Moving to Australia from Nigeria for a tech job runs through one main route: an Australian employer sponsors you on the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa. Software Engineer and Developer Programmer are on the Core Skills Occupation List, you need one year of relevant experience, and a Nigerian passport does not exempt you from an English test. Plan on holding about AUD 14,400 to 15,000 for your first three months in Melbourne, before flights and food. This guide follows the steps in the order you will meet them.
Last checked against official sources: October 2026.
1. Moving to Australia From Nigeria: The Route at a Glance
The route has six stages. You confirm your occupation, find a sponsor, collect English, police and medical evidence, wait for the visa, buy health cover, and then move. The table shows what happens at each stage.
| Stage | What happens | Timing in the sources | Main cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm occupation and experience | 1 year of relevant work in the last 5 years | None listed |
| 2 | Employer sponsors and nominates you | Pay must meet the market rate and the income threshold | Employer pays sponsor costs |
| 3 | English test, police certificate, medical | Police certificate reported at 2 to 6+ weeks; medical usually valid 12 months | Fees vary; not priced here |
| 4 | Lodge and wait | Agents report about 4 months for half of Core Skills cases | AUD 4,015 charge |
| 5 | Hold private health cover | For the whole stay | Reported AUD 719 a year to about AUD 200 a month |
| 6 | Arrive and start work | Within 90 days of arrival | Rent and bond |
Several rules changed this year. The visa charge, income thresholds and tax rates below took effect on 1 July 2026, so older articles quote outdated figures.
2. Stage One: Check Your Occupation and Find a Sponsor
A job title that is not on the occupation list ends the route. The Core Skills Occupation List has 456 entries, including Software Engineer 261313, Developer Programmer 261312, Analyst Programmer 261311 and Devops Engineer 261316. Check the Home Affairs Core Skills stream page before you accept an offer, because the list can be revised.
You need at least one year of relevant experience in the nominated occupation or a related field, within the last five years. Home Affairs lists a mandatory skills assessment only for named occupations, and it does not say ACS is required for the 482. You must still give your CV, references and qualifications, so ask former employers for reference letters early.
Key Statistic: The Core Skills Income Threshold is AUD 79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. The employer must also pay at least the market salary rate for the job, so for a software role the market rate is the real floor.
Finding the sponsor is the hardest stage, and no source gives a timeframe for it. Indeed’s page updated 12 October 2026 shows average software engineer pay in Melbourne of AUD 107,598, but averages are not offers. Our guides to a visa-sponsored job in Australia and to tech salaries and visa routes cover the search.
Important Note: Sponsorship, nomination and Skilling Australians Fund costs belong to the employer. Asking a worker to pay for sponsorship can breach Australian law, so get in writing who pays your own visa charge.
3. Stage Two: Collect English, Police and Medical Evidence in Nigeria
The English exemption list names only the passports of Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK and the USA, so Nigerians sit a test. For tests taken on or after 13 September 2025 the minimum is IELTS 5.0 in all four skills, or PTE Academic 33 listening, 36 reading, 29 writing and 24 speaking. Five years of full-time study at secondary level or above, taught mostly in English, can also exempt you with transcripts and contact-hour evidence.
Home Affairs asks for a police certificate from every country where you spent twelve months or more in the last ten years since you turned 16. For most readers that is a Nigeria Police Force police extract, reported at two to six weeks or longer. Confirm its validity period before you order it.
Health examinations are done with an approved panel physician in Nigeria. Results are usually valid for 12 months and you can sit the exam before you lodge.
4. Stage Three: The 482 Application and the Wait
From 1 July 2026 the 482 charge is reported as AUD 4,015 for the main applicant, AUD 4,015 for each extra adult and AUD 1,005 for each child under 18. Confirm the figure on the official visa pricing estimator before you pay. A partner and two children would add 4,015 + (2 × 1,005) = AUD 6,025, and family must be named in the nomination because they cannot be added after you lodge.
Your pay can change the stream. The Specialist Skills threshold is AUD 146,576 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, and software engineers sit in ANZSCO major group 2, so a role at AUD 150,000 clears that bar too. Your employer picks the stream, so ask which one they plan to use.
