050
OETBBBB

You can use an English result from an examination completed in the 3 year period prior to the date of lodgement of your visa application. If you use an examination result which is obtained after lodgement, or if the examination was completed before the 3 year period that precedes the lodgement of the application, then this examination result will not be accepted and the Department will likely refuse your visa application.

Results from an Academic or General IELTS examination will both be accepted.

The applicant needs to satisfy the minimum score for each of the test components. Your average score is not relevant. You need to achieve the required result in one examination seating. You can’t accumulate the required scores in each test component over multiple examinations.

English Exemptions

 

Exempted passport holders

 

Anyone holding a passport from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, the Republic of Ireland or New Zealand will satisfy the English language requirement. This exemption applies to both the Temporary Residence Transition stream and the Direct Entry streams.

 

Dependent Family over 18 - Functional English

All adult dependents who are over 18 years of age will need to demonstrate ‘functional’ English language ability. This can be demonstrated in a number of ways:

  1. Complete all years of primary education and at least 3 years of secondary education (high school) at educational institutions in which all instruction was conducted in English; or
  2. Complete at least 5 years of secondary education at institutions in which all instruction was conducted in English; or
  3. Complete in Australia at least 1 year of full-time study or equivalent part-time study towards a degree, higher degree, diploma, or associate diploma at an institution or institutions where all the instruction was conducted in English; or
  4. Hold an award (being a degree, a higher degree, a diploma or a trade certificate) that required at least 2 years of full-time study or training; and all instruction (including instruction received in other courses for which the person was allowed credit) for that award was conducted in English; or
  5. Achieve English examination results outlined below – required scores to satisfy Functional English:

Test componentAverage test score
IELTS4.5
TOEFL iBT32
PTE Academic30

Secondary Visa Application Charge (SVAC)

As the primary applicant, you must satisfy the English language requirement. If you do not meet the English language requirement, then one of the exemptions outlined above must apply to you. Otherwise, you would not satisfy the relevant visa requirements, and paying this SVAC does not allow you to satisfy the visa requirements. Paying the SVAC is not an exemption to satisfying the visa requirements.

If one of the exemptions apply to you as the primary applicant, then you need to pay the SVAC if you also do not have ‘functional’ English language ability.

This fee is paid at the time of decision so your case officer will contact you at the time that the payment is required.

As the primary applicant, if you don’t have functional English language ability, then the SVAC is $8,520. For other adult dependents that can’t demonstrate functional English, the SVAC is $4,520.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are you sure that an IELTS or OET result is only valid for 3 years?
A: For the purpose of a 186 or 187 visa application, yes

Q: Are you sure that both Academic or General Training IELTS examinations are accepted?
A: Yes

Q: Can I complete an IELTS or OET examination after lodgement and submit that?
A: No. You can only rely on an IELTS or OET result from an examination that was completed before the application is lodged

Q: For an IELTS examination, if I have a high overall score, but did not achieve the specific requirement for some of the test components, will this be sufficient?
A: No

Q: If I do not meet the English language requirement and I lodge my application anyway, can the Department approve it?
A: You need to satisfy all the relevant eligibility requirements. The Department will not approve an application that does not satisfy all the requirements

Q: I don’t satisfy any of the above exemptions, but I have clear evidence of my English language ability (e.g. I’ve worked in an English speaking country for a number of years, I’ve completed a number of years of study but don’t fit any of the exemptions outlined, I have professional membership, I’ve completed other English language examinations etc.), am I exempted from IELTS?
A: The only exemptions are both outlined above. If you don’t satisfy any of the exemptions, then you need to complete an English examination and achieve the scores required

Q: Do dependent 457 visa applicants need to satisfy any English language requirement?
A: Not for the purposes of the visa application (they may need this if they want to work in certain occupations in Australia)

Q: I am the primary applicant but I do not satisfy the relevant English requirement. Can I pay the SVAC instead?
A: No – as the primary applicant, you need to meet the English language requirement. If you do not meet the English language requirement – then one of the exemptions outlined above must apply to you

Client reviews
Comments

100 Comments

Sandhu · August 22, 2019 at 7:24 pm

Hi peng hope you doing well.i want to know if immi access my PTE score already will they ask me to provide access again .i know it is valid for three years for 186 .last time they access my score when I applied for 482 visa this year in April but on that time my Pte is only 18 month old .after two years of result I will not be able to provide them access to my result,however I can just send them download copy of score report from pte site.if you can gave me any suggestions that would be great.

