What is the Subclass 191 skilled regional visa?
This visa is designed to allow people on a skilled employer sponsored regional (provisional) visa (subclass 494) or skilled work regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491) to become a permanent resident of Australia indefinitely.
This subclass 191 visa gives you the ability to work or study anywhere in Australia, you are no longer restricted to regional areas. This visa allows you to enrol in Medicare, sponsor your family to join you in Australia. The subclass 191 visa creates a pathway for you to apply for Australian citizenship.
When does the 191 visa start?
The Department of Immigration (Department of Home Affairs) introduced Subclass 491 visa and 494 visas on 16 November 2019. (Subclass 491 visa replaced Skilled Regional Subclass 489 visa and Subclass 494 visa replaced Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Subclass 187 visa).
As the 191 visa requires 494 and 491 visa holders to have lived and worked in a designated regional area for three years, the 191 visa is only available from 16 November 2022.
Am I eligible for the 191 visa?
You can apply for a 191 visa as the holder of a 491 visa or a 494 visa if the following is met:
- You have lived, worked or studied in the designated regional area for at least three years and complied with all conditions of your current visa.
- you must have earned the minimum income for at least the previous three years on that provisional regional visa.
- You have to satisfy both health and character public interest criteria.
You can lodge your application for Skilled Regional (Subclass 191) visa in or outside Australia. You can include your family members to your 191 visa application. The ‘family’ is defined broadly to encompass older children who travelled with you on your previous visa even if they are no longer dependents.