Home Affairs gives no fixed processing time. Since 19 September 2026, Ministerial Direction 121 puts sectors such as construction, healthcare and teaching first, then Specialist Skills, then people who lodged from inside Australia, then people outside it. A Core Skills applicant in Nigeria falls in the fourth or fifth group. Agent sites reported in early October 2026 that half of Core Skills cases take about four months; treat that as a guide, not a promise.
5. Stage Four: Health Cover Before You Fly
Medicare is not available to you. Nigeria is not among the eleven reciprocal health agreement countries. As a 482 holder you must keep adequate private health insurance for your whole stay (visa condition 8501) and show evidence of it.
One comparison site reported working-visa cover for a single person from about AUD 719 a year in April 2026, and other guides quote AUD 100 to 200 a month. Compare policies from Australian-registered insurers against the Home Affairs adequate health insurance page.
Pro Tip: A temporary resident not entitled to Medicare can claim a full exemption from the 2% Medicare levy, but it is not automatic. You need a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia (about eight weeks), you repeat it each income year, and dependants must also be exempt. The ATO guidance sets out the conditions; on AUD 150,000 it is worth AUD 3,000 a year.
6. How Much Money Do You Need to Move to Australia?
There is no single answer, so here is one worked example for the first three months. It assumes you are single, pay your own visa charge and rent at AUD 600 a week, which is Domain’s reported September quarter 2026 asking median for houses and units.
| Item | Amount (AUD) | Working |
|---|---|---|
| Visa charge | 4,015 | Main applicant, from 1 July 2026 |
| Rent, 3 months | 7,800 | 600 × 13 weeks |
| Bond | 2,400 to 2,600 | One month’s rent: 4 weeks or a calendar month |
| Health cover, 3 months | 180 to 600 | AUD 719 a year to about AUD 200 a month |
| Total | 14,395 to 15,015 | Before flights, food and set-up |
The low end is 4,015 + 7,800 + 2,400 + 180 = 14,395. The high end is 4,015 + 7,800 + 2,600 + 600 = 15,015. If your employer pays the visa charge, subtract 4,015.
The table leaves out flights, test and medical fees, food, utilities and household set-up. Every Lagos to Melbourne fare has a connection, so check fares yourself. Do not convert the total to naira using a rate from an article; ask your bank or a licensed transfer provider for the rate and fees on the day.
7. What AUD 150,000 Leaves After Tax
For 2026-27 the resident rates are nil to 18,200, 15% from 18,201 to 45,000, 30% from 45,001 to 135,000, 37% from 135,001 to 190,000 and 45% above that. The 15% rate replaced 16% on 1 July 2026. See our ranking of Australia’s highest-paying jobs for foreign workers for context.
The sums on 150,000 are 26,800 × 15% = 4,020, then 90,000 × 30% = 27,000, then 15,000 × 37% = 5,550. Income tax is 4,020 + 27,000 + 5,550 = 36,570. The 2% Medicare levy adds 3,000, so you pay 39,570 and keep 110,430 a year, or 9,202.50 a month and 4,247.31 a fortnight.
Quick Answer: On a 150,000 base salary in 2026-27, a resident who pays the Medicare levy keeps about AUD 110,430 a year, or AUD 9,202.50 a month, before any health premium.
Check whether super is on top. On a 150,000 base the employer adds 12%, which is 18,000. If 150,000 is a total package, the base is 150,000 ÷ 1.12 = 133,928.57 and super is 16,071.43; tax is 4,020 + 26,678.57 = 30,698.57, the levy is 2,678.57, and your net falls to 100,551.43.
| Case | Tax and levy (AUD) | Net a year (AUD) | Net a month (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pays the Medicare levy | 39,570 | 110,430 | 9,202.50 |
| Levy exemption claimed | 36,570 | 113,430 | 9,452.50 |
| 150,000 includes super | 33,377.14 | 100,551.43 | 8,379.29 |
These figures assume the ATO treats you as a tax resident. The ATO residency tests decide that, and a job starting at once for up to four years will usually look resident, but it depends on your facts, so ask a registered tax agent. A $1,000 standard deduction starts in 2026-27, worth about AUD 390 here (1,000 × 37% = 370, plus 2% × 1,000 = 20) in the return after 30 June 2027.