    My Access Australia · August 25, 2019 at 6:50 pm

    Hi Sandhu,
    You can upload your English to your online application after lodgement.
    PC

Parmjit singh · July 16, 2019 at 12:37 pm

Hi Peng, My name is Parmjit ,i am on 457 visa finished my two year in last November 2018 and now i want to apply for 186 visa on TRT ,I do not have 6 each band but i have 5 year English study , I completed my 10+2 in year 1989 ( 2 year study in English ) and completed my degree in Hotel management year 2016 ( 3 year English study ) . My question is that , Is that gap of study will be except able ? Its about 28 year gap .Please can you reply .

    My Access Australia · July 19, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    Hi Parmjit,
    The 5 years don’t need to be consecutive.
    The specific requirements are “For the purposes of paragraphs 186.222(b) and 187.222(b) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, persons who, at the date of application for a Subclass 186 visa or a Subclass 187 visa, have completed a minimum of five years of full-time study in a secondary or higher education institution where all tuition was delivered in English, are specified.”

Joel Saba · April 20, 2019 at 11:50 pm

Hi Peng,
ENS 186 DIRECT STREAM mostly on internet information mentioned that COMPETENT Level of english is required but during the actual lodgement of ENS 186 DIRECT STREAM is just asking FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH only.Have you noticed this thing?

Thanks,
Joel

    Peng Cheng · April 23, 2019 at 3:52 pm

    Hi Joel,
    That is for people who are exempt from the standard English requirements.
    PC

Raghu Rajan · March 9, 2019 at 6:14 pm

Hi! I have read your blog and it was quite beneficial. I am the primary applicant and have applied under RSMS 187. I have cleared my english requirements. I wanted to confirm if my wife has IELTS academic, dated September,2016 scoring minimum 6 in each and over all 7 bands. Does she need to take the general Ielts exam or her academic test is accepted also considering the date? If she has to take the exam, what are her english requirements?

    Peng Cheng · March 14, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    Hi Raghu,
    Please see the above post for English requirements for dependents.
    PC

Simith · February 28, 2019 at 12:59 pm

I already londge my 187 TRT. All the documents has been submitted and waiting to pay SVAC. Can I pay before case officer request? Any one got experience to pay imi ac by myself???

    Peng Cheng · March 5, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    Hi Simith,
    You will need to wait for the case officer to pay the SVAC.
    PC

    Andre Sousa · April 18, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    Hi Smith. Have you received the Invoice to pay the SVAC .. I am waiting for 3 weeks and nothing came up yet

Luca · February 25, 2019 at 12:33 pm

Hi Pen,

So I’m holding a 457 visa since January 2017, I’ve done the IELTS test again recently and unfortunately I scored 5.5 on writing this means I have to take the test again even if my overall is 7?

    Peng Cheng · February 26, 2019 at 6:49 pm

    Hi Luca,
    Unfortunately you don’t seem to meet the English requirements – see above post.
    PC

Eric · February 17, 2019 at 9:27 am

Hello Peng! I received today a message from my CO asking for proof of competent english because the one I submitted was after y lodged my application. I don’t have any english exams with 36 months prior application but i do have one before 36 months and after. What can I do now? Its clear my english ability is competent if I had Ielts 6 in 2015 and ielts 6 now. Please let me knowif there is any exemption. Thanks

    Peng Cheng · February 26, 2019 at 6:53 pm

    Hi Eric,
    You can only use an exam from the 36 months prior to lodgement as per the visa requirements. Unfortunately the Department won’t be able to approve your application if you don’t meet the requirements.
    PC

Jovit Tegio · January 29, 2019 at 8:49 pm

Hello. I used IELTs to have my 457 Visa and work here in Oz, I’m planning to apply for PR this year, can i use my college diploma or Do i need to get an Ielts again to apply?thanks for the response

    Peng Cheng · February 2, 2019 at 8:28 pm

    Hi Jovit,
    Please see above post for English requirement.
    PC

Kate · January 9, 2019 at 7:35 am

Hi Peng!
Can i use medium of instruction certificate for my TRT if during my 457 visa i used IELTS, i got only 5.5 in writing.
I studied 5 years and medium if instruction in my country is english.
Just wondering if there is policy that I can only use the same exemption during your 457 lodgement & 186 TRT.

