Should have an Invitation to Apply (ITA)

You can apply for this visa if you have received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) from the Government of Australia.
However, before you apply, it is mandatory to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), you might get nominated by an Australian State or Territory Government.
An invitation will be sent to you only when if you will be nominated for Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190).

Moreover, since all state and territory governments across Australia have their individual eligibility criteria
for deciding whom they will nominate, you are suggested to take one on one consultation with an experienced and knowledgeable
Immigration consultant to find out the details of state/territory nomination process and what all documents are needed to be arranged.

• Completed relevant Skills Assessment

For your application to be considered as valid, you should declare that you have a completed skills assessment
during the time of invitation. The Skills Assessment should have been received in the last 3 years before the invitation date. Also, if the assessment would have
been conducted for a shorter period of time, then that period should not have passed.

If your skills were being evaluated based on the qualifications you have received while living in Australia on a student visa, then the qualification should have been received after studying a course registered with CRICOS.

• Age

You should be aged below 45 when an invitation to apply (ITA) will be sent to you for this visa. However, you are still eligible to apply for this visa if you have turned 45 and have already received an invitation to apply (ITA).

• Score 65 points or above

The Subclass 190 Visa is a points-tested visa. When you submit your Expression of Interest (EOI),
then you will be given a point score on the basis of the claims made by you.
If you have obtained a score equivalent to 65 points, then you could receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for this visa.

The invitation thus sent will state the total number of points scored by you when we evaluate your application for visa grant.
Please note that this particular score could be higher than 65 points, and would be dependent on the claims made by you in the EOI.

While submitting your application, it will be mandatory for you to submit legitimate evidence supporting all your claims.

• Competent English Language Proficiency

At the time when an invitation to apply will be sent to you, you should have a minimum competent level of English.

Meet the necessary Skilled Occupation Requirement

Your occupation should be listed across the eligible skilled occupation list for the Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa.

• Meet health requirement

You along with any of your family members who must have applied for this visa should meet the health requirement.
If requested, then those family members who are not coming along with you to Australia might also
be required to meet the necessary health requirement.

• Meet character requirement

You and your family members who are aged 16 years and above and are applying for this visa along with you should meet the Australian Government’s character requirement.
Those family members that are not accompanying you to Australia should also meet all the necessary character requirement.

• Should pay back the debt to the Australian Government

If you and any of your family members (including those who are not applying for the visa with you) own any debt towards the Australian Government, then you or they should pay or arrange to pay it back.

• Get the Australian values statement

If you are aged 18 years or above, then you should:

• have read the description provided in Life in Australia, and
• confirm that you will obey the Australian laws and will respect the Australian way of life when you will sign the Australian Values Statement

• Should not have application refused or visa cancelled previously

You might not fall into pool of eligible applicants if you had your visa cancelled or refused while living in Australia.

There are numerous benefits of Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190 Visa). Some of them are listed below.

The Australian Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) offers following advantages to you and your accompanying family member. You would be allowed to:

• work and live anywhere in Australia permanently
• study in any university and/or colleges across Australia
• enroll in Medicare or the Australia’s state operated healthcare program
• get a chance to apply for the citizenship of Australia
• sponsor relatives for permanent residence grant of Australia
• travel anywhere across Australia as you wish

The cost of visa is subject to change without any prior notice. In case there is a change in visa fee between the date on which the Invitation to Apply (ITA) has been submitted and the fee that has to be finally submitted after a period of 10 days, then you would be required to pay the new fee while lodging your application.

The amount will be paid in Australian dollars (AUD), which can be paid online using a debit or a credit card.

• Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa: AUD 4,045 (Visa Fee for Primary Applicant)
• Dependent Applicant Fee: AUD 2,025 (Visa Fee for individuals aged 18 and above)
• Dependent Applicant Fee: AUD 1,010 (Visa Fee for individuals aged 18 and below)

Additional Fee:

Medical Test Fee: A legitimate fee is needed to be paid to the concerned person conducting the medical examination.

Police Verification Fee: The fees towards police checks and verification is required to be paid to corresponding authorities in their respective authorities where you have resided for more than 6 to 12 months.

Fees for Partner’s Functional English Requirement: If your spouse or partner or a dependent applicant (aged above 18 years) in your application has not appeared for English Language Test or is not capable of meeting the functional English requirement, then you would be required to pay an additional fee of AUD 4885.

