New Visas to be introduced: Subclass 491, 494 and the 191 PR visa

New Visas: Subclass 491, 494 and the 191 PR visa

Change to GSM Points Test

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Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa commenced on the 16th November 2019

• It replaced the 489 visa
• Must have been invited to apply for this visa through the EOI system
• Need nomination by a State or Territory government agency or sponsored by relative in designated regional areas
• You must be aged under 45. You can still apply for the visa if you turn 45 after you are invited to apply.
• Must nominate a skilled occupation with skill assessment.

Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa

Two streams: Employer Sponsored and Labour Agreement, commenced on the 16th November 2019

• It substitutes 187 (RSMS) visa
• Age limit- 45 (with exceptions)
• Skills assessment-waiver qualification obtained in Australia by holding a student visa with Studying a registered course Or Previously held 457/482 visa
• Need 3 years full time work or an exemption
• Competent English – or satisfy the exemptions
• Annual Market Salary rate
• RCB advice required

Subclass 191 visa – Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa for 491 or 494 holders who meet requirements

Note: This visa does not commence until 16 November 2022.

• have earned a minimum taxable income (yet to be released) for three years as the holder of a regional provisional visa ; and
• have complied with the conditions of the regional provisional visa; in particular, including that the holder must live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia.
• Subclass 489 visa holders (which has since been replaced by the 491 visa) will continue to be able to access the Subclass 887 (Skilled – Regional) visa which is the permanent pathway visa for this group, subject to satisfying existing criteria.

Please note that If your current visa or your last substantive visa is a subclass 491 visa or 494 visa, you must have held that visa for at least 3 years at the time of application (with exception) to apply for other visas such as a subclass 124 (Distinguished Talent), 132 (Business Talent Permanent Visa), 186 ( Employer Nomination Scheme), 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa, 189 Skilled Independent Visa and 190 Skilled Nominated Visa .

New conditions to 491 & 494 visas:

• Condition 8578 requires the visa holder to notify Immigration of any change, within 14 days of the change occurring, to the holder’s residential address, an email address of the holder, a phone number of the holder, the holder’s passport details, the address of an employer of the holder, or the address of the location of a position in which the holder is employed.
• Condition 8579 requires that while the visa holder is in Australia, they must live, work and study only in a designated regional area.
• Condition 8580 requires that, if requested in writing by the Minister to do so, the visa holder must within 28 days provide any or all of the following: the visa holder’s residential address, the address of their employer or employers; the address of the location of each position in which the holder is employed; the address of any educational institution attended by the visa holder.
• Condition 8581 requires the visa holder, if requested in writing by the Minister, to attend an interview at a place and time or in the manner specified in the request. The interview may be face to face or undertaken using modern video conferencing applications such as Skype or Facetime.

Transitional arrangement available for Transitional 457 workers and Transitional 482 workers: – Not disadvantaged by the new requirements.

• Transitional 457 worker means a person who on 18 April 2017 either held a Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa, or was an applicant for a Subclass 457 visa that was subsequently granted. This cohort is referred to subsequently for the purpose of exempting them from the closure on 16 November 2019 of the Temporary Residence Transition stream in the Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa.
• Transitional 482 worker means a person who on 20 March 2019 either held a Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa in the Medium-term stream, or was an applicant for a Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa in the Medium-term stream that was subsequently granted. This cohort is referred to subsequently for the purpose of exempting them from the closure on 16 November 2019 of the Temporary Residence Transition stream in the Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa.

Changes on Points test for General Skilled Migration: (apply to 189, 190, 489, and 491) from 16 November 2019

• 15 points for nomination by a State or Territory government agency or sponsorship by a family member residing in regional Australia, to live and work in regional Australia;
• 10 points for certain Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) qualifications;
• Partner points
  • 10 points for a skilled spouse or de facto partner; Partner need a skills assessment or
  • 10 points for applicants without a spouse or de facto partner or partner is Australia citizen or PR or eligible NZ citizen or
  • 5 points for a spouse or de facto partner with ‘competent English’

If you need help with your Visa application contact This is Australia’s migration experts on (+61) 07 5592 0755 or use our online contact form.