8. Stage Five: Settling Into Melbourne
Moving to Melbourne means checking rent against more than one source. SQM Research’s asking-rent index for the week ending 20 October 2026 shows all Melbourne units at AUD 590.43 a week; that is an index, not a median, so do not mix it with other rent figures. At AUD 600 a week, rent is 600 × 52 = 31,200 a year, or 28.3% of the 110,430 net (31,200 ÷ 110,430).
In Victoria the bond is in most cases no more than one month’s rent unless weekly rent is above AUD 900. Rent in advance is capped at one month, or 14 days if you pay weekly. Our newcomer housing plan for the USA shows how to budget a first month, though its rules are American.
Public transport across Victoria is half price from 1 June 2026 until 1 January 2027, so the zone 1 and 2 daily myki cap is AUD 5.70 instead of 11.40. The 2026-27 Victorian Default Offer for electricity averages about AUD 1,591 a year.
CommBank says eligible migrants can open an account online up to 14 days before arrival, then visit a branch with a passport within 20 days. It does not say whether a Nigerian passport qualifies, so ask the bank. For a tax file number from overseas, you post ATO form NAT 2628 with certified ID copies and allow up to 28 days after receipt.
You can drive on a valid overseas licence for up to six months after you start living in Victoria. Nigeria was not on the recognised-country list published by RACV, so expect a learner permit test, a hazard perception test and a drive test. Confirm with VicRoads.
9. Stage Six: Super, Time Limits and the Way to Permanent Residency
The 482 lets you stay up to four years, work only for your sponsor in the nominated occupation, and travel in and out freely. If you lose your job you have up to 180 days to find a new sponsor or leave, and there is no extension.
One route to permanent residency is the Employer Nomination Scheme subclass 186, Temporary Residence Transition stream. You usually need two years of full-time sponsored work in the last three with the nominating employer, and you are usually under 45 when you lodge. The 186 charge is reported as AUD 6,140 for the main applicant from 1 July 2026.
Employer super is 12% of ordinary time earnings on top of salary from 1 July 2026. After you leave Australia and your visa has ended you can claim it as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment. Tax on the taxed element is 35%.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Nigerian get a skilled work visa for Australia?
Nothing in the 482 rules bars a Nigerian passport holder. You need a sponsor, a listed occupation, one year of experience, English evidence and clearances. Approval depends on your case.
How does moving to Australia from Nigeria with a job offer work?
The employer nominates you and you apply from outside Australia. After the grant you travel and must start work within 90 days of arrival. Keep health cover running throughout.
Do I need an ACS skills assessment for the 482?
Home Affairs lists a mandatory assessment only for named occupations and does not name ACS as a 482 requirement. A registered migration agent can tell you what your case needs.
Is AUD 150,000 enough to live in Melbourne?
For a single person renting at AUD 600 a week, rent takes about 28.3% of the AUD 110,430 net. Groceries, eating out and childcare costs are not priced here, so build your budget from current quotes.
11. Your Next Steps for Moving to Australia From Nigeria
Moving to Australia from Nigeria is mostly paperwork and waiting, so start the slow items early and work down this list in order.
- Check your job title against the Core Skills Occupation List and count your recent experience.
- Find a sponsor and get the offer in writing, including whether super is on top and who pays the visa charge.
- Book an English test unless you qualify for an exemption.
- Apply for the Nigeria police certificate and book a panel physician.
- Confirm the current charge on the official estimator and lodge.
- Arrange adequate private health cover.
Rules and figures here were checked in October 2026, and many change on 1 July. A registered migration agent can advise on your visa case and a registered tax agent on your tax. Confirm everything with Home Affairs and the ATO before you pay or travel.
Leave a Comment