The newly introduced Subclass 491 Visa or the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa allows eligible skilled individuals as well as their families to live, work and study in a designated regional area across Australia for a period of 5 years.

The Subclass 491 visa holders would be eligible to apply for the Australian Permanent Residency grant notification after completing three years in the region. Applicants under this visa should be nominated or sponsored through:

• an Australian State or Territory Government Agency, or
• eligible family member living in a designated regional area and should have received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for the visa, after submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) via SkillSelect.

The Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa has replaced the previous Subclass 489 Visa, starting from November 16, 2019. The Subclass 491 Visa is categorized as Skilled and also a Points Tested Visa.

This visa has a mandatory requirement where the applicant has an age limit of 45 years and requires to have a Positive Skills Assessment.

The Subclass 491 Visa remains valid for a period of 5 years. An important condition, which is 8579 will be imposed where you would be required to live and work only in the designated regional area of Australia. While holding this visa,
you would also be allowed to move between different regional areas, which excludes areas except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Important Change: After a recently announcement, Perth and Gold Coast are also considered as regional areas of Australia

Also, you can work under any occupation and with any employer in line with the residence and work conditions that are attached with your visa. The Subclass 491 Visa also provides you
with the advantage of to move from one regional area to another but reside continuously in that another regional area.

The new permanent residency visa pathway under the Subclass 491 visa could be described as follows:

Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (Subclass 191) Visa: In order to meet the necessary requirements of the Permanent
Residence (Subclass 191) Visa, that will come into effect from November 2022, you being a skilled and eligible applicant would be required to hold Subclass 491/494 visa for last 3 years.
You will be required to demonstrate minimum earnings of AUD 53,900 per annum in these 3 years.

Your partner can also become the main applicant while applying for the Subclass 191 Visa, if they are able to demonstrate this particular eligibility criteria.

• A total of 15,000 places are allocated every year;

• The occupation should be present on the 491 Occupation List;

• The visa has replaced the previously known Subclass 489 Family and State Sponsored Visa;

• The applicant should be sponsored either by a state authority or by an eligible relative;

• The visa will be allocated to you for an initial period of 5 years;

• The applicant would be required to live and work for a minimum period of 3 years in a regional area across Australia to apply for Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Subclass 191 Visa;

• The applicant and their partner would be asked to demonstrate an annual earning of AUD 53,900 for the first three years. Here, if applying through the State Sponsored Stream then it can be any occupation. However,
  if applying under Employer Sponsored Stream then it should come in the nominated occupation;

• The areas considered under Regional Australia are those that exclude Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane;

• This visa lets you move between regional areas which include Perth, Gold Coast, Lake Macquarie, Sunshine Coast, Illawarra, Newcastle, Geelong, Adelaide, Wollongong, Hobart and Canberra;

• This visa does not allow you to apply for Skilled Permanent Residency Program or the Subclass 820 (Partner) Visa for a long period of 3 years;

• The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) fee for the main applicant is equivalent to AUD 4,045 and for the partner or spouse, the DHA fee is equivalent to AUD 2,025.

To lodge an application towards the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 491), you must:

• be under 45 years of age to get an Invitation to Apply (ITA);
• be nominated by an Australian state or territory or sponsored by an eligible relative
• have your occupation listed on the Skilled Occupation List or the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations
• have a suitable skills assessment from an authorized government authority
• have competent level of English, demonstrated through IELTS or PTE score
• have received an invite from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA)
• have scored minimum 65 points on Points Assessment Table for Subclass 491 Visa

The Skilled Migration Points Test has changed under the Subclass 491 Visa. These changes are greatly beneficial for eligible applicants
by providing them with additional points over score awarded for age, education qualification, Australian as well as overseas work experience,
English Proficiency and more.

The new Skilled Migration Points are as follows:

1. 15 additional points when nominated by a State or Territory Government of Australia or sponsored by a family member residing in regional Australia, which in turn allows the individual to live and work in any of the regional areas across Australia.
2. 10 additional points for some specific Science, technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) qualification.
3. 10 additional points when found compliance with any of the following conditions:

• skilled spouse or de facto partner (Completed Skills Assessment and Competent Level of English); or
• applicants applying without spouse or de facto partner (Single); or

1. 5 additional points of your partner has competent level of English. Here, your partner can be aged above 45 years and also does not require a Skills Assessment.

