Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491)

This is a provisional visa. It is for skilled workers who want to live and work in regional Australia. It allows you to stay in Regional Australia for 5 years.

Who is eligible for the Subclass 491?

You must:

  • be nominated to apply by a state or territory government agency, or an eligible relative must sponsor you
  • have an occupation on a relevant skilled occupation list
  • have a suitable skills assessment for the occupation
  • be invited to apply
  • be under 45 years of age
  • satisfy the points test
  • meet minimum standards of English language proficiency (competent)
How to Apply
  • Submit an expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect and estimate your points score.
  • You must be either nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or indicate that you will be sponsored by an eligible relative. See below for more information.
  • If you score enough points, state and territory government agencies can see your EOI and might nominate you for the visa.
  • If you indicate in your EOI that you will be sponsored by an eligible relative the Department may invite you to apply for a visa in an invitation round.
Nomination by an Australian state or territory government agency
  • All state and territory government agencies have their own criteria for deciding who they will nominate.
Sponsorship by an eligible relative

Your sponsor must be:

  • 18 years old or older
  • usually resident in a designated area of Australia
  • be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen
  • be your or your partner’s eligible relative
  • An eligible relative can be a parent, a child or step-child, a sibling, and aunt or uncle, a niece or nephew, a grandparent or a first cousin.
Have a suitable skills assessment
  • For your application to be valid, you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at time of invitation. Your occupation must be on the combined list of eligible skilled occupations for a Skilled Regional (subclass 491) visa.
  • You will need to provide a copy of this skills assessment with your application. Your skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation. If the assessment was for a shorter period, that period must not have passed. If your skills were assessed on the basis of a qualification you got in Australia when you held a student visa, the qualification must be from studying a course registered on CRICOS.

Visa Charges

    Nomination and Visa Charges can be found here.

There are several other skilled visas available: