Building your career in Australian regional areas with a Subclass 491 visa

Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa – Subclass 491 is a substitution of a Subclass 489 visa since 16.11.2019. This visa allows suitable skilled people to live and work in Australian regional areas. Let’s explore this new subclass visa.

 

 

What is a Subclass 491 visa?

This is a temporary visa that allows skilled people and their unit family members who are nominated by a state or a territory government agency or by a close relative to live and work in regional Australia for 5 years.

You must be either nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or indicate that you will be sponsored by an eligible relative.

After 3 years of and stay in a regional area, applicants may apply for a Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa – Subclass 191 to stay in Australia permanently.

 

 

How to get points on a Skilled Work Regional Visa?

The Subclass 491 is a point – tested visa. The way of point allocation of this visa is more beneficial for applicants, especially for international graduates in Australia.

The following table demonstrates how you are going to calculate the immigration point of this visa:

 

Criteria	Description	Migration points
Age	At least 18 but less than 25 years old	25
	At least 25 but less than 33 years old	30
	At least 33 but less than 40 years old	25
	At least 40 but less than 45 years old	15
English language skills	Competent English	0
	Proficient English	10
	Superior English	20
Offshore skilled employment (outside Australia)	Less than 3 years	0
	At least 3 but less than 5 years	5
	At least 5 but less than 8 years	10
	At least 8 years	15
Onshore skilled employment (inside Australia)	Less than 1 year	0
	At least 1 year but less than 3 years	5
	At least 3 but less than 5 years	10
	At least 5 but less than 8 years	15
	At least 8 years	20
Educational qualifications	Qualification or award recognised by the relevant assessing authority for your nominated skilled occupation as being suitable for that occupation	10
	A diploma or trade qualification from an Australian educational institution	10
	Bachelor Degree from an Australian educational institution or a Bachelor qualification from another educational institution that is of a recognised standard	15
	PhD from an Australian educational institution or from another educational institution that is of a recognised standard	20
Specialist education qualification	Master Degree by research or PhD Degree from an Australian educational institution that included at least 2 academic years study in a relevant field	10
Australian study requirement	At least 1 degree, diploma or trade qualification from an Australian educational institution must meet the Australian study requirement	5
Professional Year in Australia	Completion of a Professional Year in Australia	5
Credentialled community language	Hold a recognised qualification in a credentialled community language	5
Study in regional Australia	At least 1 degree, diploma or trade qualification from an Australian educational institution that meet the Australian study requirement obtained while living and studying in an eligible area of regional Australia	5
Partner skills	Your partner must also be invited to apply for this visa and meet age, English and skill criteria	10
	Your partner must also be invited to apply for this visa and has competent English	5
	You are single or your partner is a permanent resident or an Australian citizen	10
Nomination/ Sponsorship	Being invited to apply for a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa – Subclass 491 or Being sponsored for a Skilled Work Regiona (Provisional) Visa – Subclass 491 by a family member and the Minister has accepted that sponsorship	15

 

To know which visa is suitable for your business in Australia, check out other Skilled visas on VEM’s website.

Benefits of a Subclass 491 visa

With this visa, applicants can:

• Staying in Australia for 5 years since the visa grant.
• Living, working and studying in a designated regional area of Australia.
• Having multiple travels between your country and Australia.
• Being able to apply for Australian permanent residence through Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa – Subclass 191 on 16.11.2022.

 

 

For more information about the benefits of Subclass 491 visa, contact VEM today. Our professional migration consultant who is licensed by the Australian Government (MARN: 1577877) will support you to make the best use of these benefits.

The requirements of a Subclass 491 visa

• Must be under 45 years old (except if you are invited by a state or a territory government agency).
• Must be nominated/sponsored by a state or a territory government agency or an eligible relative.
• Must pass skills assessment related to the nominated occupation.
• Must be able to score at least 65 migration points.
• Must meet standard English level (equivalent to IELTS 6), health and character requirements.
• Must not have had a visa cancelled or an application refused.

A Subclass 491 is the visa for graduates in Australia. Therefore, if your qualification isn’t issued by Australia, applying for this visa will be more difficult. There are some states that allow applicants from outside of the states to apply. The applicants don’t have to graduate from schools in that state to apply.

The cost of a Subclass 491 visa

The fee for a 491 visa application is 4,115AUD (not including 1.4% surcharge) for both main applicants and dependent applicants who apply for Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa.

 

You need to pay an extra charge for any 18-year-old applicant who does not meet English requirements. Besides, you also need to pay for other costs for police and health checks.

 

Any kind of refund is impossible when your application is rejected. Moreover, any other visa applications in the future will be much harder and much more complex.

Therefore, it’s really important to choose a professional registered migration agency to save you from unfortunate costs and waiting time.

Processing times of a Subclass 491 visa

There is no specific processing time for this subclass according to the DHA’s website.

However due to COVID-19, the processing times may vary. Thanks to being a member of the Australian Migration Institute (MIA: 12648), Mr Phong Cao is always updated with the latest changes about Australian visas. That’s why when working with VEM, your documents will be properly prepared according to the Australian Migration regulations.

 

 

If there’s any further questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or call us via our hotline. VEM will contact you as soon as possible.