This visa allows current or future employers nominated skilled workers to live and work in Australia permanently.
Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191)
Regional provisional stream
This visa is for people who have lived, worked, and studied in a designated regional area in Australia on a previously eligible visa. Examples of this visa are the 491 and 494.
Hong Kong stream
This visa lets eligible Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passport holders who have demonstrated commitment to Australia, live and work in Australia permanently.
Stay
- Permanently.
Cost
- From AUD4,640.00
You must:
- hold a Hong Kong passport or a British National (Overseas) passport.
- meet certain visa requirements.
- meet certain residence requirements.
- You don’t need a sponsor or nominator.
Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
Applicants are required to have an occupation on the MLTSSL list, and have high points to gt an invitation form the DHA. This visa provides the applicant with full permanent residency once approved. The primary applicant can include their family members on their application (spouse and children). Please note that applicants are expected to have higher than 65 points to receive an invitation.
Requirements:
- Occupation on the MLTSSL.
- Valid skills assessment.
- Meet points test.
- Younger than 45.
- Minimum competent English.
- Meet health and character requirements.
Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
The first step is to lodge an EOI, then apply for state nomination. Once nomination is approved, you will receive an invitation to lodge the visa.
Each state has its own criteria to meet, but please see the basic eligibility criteria below:
- Occupation on the relevant list.
- Valid skills assessment.
- Meet points test.
- Younger than 45.
- Minimum competent English.
- Meet health and character requirementsF
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)
- This visa requires you meet the points test and be nominated by a State or Territory or a family member living in a regional area.
- Should you be nominated by a state or territory, you will be awarded 15 points.
- This means that you only need to achieve 50 points to reach the minimum requirement of 65 points.
Minimum criteria for the visa (subclass 491) is as follows:
- Under 45 years of age.
- Competent English.
- Have an occupation on the relevant list.
- Have a valid skills assessment in the relevant occupation.
- Be nominated by a state or territory or sponsored by a family member.
- Satisfy the points test.
If your 491 visa is approved, you will have a five-year work visa, which will only allow you to work, live and study in the regional area. Once you have worked for three years and achieved a minimum earning of $53,900 annually, you will be eligible for the subclass 191 permanent visa. You can apply for the 491 anywhere in Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.