Skilled Regional Visa-Provisional (Subclass 491)

Visa Conditions

As the visa applicant, you must,

• be nominated to apply by a state or territory government agency, or an eligible relative must sponsor you
• have an occupation on a relevant skilled occupation list
• have a suitable skills assessment for the occupation
• be invited to apply
• satisfy the points test

491 Visa Eligibility

• You can be in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance when you apply for the visa and when a decision is made on your application. If you apply in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or a subclass 010 Bridging A visa, a subclass 020 Bridging B visa or a subclass 030 Bridging C visa, otherwise your application will not be valid.
• You must submit an expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect to let us know you would like to apply for the visa. In your EOI, you must indicate if an eligible relative is going to sponsor you for this visa or if you want a state or territory government agency to nominate you.
• You must be either nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or indicate that you will be sponsored by an eligible relative.

All state and territory government agencies have their own criteria for deciding who they will nominate. See State and Territory Government Nomination Criteria section for details.

To be sponsored by an eligible relative, your sponsor must be;

• 18 years old or older
• usually resident in a designated area of Australia
• be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen
• be your eligible relative or your partner’s eligible relative if your partner is also applying for this visa

DOHA must approve your sponsorship before you are granted a visa.

• You must have a suitable skills assessment at the time you are invited to apply. The assessment must be undertaken by an assessing authority listed against your occupation in the list of eligible skilled occupations.

You will need to provide a copy of this skills assessment with your application. Your skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation. If the assessment was for a shorter period, that period must not have passed.

If your skills were assessed on the basis of a qualification you got in Australia when you held a student visa, the qualification must be from studying a course registered on CRICOS.

• You must be aged under 45 to be invited to apply for the visa. You can still apply for the visa if you turn 45 after you are invited to apply. If you turn 45 after you submit your EOI but before you are invited to apply, you will not receive an invite.
• Your occupation must be on the combined list of eligible skilled occupations for a Skilled Regional (subclass 491) visa.
• The subclass 491 is a points-tested visa. You must be able to obtain at least 65 points on our points test to be eligible for this visa. If you cannot obtain 65 points you will not be invited to apply.

If you get an invitation apply for the visa, you must prove the claims you make in your EOI application is being assessed by DOHA

Use the points calculator to check how many points you might score.

• At the time of invitation, you must have at least competent English. This translates to you having at least 6 for each of the 4 components in IELTS or at least 50 for each of the 4 components for PTE Academic)
• You must apply for the visa within 60 days from the date of your invitation.
• You and any family member included in this application must meet all the health and character requirements
• You or any family member must not have any debt to pay to the Australian government. If you or any family members (including those who do not apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
• If you are 18 years of age or older, you must: have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia AND confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign an Australian Values Statement

Note: If you have had a visa cancelled or previous application refused, you may not be granted a visa.

Visa Benefits

• stay in Australia for 5 years from the visa grant date
• live, work and study in a designated region of Australia
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want, while the visa is valid
• apply for permanent residence, if eligible, through the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191) – which commences on 16 November 2022.

State and Territory Government Nomination Criteria

All state and territory government agencies have their own criteria for deciding who they will nominate. They also have their own list of occupations in demand in their area. They may also have specific requirements in relation to your work experience, English language ability or specialised skills.

You must submit an expression of interest (EOI) via SkillSelect with details of your nominated occupation, skills and qualifications. SkillSelect will estimate a points score based on your information and if you score high enough, Australian state and territory government agencies will be able to view your EOI and decide if they want to nominate you.

If you are nominated by a state or territory agency, you will be invited to apply for the visa. If you are invited, you have 60 calendar days to apply for the visa. DOHA will then process your visa application.

Use our calculator to calculate your score.

You can find out about the state or territory nomination process and requirements through links below:

• New South Wales: http://www.business.nsw.gov.au
• Northern Territory: http://www.nt.gov.au/
• Queensland: https://www.migration.qld.gov.au
• South Australia: http://www.migration.sa.gov.au
• Tasmania: http://www.migration.tas.gov.au
• Victoria: http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/
• Western Australia: https://www.migration.wa.gov.au

General Notes

• You can include members of the family unit in your application. You can:
  • include them when you submit your visa application
  • add a dependent child after you submit but before a decision is made on your application.
• You and all members of your family unit who are also holders of the visa, will need to live work and study in a designated regional area of Australia. Your nomination must not be withdrawn, or you will not be granted the visa.
• You might have to pay an extra charge for any applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English. This charge is called the second instalment. Pay it only when DOHA asks you to. The charge is only requested if DOHA is going to grant the visa. The second instalment charge for family members is AUD4,890.
• An eligible relative can be:
  • a parent
  • a child or step-child
  • a brother, sister, adoptive brother, adoptive sister, step-brother or step-sister
  • an aunt, uncle, adoptive aunt, adoptive uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle
  • a nephew, niece, adoptive nephew, adoptive niece, step-nephew or step-niece
  • a grandparent, or
  • a first cousin
• You can’t stay in Australia longer by extending this visa. You might be able to apply for Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191) – which commences on 16 November 2022. Consult with our expert registered migration agents to explore your visa options.