How to create an ImmiAccount
To create an ImmiAccount, follow the registration sequence on Home Affairs’ “Create your ImmiAccount” page, updated 30 September 2026:
- Create an ImmiAccount — select the account-creation option.
- Enter your email — provide the email address for registration.
- Enter the code sent to that email — confirm the emailed code.
- Choose “Individual” and enter your details — complete the account details.
- Accept the terms and complete the robot check.
- Set up multi-factor authentication — complete this final set-up step.
From then on, every login asks for a 6-digit code (Home Affairs, updated 30 September 2026).
Home Affairs’ “Create your ImmiAccount” page says you can then make an application. Creating the account is the set-up step; starting and submitting an application are separate tasks.
ImmiAccount multi-factor authentication and passwords
ImmiAccount multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the additional code check set up immediately after account creation. Home Affairs’ “Create your ImmiAccount” page, updated 30 September 2026, says that once MFA is on, a 6-digit code is required at every login. The emailed registration code and the ongoing login-code requirement are distinct steps.
For organisation accounts, Home Affairs’ “Manage your organisation accounts” page says the Organisation Account Administrator can reset users’ passwords and MFA. Individual password and MFA reset steps are not covered here.
Importing an existing application into ImmiAccount
Importing an existing application uses Import Application, rather than New Application. Home Affairs’ “Apply and manage your application” page, updated 30 September 2026, gives this sequence:
- Select Import Application.
- Enter the main applicant’s application ID or transaction reference number (TRN).
- Enter the main applicant’s date of birth.
- Enter their passport number and country.
The same Home Affairs page limits an application to three imports. It excludes unsubmitted or finalised paper applications, organisation applications or nominations, and some other application classes. Import is therefore not available for every existing application.
Before using Import Application, have the main applicant’s identifiers ready. Do not treat creating a new application as a substitute for linking an existing one.
Uploading documents in ImmiAccount
Uploading documents in ImmiAccount means working within its attachment rules, not just selecting a file. Home Affairs’ “Attach documents to your application” page gives the following limits and correction process.
Document-rules card — as at 30 September 2026
- Number: up to 60 documents per person on most applications.
- File size: up to 5 MB per document.
- Photos: 70 KB to 3.5 MB.
- Formats: use only the listed file formats.
- PDFs: encrypted PDFs are not accepted.
- Unsubmitted applications: attached documents are kept for 30 days.
- Submitted applications: documents cannot be removed.
For uploading and correcting documents, apply these rules from Home Affairs’ “Attach documents to your application” page:
- Check the count, size and format before attaching. The 60-document allowance is per person on most applications; it is not a blanket allowance for every application type.
- Allow for draft retention. Attachments on an unsubmitted application are kept for 30 days.
- Use the overflow channel when over the limit. Home Affairs directs applicants to the “Attach additional documents” form.
- Correct a wrong attachment through the specified process. After submission, use “Notification of incorrect answers” and attach the correct document; the wrong document cannot simply be removed.
Check each attachment before submission, especially where two files have similar names. The correction process is different from deleting an attachment.
What do ImmiAccount application statuses mean?
ImmiAccount application statuses show the sequence below. Home Affairs’ “After you apply” page, updated 21 September 2026, defines Initial assessment as an initial check and Finalised as a decision having been made. The table does not assign additional meanings to the other stages.
| Status | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted | The first stage shown after you submit | — |
| Received | The next stage | Share the application with another ImmiAccount user from this stage |
| Initial assessment | “An initial check” of the application has been completed | Watch “Actions required” for requests |
| Further assessment | The next stage | Watch “Actions required” for requests |
| Finalised | A decision has been made | — |
Home Affairs’ “Apply and manage your application” page distinguishes Share from Send:
- Share lets another ImmiAccount user view the application and attach documents at Received, Initial Assessment, Further Assessment or Finalised.
- Send passes an unsubmitted application to another user to complete or pay.
The same Home Affairs page states that removing an application from your account does not withdraw it. Removing it from the account view and withdrawing the application are different actions.
Home Affairs’ “After you apply” page says requests appear in messages and under “Actions required”. Without authorisation for electronic communication, you cannot see those application messages. Respond to document requests through View details → Attach documents, using “Other Documents” if the required type is not listed.
ImmiAccount and the 858: the EOI is an online form, the visa application (Form 47NI) is lodged here
The National Innovation visa EOI uses Home Affairs’ “National Innovation visa – Expression of Interest form” on the departmental website. Its separate form, captcha and absence of ImmiAccount login fields indicate that it is neither an ImmiAccount application nor SkillSelect.