    Peng Cheng · January 17, 2019 at 9:06 pm

    Hi Kate,
    Copied from above:
    Exemption (Temporary Residence Transition stream only) – Completing 5 years of study
    As the primary applicant in a Temporary Residence Transition visa application, you are exempted from having to demonstrate ‘Competent English’ if you have completed at least 5 years of full-time study in a secondary (high school) and/or higher education institution where all of the tuition was delivered in English. You may need to obtain a letter from the relevant institution confirming that the instructing language of all your studies was English.
    PC

Mai · January 8, 2019 at 12:04 am

Hi Peng,

We are applying for a PR and my husband have an overall PTE score of 36 but speaking is only 26. Does he satisfy the functional English requirement now? Thanks for your help.

Amy · December 12, 2018 at 2:40 pm

Hi Peng,

I am looking to be the dependent applicant on my partners 186 visa. I have completed two years part-time study in Australia and have received a diploma after completing studies. Does this satisfy the language requirement and mean I am exempt from completing the English Test?
Thank you in advance.

Saif · November 25, 2018 at 7:32 pm

Hi Peng

If our agent not advised us by submitting the competent English test prior to lodge the visa and he requested us to provide the English test after we lodged the visa. We already provided all the documents to the IMMI for 186 visa but currently facing this problem. Does this mean they will reject our visa. We trust our agent but he didn’t advice us. We lodged the visa 3rd Jan 18 and we submitted the English test in March 2018.
Thank you for your help.
Saif

    Peng Cheng · November 28, 2018 at 11:19 am

    Hi Saif,
    English for primary applicant is time of application requirement; you can’t use a result from after lodgement. You can, however use a result after lodgement for dependents.
    PC

      Saif · November 28, 2018 at 11:46 am

      Thank you Peng for your prompt reply. But its our agent mistakes so we didn’t lodge the application by our self. The agent lodged the application on Jan 2018 with expired English test and then asked us to provide the English test soon after we lodged the application which we did on March 2018 (2 months after lodging the visa). We both worked as doctor and we are in Australia for about 3 years and finished our professional degree from Australia.
      Thank you

        Peng Cheng · November 28, 2018 at 12:05 pm

        Please see Contact Us page and in relation to our Consultation Service – feel free to contact us if you need advice in relation to your options.
        PC

        Eric Maroni · February 17, 2019 at 9:31 am

        What happened to you on this? Im in the same situation.

Dinesh Kumar · November 18, 2018 at 1:53 am

Hi Peng,

Currently I have 457 visa and completed 3 year work at same place . Now I want to apply 187 transitional stream visa for getting permanent but I don’t have competent score in each module in IELTS.
But I did my 2 years master and 3 year bachelors degree in India in English.
So can I am eligible to apply this visa without 6 band each.

    Peng Cheng · November 19, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    Hi Dinesh,
    Please see above post – we would need to review your documents to determine if you satisfy this English requirement:
    As the primary applicant in a Temporary Residence Transition visa application, you are exempted from having to demonstrate ‘Competent English’ if you have completed at least 5 years of full-time study in a secondary (high school) and/or higher education institution where all of the tuition was delivered in English. You may need to obtain a letter from the relevant institution confirming that the instructing language of all your studies was English.
    PC

Raghu · November 15, 2018 at 10:39 am

Hi ,

I am on 457 visa and my company is sponsoring me for PR and I have continous 5 years english medium in education. Still do I need to write english exam. Please confirm as I could see in the latest rules that english exam is required.

