Overview
The Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) is a 5-year provisional visa which lets the skilled workers to live, work, and study in a designated regional area of Australia. For this subclass, applicants must either be nominated by an Australian state or territory, or sponsored by an eligible family member usually living in regional Australia. Applicants must obtain the minimum score of the Points Test. Visa holders will need to live, work, and study in a designated regional area. The application fee for the main applicant is AUD 4,045.* Additional charges will apply to each family member included in the application. These fees do not include other costs such as medical test and skill assessment fees.
Basic Eligibility Criteria
- You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory, or sponsored by an eligible family member usually living in regional Australia to be able to apply for this visa. All state and territories have their own criteria for nominating applicants.
- You must have a skilled occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list of an Australian state or territory.
- You must have your skill assessed by a relevant skills assessing authority.
- To be nominated or sponsored, you must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) and meet the points test on a competitive basis. This means that you most likely need higher than 65 points to be invited. If nominated, you will be invited to apply for a visa. If sponsored, you may be invited to apply for a visa.
- You must obtain a minimum score of 65 from the Points Test.*
- Obtaining a minimum score does not necessarily mean being invited, as priority is given to applicants with higher points.
- You must be between 18 and 45 years of age when you are invited to apply.
- At the time of invitation, you will need to provide proof of at least Competent English (IELTS score of 6 or equivalent).
- You might be asked to pay extra charge for any applicant over 18 who has less than Functional English (IELTS score of 4.5 or equivalent).
- You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had your visa cancelled or a previous visa application refused while you were in Australia.
- You have 60 days from the date of invitation to apply for visa.
- Your nomination or sponsorship must not be withdrawn, otherwise you will not be granted the visa.
As an applicant for this visa
- You may be in or outside Australia to lodge a valid application.
- You can include members of the family unit in the application when you lodge the visa application or after that but before your visa is decided on.
- If members of your family unit, such as your partner or dependent children, are not included in the applicant, you need to explain why (for example, they already are Australian citizen).
- You and your family members included in your application must meet the health and character requirements.
- You must not have any outstanding debt to the Australian Government.
- When lodging your application, you must provide supporting evidence for your claims.
As a holder of this visa
- You can live, work, and study in a designated regional area of Australia for up to 5 years.
- You have a moral obligation to stay in the designated state or territory that has nominated you.
- You can benefit from Medicare, the Australia’s public health insurance scheme.
- You can sponsor your relatives to come to Australia.
- You are allowed to travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want, while your visa is valid.
- You can’t extend this visa. To stay longer in Australia, you need to explore other visa options.
- Newly arrived residents may need to wait to be eligible for certain Australian Government payments and benefits.
- If eligible, you can apply for and become an Australian permanent resident.
Who Is Eligible to Be Your Family Sponsor?
- Sponsor must be at least 18 years old.
- Sponsor must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
- Sponsor must be usually resident in a designated area of Australia.
- Sponsor must be your eligible relative or your partner’s eligible relative if your partner is included in the visa application. 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
- Your sponsorship must be approved before you can be granted a visa.
Points criteria
You can score points based on the following criteria which are assessed at the time of invitation:
- Age (15, 25, or 30 pts)
- English language skills (0, 10, or 20 pts)
- Skilled employment experience outside Australia (0, 5, 10, or 15 pts)
- Skilled employment experience in Australia (0, 5, 10, 15, or 20 pts)
- Educational qualifications (10, 15, or 20 pts)
- Specialist education qualification (An Australian research degree in relevant fields) (10 pts)
- Australian study requirement (5 pts)
- Professional Year in Australia (5 pts)
- Credentialed Community Language (CCL) (5 pts)
- Study in regional Australia (5 pts)
- Partner skills (5 or 10 pts)
- Nomination or sponsorship (15 pts)
Please click here to see the points table for Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491).
* Fees and minimum score of 65 were true at the time of compiling this document, but they are subject to change. Please contact us for the latest updates on this visa.
Note: All documents should be originally in English or officially translated into English.
Please note that the above content is for general information only and must not be taken as immigration or travel advice. The content was up-to-date at the time of the last update but being current and accurate cannot be always guaranteed due to the frequent changes in immigration law. Please contact us for advice and information on the latest immigration laws in Australia.
Source: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
Access: 06 August 2020