For the visa application, LIN 24/078, which commenced on 6 December 2024, specifies Form 47NI (Internet) through ImmiAccount. It also provides for Form 47NI by email where authorised; the ordinary online route described on Home Affairs’ National Innovation visa program page is ImmiAccount.
The file rules differ between the two processes. Home Affairs’ EOI submission page and EOI form accept pdf, jpg or png, with a 1 MB limit for each passport or qualification file and 4 MB for CV and agency attachments. The EOI requires English documents or English translations and does not accept cloud links. By contrast, Home Affairs’ “Attach documents to your application” page allows up to 5 MB per document in ImmiAccount, subject to its photo rules.
The nominator does not need an ImmiAccount for their nomination role: Home Affairs’ described process has the nominator complete Form 1000, which the applicant submits with the visa application. No separate subclass 858 lodgement step is assigned to the nominator.
Home Affairs’ “Attach additional documents” form still lists “Global Talent visa (subclass 858)”, the visa’s former name. That legacy label remains on the overflow form described on “Attach documents to your application”, updated 30 September 2026.
Organisation accounts and representatives
Organisation accounts require approval, rather than becoming active solely through registration. Home Affairs’ “Create your ImmiAccount” page, updated 30 September 2026, says to choose “Organisation”, select the services and give reasons. An Organisation Account Administrator or the Department approves access; the account remains “Individual” until approval. The usual approval time is 4 working days.
Home Affairs’ “Manage your organisation accounts” page says administrators approve access, invite users, reset passwords and MFA, and suspend or remove users. Only organisation users can assign applications to colleagues, and applications must be reassigned before an account is removed.
Home Affairs’ “Using a legal practitioner” page says an Australian legal practitioner who wants to lodge clients’ applications in ImmiAccount applies for a legal practitioner number on Form 1548, attaching their practising certificate.
For an appointment on Form 956, Home Affairs’ “Using a legal practitioner” page says the lawyer completes the form, the client signs it and the lawyer sends it in.
Home Affairs’ authorised recipients page says an authorised recipient is named in the relevant section of the ImmiAccount application or on Form 956A. This is a separate function from sharing account access.
Frequently asked questions
How do you register for an Australian visa online?
Follow Home Affairs’ “Create your ImmiAccount” steps: email, emailed code, Individual account, details, terms, robot check and MFA. Its “Apply and manage your application” page then directs you to start a New Application, with payment and submission steps following account creation.
What is ImmiAccount for?
Home Affairs’ “Apply and manage your application” and “After you apply” pages describe lodging and paying for applications, attaching documents, reporting changes through Update details, and receiving requests under “Actions required”.
Does removing an application from ImmiAccount withdraw it?
No. Home Affairs’ “Apply and manage your application” page states that removing it from the account does not withdraw it.
How many times can an application be imported?
Up to three times, according to Home Affairs’ “Apply and manage your application” page, updated 30 September 2026.
Can another ImmiAccount user work on your application?
Yes, and this is how an Australian migration lawyer you appoint works with you. Home Affairs’ “Apply and manage your application” page says Share lets another user view it and attach documents at the specified statuses; Send passes an unsubmitted application to another user to complete or pay.
Lodging and paying for an 858 in ImmiAccount
Lodging an 858 visa application follows the sequence on Home Affairs’ “Apply and manage your application” and National Innovation visa pages: New Application → choose the application → agree to the terms → Save, then pay the charge, attach documents, submit and note the TRN. The Department does not begin processing until the charge is paid.
Home Affairs’ EOI “After submission” page requires lodgement within 60 days from the invitation date and says the window cannot be extended. Under Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1 item 1113(3)(d), Form 1000 goes in with the application; Home Affairs’ National Innovation visa page says it will not process an application without it.
Under Migration Regulations 1994, item 1113, charges from 1 July 2026 are $6,235 for the main applicant, $3,120 for each secondary applicant aged 18 or over and $1,560 for each under 18. See the full 858 visa cost, including the second instalment.
Home Affairs’ “How to pay” page, updated 1 October 2026, lists credit or debit card with 3DS, PayPal, UnionPay and BPAY. Allow 3 days for BPAY; card payment uses one card per transaction.
Home Affairs’ EOI “After submission” page says the invitation identifies the achievements that must be evidenced in the 858 visa application. Check the uploads against those achievements, not just the file-size limits.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check the 60-day deadline, required uploads and consistency with the invitation before submission. This review can also identify incorrect attachments before they become non-removable under Home Affairs’ document rules.