Subclass 189 Hong Kong stream: Can two 482 grants count towards the same four years?
No. Home Affairs says you must hold an eligible visa when you apply for the subclass 189 Hong Kong stream and have held that visa for at least four years. You cannot add time on different grants, even if both were subclass 482 visas. First identify the grant you will hold on the proposed application date. Then check the dates and conditions of that particular grant.
Review each grant notice separately
Put your 457, 482 and 485 grant notices in order. Note the subclass, grant date, grant number, validity and whether the grant was made on the basis that you met the primary criteria. Home Affairs defines an eligible visa by reference to those primary criteria. If you previously received a visa as a family member and later received one as the primary applicant, keep the two records separate.
Consider a worker who held one 482 for two years and then held a second 482 for two more years. Both have the same subclass number, but neither can use time from the other to meet the holding requirement. The same principle applies when someone moves from a 485 to a 482. A continuous employment or tenancy history answers a different question from the history of visa grants.
Check whether a change produced a new visa grant
A new passport, a change to the passport details attached to a visa and an employer nomination are different events. Check whether Home Affairs issued a separate grant notice. Use your grant correspondence, ImmiAccount and current VEVO information to establish the actual record. If you plan to apply for another visa before lodging the 189, assess how a new grant could affect the dates you have been relying on.
The Hong Kong stream also has passport requirements and separate validity rules for visas granted before 9 July 2020 and those granted on or after that date. Check those requirements against the actual grant. If you currently hold only a bridging visa, confirm what eligible visa you will hold when you apply.
Keep residence evidence in a separate chronology
The stream requires at least four continuous years of usual residence in Australia immediately before application. Create one timeline for visa grants and another for where you lived, including periods overseas. Use the first to check the qualifying grant and the second to organise the residence evidence. For a review with 卓越移民 Premiervisa Group, bring the grant dates, proposed application date and a list of the details still to verify.
Official source checked on 6 November 2026.
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