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491 Skilled Work Regional Visa

The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is a provisional visa for skilled workers which allows you to live and work in regional areas of Australia for up to five years.

 

The 491 visa permanent residency pathway will be: Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional): to meet the requirements of the permanent visa (from November 2022) applicants must have held a subclass 491 or 494 visa for at least 3 years, have complied with the conditions on that visa and have met minimum taxable income requirements. 

REQUIREMENTS

Be nominated to apply by a state or territory government agency, or an eligible relative must sponsor you

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Have your occupation is on the relevant eligible Skilled Occupation list

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Pass Skills Assessment for your nominated occupation

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Satisfy the points test (at least 65)

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Be aged under 44 inclusive

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Have Competent English or higher

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Meet the health and character requirements

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All state and territory government agencies have their own criteria or requirements for deciding who they will nominate. Please contact us for the detailed requirements of different states.

Victoria 491 Visa

Requirements 

To be eligible to apply for Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) nomination, you must:

  • have had your Registration of Interest (ROI) selected,

  • have a valid skills assessment external link in an occupation on the eligible skilled occupation list for this visa,

  • if you are onshore, you must be living and working in regional Victoria external link in skilled employment at the time of nomination. If you are offshore, this requirement does not apply,

  • be under 45 years of age,

  • be committed to living in Victoria,

  • have Competent English external link,

  • have achieved at least 65 points external link on the Australian Government’s points test for your Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect.

How to apply?

The visa process consists of four steps:

  1. Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs external link using Skill Select external link.

  2. Using the EOI number received from SkillSelect, you will submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) for Victorian nomination via the Live in Melbourne portal external link.

  3. If you are invited, you will submit a nomination application in the Live in Melbourne portal.

  4. If your nomination application is successful, you will submit a visa application for your selected visa with the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs.

Northern Territory 491 Visa

Requirements 

  • You must be under aged 45 years at the time of nomination.

  • You will need a full skills assessment from a relevant Australian skills assessment and assessing authority, for the skilled occupation that you have nominated.

  • The minimum English language requirement is an outcome of competent unless otherwise specified by assessing / licensing or registration body or on the Northern Territory (NT) Migration Occupation List. Competent means the equivalent of at least IELTS 6.0 in each band level.

  • Meet the skilled migration points test of 65 or higher.

Western Australia 491 Visa

Requirements 

This is a provisional visa that allows you to live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia. Currently, all of Western Australia is a designated regional area. To be eligible, you must either be nominated by an Australian State or Territory, such as Western Australia, or be sponsored by an eligible family member.

 

  • You must also meet the following Department of Home Affairs requirements:

  • have a relevant skills assessment;

  • be under 45 years old;

  • be nominated by a State or Territory, such as Western Australia;

  • be able to score 65 points or more on the Department of Home Affairs points test. State nomination for the subclass 491 visa gives you an extra 15 points towards the Department of Home Affairs points test, which is automatically incorporated into your EOI;

  • have the required English level; and

  • have an occupation on the relevant occupation list.

South Australia 491 Visa

Requirements 

To apply for this visa you must be under the age of 45 at the time of nomination, have a valid skills assessment and an occupation listed on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List. 

See Nomination Requirements for a full list of all nomination criteria.

How to apply?

Once you have ensured you meet all nomination and visa requirements, and prepared all documentation required for your application:

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  1. Lodge an expression of interest in SkillSelect, choose South Australia as your preferred state and select the relevant subclass: 491– Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa. Make sure you record your EOI ID number as you will need this for your state nomination application.

  2. Submit a state nomination application through the Skilled & Business Migration portal. 

  3. Track your application online. Once a decision on a nomination application has been made it will be reflected on the Skilled & Business Migration application page.

  4. If you are approved for state nomination, you will receive an email from the Department of Home Affairs inviting you to apply for your visa.

  5. Lodge your visa application with the Department of Home Affairs.

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NOTE: If you have submitted multiple applications for state nomination, these will be processed in date order. Please submit an online enquiry if you wish to withdraw an application. Any application fees paid are not refundable.

NSW 491 Visa

Requirements 

To be eligible for NSW nomination, you must meet the basic criteria outlined below:

Visa

You must meet all requirements set by Home Affairs for this visa subclass.

Skills

Be skilled in an occupation that is:

  • within an ANZSCO unit group identified on the NSW Skilled Work Regional Skills List; AND

  • is eligible for the Skilled Work visa (subclass 491)

Residency

You must be either currently residing in NSW or offshore, and have continuously done so for a minimum period of three months. 

Work experience and point score

You must meet the minimum skilled work experience and point score for your unit group. These are identified on the NSW Skilled Nominated Skills List next to the name of your unit group. 

Queensland 491 Visa

Requirements 

  • Be invited to apply

  • Be nominated or sponsored

  • 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 we invite you to apply. If you turn 45 after you submit your EOI but before we invite you to apply you will not receive an invite.

  • Be able to score 65 points or more

  • Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused

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