The Skilled Work Regional subclass 491 visa is a temporary one, valid for five years once granted.
The subclass 491 visa entitles visa holders, together with their families to live, work and study in designated regional areas of Australia. It also provides a multiple re-entry facility to travel in and out of Australia as often as you like within the visa validity period.
The visa is a points-tested visa, requiring either state government nomination or sponsored by an eligible relative in Australia.
Applicants must be under 45 years of age at the time of receiving an invitation from the Department of Home Affairs, otherwise, you won’t meet the eligibility criterion on age.
Subclass 491 applications (regional state sponsored) are currently only open to occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL).
In order to qualify for a Subclass 491 visa, you will need to:
The current migration points threshold is set to at 65; however, this fluctuates dependent on volume and quality of candidates applying. Some occupations require a much higher pass mark, please access ‘Latest invitation round GSM‘.
A job offer is not required to apply for a subclass 491 visa application. However, should you wish to be nominated by an Australian state government, each state government may have additional criteria to meet their individual state objectives, which may include the requirement of having a job offer.
An eligible relative can be related to yourself or your partner and can be your parent, child or step-child, a brother or sister (including step or adoptive), an aunt, uncle (including step or adoptive), a nephew or niece (step or adoptive), a grandparent or a first cousin.
Your sponsor must be:
Processing times are impacted each month by changes in application volumes, seasonal peaks, complexity, and incomplete applications. Estimates of processing times are provided as a guide only. Individual processing times may vary from the published estimates. See the estimated processing times at Global visa and citizenship processing time.
This will vary depending on the number and age of your dependants included in your application. Please be aware that the cost of visas changes from time to time.
You can apply either onshore or offshore of Australia and you can include dependent family members such as spouse/partner and dependent children.
As of today, the Department of Home Affairs states a subclass 491 visa can take from 57 to 76 days to be finalised from the date of lodgement.
Subclass 491 visa holders are eligible for Medicare; entitlement to Social Welfare (Centrelink) payments is subject to legislation being passed. A subclass 491 visa holder is considered as a temporary resident for purchasing a property in Australia’s purpose as per the FIRB declaration as of today, you are recommended to contact a Licensed Conveyancer or a Lawyer to discuss further.
Please access the following link to find out the designated regional areas for the purpose of applying under the subclass 491 visa category:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skill-occupation-list/regional-postcodes
Each state and territory has a unique occupation list seeking skills that are meeting the skill shortage requirements for each region. You must first submit an EOI and nominate the state and territory where you wish to reside.
There is no restriction for subclass 491 visa holders to move interstate.
However, the nominating state government would generally require you to make a commitment of residing and working in the designated area of which you were nominated.
They may conduct an integrity check of continued residence for those who have been nominated for a subclass 491 visa.
If the state skills is not satisfied that the nominee is currently resident in the sponsored state, their 491 nomination may be withdrawn. If 491 nomination is withdrawn, the DOHA is unable to grant the visa
There is a pathway for subclass 491 visa holders to apply for permanent residency when you have resided and worked in a designated area for three years with the primary applicant’s taxable income for each of the three financial years to be no less than $53,900.
Eligibility is the most important step in determining whether a person may meet the legal criteria for a visa application and one consultation could save you money.
Book a Consultation