PROVISIONAL 491 VISA (SKILLED WORK REGIONAL VISA)
For five years, qualifying skilled workers and their families will be able to live, work, and study in specific regional areas of Australia thanks to the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) subclass 491 visa. After three years, those who have a visa may apply for a permanent residence visa. Nominations for this visa must come from:
- a state or territory government organization in Australia,
- after submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect, be invited to apply for the visa and be sponsored by an eligible family member who lives in a defined regional area.
The 489 visa was replaced by the subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa. The 491 visa is a skilled visa that is subject to a points test. There is a 45-year age restriction and a
Skilled Visa
Latest News
Employer Sponsored Visa
- Visa options assessment
- Partner visa eligibility
- PR Points Calculator
- Fees for immigration
- processing times for visas
- Immigration News
- processing times for visas
Changes to 489 to 887 Visa Pathway
The validity of the visa is five years. Conditions, including 8579, will be put in place to enforce the government’s desire for visa holders to only reside, work, and attend school in regional areas. Visitors are free to travel between regional zones. Any location that does not include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, or the Gold Coast is referred to as a regional area. In accordance with the employment and residency requirements affixed to your visa, you are permitted to work in any profession and for any employer.
Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, holders of the new provisional visas will also not be eligible to apply for the majority of other skills-based visas in Australia until they have spent at least three years in a specified regional area. Additionally, similar to the subclass’s existing arrangements
Holders of the new provisional visas may suffer as a result of sponsors’ noncompliance with the 457 and 482 visa programs.
According to the revised permanent pathway for 491 visas:
- Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional): To be eligible for this visa, applicants must have held a subclass 491 or 494 visa for at least three years and have satisfied with all of its requirements. You are exempt from proving three years of earnings of at least $53,900 annually.
Income criteria for the 191 visa
Impact on the current 489 to 887 visa pathway:
New applications are no longer being accepted for the Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489). For applicants whose applications have already been submitted but whose status is pending, as well as for those whose present pathway is the permanent Skilled Regional Visa (subclass 887), transitional measures have been put in place.
Skilled Migration Modifications:
Starting on November 16, 2019, there will be a modification to the skilled migration points exam. Applications for the subclass 491 and other skilled migration visas that have not yet been evaluated will be impacted by the modifications (but only in a way that benefits applicants, by awarding extra points). There will also be additional points for age, education, employment history (both domestically and abroad), English proficiency, and Australian education. The specifics of the new points are:
- 15 points for being nominated by a State or Territory government agency or being sponsored to live and work in regional Australia by a family member who lives there;
- 10 points for particular STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) qualifications;
Allied Points
- 10 points if any of the following criteria are met:
- talented de facto or marital partner (skills evaluation and proficient English); or
- candidates who are unmarried or do not have a spouse or de facto partner
- 5 points if your partner speaks English proficiently. Your companion does not require a skills assessment if they are above 45 years old.
An overview of the 491 visa
- Each year, 15,000 spots are allotted.
- be listed among the 491 professions
- must be sponsored by an eligible family member or government agency.
points examined - Visas will originally be granted for five years.
- Must work and reside in a regional area for three years to receive a permanent
- Skilled Regional Resident 191 Visa
- Income requirements for a 191 visa
- Everywhere in regional Australia is not in Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane.
- You can travel between regions; examples of these include Perth and Gold
- Lake Macquarie, the Sunshine Coast, Illawarra, and Geelong
- Canberra, Wollongong, Adelaide, Hobart, and Newcastle.
- For three years, you cannot apply for any other skilled PR or partner visas under 820.
- DHA Fee: $4,640 for the primary applicant and $2,320 for the spouse
Benefits of a 491 visa include:
- processing of regional applications with priority
- incentives for immigrants to stay in rural areas for a longer period of time as they forge connections through employment and community involvement – access to healthcare
- More points are available to applicants for subclass 491 visas.
Systems for allocating invitations to submit 491 visa applications
- Candidates with a qualified partner or those without a partner come first.
- Second: A partner of the applicant who can exhibit proficiency in English but who lacks the necessary abilities to get skilled partner points.
- Third: An applicant who has a partner who is not qualified to receive points for either proficient English or skilled partner.
Definitions of migration
|
Definition
|
Locations
|
Regional incentives
|
|---|---|---|
Nominated by a state or territory government organization in Australia
We will ask you to apply if we nominate you for the visa. Each state and territory’s governing bodies have their own standards for selecting nominees. Every state has different standards:
- South Australia, New
- Arctic Territory
- Queensland
- Australia’s South
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Southwest Australia
Can I get a 491 visa?
Please be aware that in order to qualify for the 491 family stream, your profession must be listed on the MLTSSL. You need a sponsor who:
- 18 years of age or older.
- Usually a resident of a certain Australian region
- .be an eligible citizen of New Zealand, an Australian permanent resident, or an Australian citizen.be an eligible relative of you or your partner
A qualifying relative may be:
- an adult
- a biological or adopted child
- a sibling, a stepbrother, a stepsister, an adoptive brother, or an adoptive sister.
- An aunt, uncle, step-aunt, step-uncle, adoptive aunt, or adoptive uncle
- a nephew, niece, step-nephew, step-niece, adoptive nephew, or adoptive niece.
- .or a grandparent
Before being issued a visa, sponsorship must be authorized.
Does the applicant and the sponsor have to live in the same State or Territory?
The sponsor must continue to fulfill all sponsorship criteria, regardless of where they are each residing, despite neither the policy nor the legislation requiring that the sponsor and application reside in the same geographic area.
Have an appropriate skills evaluation
You must state that you have a satisfactory skills evaluation at the time of invitation for your application to be legitimate. A copy of this skills assessment must be submitted with your application. We also acknowledge the following documentation as evidence of a skills evaluation for professionals in medicine and law:
- General medical registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency in whole, unconditional, or both
- Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency conditional specialty registration. You can only practice in your area of expertise thanks to this. You don’t require more guidance or instruction.
- acceptance as a lawyer in the concerned state or territory
Your abilities evaluation has to be completed three years prior to the invitation date. If the evaluation was for a shorter time frame, then that time frame must still be in effect. If your abilities were evaluated based on a certification you obtained while you were on a student visa in Australia, the certification had to be the result of enrolling in a CRICOS-registered course.
I’m in Australia and want to stay there.
A Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) allows you to remain in Australia.
Before your existing visa expires, you must apply for a new one if you want to remain longer.
You could qualify for a bridging visa. You may continue to do so until:
- you get a new visa,
- have made plans to depart.
Schedule a consultation if your visa has or is about to expire to go through your alternatives.