    Peng Cheng · November 19, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    Hi Raghu,
    Please see above post – we would need to review your documents to determine if you satisfy this English requirement:
    If you are the primary applicant in a Temporary Residence Transition visa application, you are exempted from having to demonstrate ‘Competent English’ if you have completed at least 5 years of full-time study in a secondary (high school) and/or higher education institution where all of the tuition was delivered in English. You may need to obtain a letter from the relevant institution confirming that the instructing language of all your studies was English.
    PC

Sue · October 21, 2018 at 9:19 am

Hi Peng,
Can you please let us know the answers for below 2 queries.
1) My husband got a 457 in 12/12/17. How long will he have ti wait before applying for 186 ENS? 3 or 2 yrs?
2) I am the dependent applicant and I have completed 3yrs of full time English studies for a BA degree. Will I still have to do IELTS?
Thanks a lot for your assistance. We are confused.

    Peng Cheng · October 24, 2018 at 3:54 pm

    Hi Sue,
    1. Please see the following link for 186 visa requirements: https://www.myaccessaustralia.com/186-ens-visa/
    2. You would already meet the English language requirements for a dependent visa applicant, as outlined in the above post.
    PC

      Sue · October 26, 2018 at 3:49 pm

      Hi Peng,
      Thanks a lot for your response. Really appreciate it.

Herman · October 18, 2018 at 4:36 pm

Hi Peng. I am currently on a 457 sponsership. Both my wife and I have doen our IELTS test before we came over as part of the 457 application. We have done the IELTS together oround 18months ago. Now I am applying for a 187 Direct Entry visa. Do we need to do the IELTS tests again ?

    Peng Cheng · October 19, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    Hi Herman,
    Please see above post for English requirements – results are valid for 3 years from the date of examination.
    PC

      Herman · October 21, 2018 at 7:28 am

      Thank you Peng. So I do not need to do it again, but what about my wife ? I can not find any detail stating if she needs to re do her IELTS.
      Regards

        Peng Cheng · October 24, 2018 at 3:54 pm

        The criteria for Functional English is provided in the above post.
        PC

Shafraz · October 6, 2018 at 12:25 am

Hi I’m the primary applicant of the visa 457 wanting to apply 186 transitional visa
I have score IELtS 5.5 each ( requirements is 6)

Yet according to exemptions option
*functional English ability ,
my spouse had score 5.5 each too so can I apply for PR with this score or
Scoring 6 each by myself is only way to proceed

    Peng Cheng · October 13, 2018 at 12:39 pm

    Hi Shafraz,
    Please see the above post for the current English requirements.
    PC

Joe · August 23, 2018 at 11:44 am

Hi Peng,

What is the validity period for partner IELTS results? Still same as primary applicant (within last 3 years)?
Or is it 12 months according to the new rules? My partner did IELTS 2 years back and got overall 6.0.
I am not sure If I am applying for 186 Direct Entry visa, does she has to do the IELTS again?

Jai · August 16, 2018 at 8:50 am

Hi Peng ,
I wanna apply 186 transition stream. I’ve five year study in Australia. I did diploma of hospitality 2 year and 2 year another diploma and 1 year business management diploma in Australia. Can it’s works for 186 visa or i need 6 band .
Thanks

    Peng Cheng · August 16, 2018 at 9:24 pm

    Hi Jai,
    As the primary applicant in a Temporary Residence Transition visa application, you are exempted from having to demonstrate ‘Competent English’ if you have completed at least 5 years of full-time study in a secondary (high school) and/or higher education institution where all of the tuition was delivered in English. You may need to obtain a letter from the relevant institution confirming that the instructing language of all your studies was English.
    Please see Contact Us page and in relation to our Consultation Service – feel free to contact us if you need advice in relation to your visa options.
    PC

Cathy · July 17, 2018 at 12:03 am

Hello, my company won at AAT and nomination approved. My lawyer preparing my 186 visa application. English requirements changed to all score 6. I already have the letter to certify 7 years Secondary school was delivered in English. Also, I will renew my British National (Overseas) Passport this week. Can I exempt the English test ? I have no confidence to pass the English test. Thanks

    Peng Cheng · July 18, 2018 at 10:18 pm

    Hi Cathy,
    Satisfying English on the basis of 5 years of study is only allowed for the TRT stream – please see above post.
    PC

Comments are closed.