Should have an invitation to apply (ITA)

It is mandatory for you to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to inform the Australian Government that you would like to apply for this visa.
You are required to indicate if you want an Australian State or Territory government to nominate you or if an eligible family member will sponsor you.
You would then be able to apply for this visa if the Australian state or territory government would send an invitation to apply (ITA).

Should be sponsored or nominated

You should be either sponsored by an eligible relative residing in Australia or be nominated by a state or territory government of Australia. The Expression of Interest (EOI) submitted will give you a brief estimate of your points score.

If you score appropriate points, then a state or a territory government can consider your EOI and might also nominate you for Subclass 491 visa. However, if you would describe in your EOI that you will get sponsored by an eligible relative then the Australian Immigration Department may send you an invite for a visa in the subsequent invitation round.

Nomination from an Australian State or Territory Government Agency

If you are being nominated for this visa, then the Australian Government will issue you an invitation to apply (ITA). Please note that all state and territory government have their own respective eligibility criteria for determining whom they will send the nomination.

Contact an experienced and knowledgeable Immigration Consultant to find out more details about the nomination process and what documents are required to be submitted at your end. The Australian state or territories that are considered under Subclass 491 visa are situated across:

• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• South Australia
• Queensland
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia
• Sponsorship from an eligible relative 
• Your sponsor should be:
• Aged 18 years or above
• resident in a designated region of Australia
• an Australian permanent resident, Australian citizen, or also an eligible New Zealand citizen
• your or your spouse’s or legal partner eligible relative

An eligible relative could be one of the following:

• a parent
• a (dependent) child or (dependent) step-child
• a sibling, which includes, a sister, brother, adoptive sister, adoptive brother, step-sister or step-brother
• an uncle, aunt, adoptive uncle, adoptive aunt, step-uncle or step-aunt
• a niece, nephew, adoptive niece, adoptive nephew, step-niece, step-nephew
• a grandparent, or
• a first cousin
• Age 

You should be aged below 45 for sending an invitation to apply (ITA) for this visa. Further, you can still apply for this visa if you would turn 45 after receiving the invitation.

For your application to be considered as valid, it is mandatory for you to declare that you have a suitable skills assessment during the time of application.
Your skills assessment should be obtained in the last 3 years before your date of invitation.
If in case your skills are assessed based on the qualifications that you have received in Australia while holding a student visa,
the qualification should be from completing a study course registered with CRICOS.

Should score 65 points or higher

Since Subclass 491 visa is a points-tested visa. Therefore, when you will submit your Expression of Interest (EOI), then you will be provided with an indicative point score on the basis of the claims that have been made.

If you would be able to score 65 points and receive an invite for this visa, then your invitation will describe the total number of points that you should score when we would evaluate your application for visa grant. Please note that, this score could be higher than 65 points, depending on the claims made by you in the EOI.

While submitting your application, you should provide evidence that will support your claims.

Requirement of competent English language

At the time of receiving your invitation, you should at least have competent level of English.

• Information about those family members aged 18 years or above

If a family member who is 18 years or above is applying for this visa, along with you., then either:

• they should have functional level of English, or
• they would be required to pay a second installment of visa application charge
• Should meet the skills requirement 

Your occupation should be listed on the combined list of eligible Skilled Occupations for Skilled Regional (Subclass 491) Visa.

Should meet the health requirement

You and your family members who applies for the Subclass 491 Visa along with you should meet the Australian Government’s health requirement. Further, if requested, then family members that are not coming along with you to Australia might also be asked to meet the health requirement.

Should meet the character requirement

You and your family members aged 16 years and above who apply for Subclass 491 Visa and are applying for this visa along with you would be required to meet the Australian Government’s character requirement. Also, those family members that are not accompanying you to Australia on this visa, will be needed to meet the character requirement.

Pay your debt to Australian Government

If you or any of your family members (including those who are not applying for this visa along with you) owe any pending payment towards the Australian Government, then you or your family member must pay it back r arrange to pay it back.

Sign the Australian values statement

If you are 18 years of age or above, then you should:

have read in detail the explanation provided in Life in Australia, and

confirm that you will respect the Australian laws and its way of life when signing the Australian Values Statement

Should not have application refused or visa been cancelled previously

You might not be considered eligible for this particular visa if your visa has been cancelled or refused while residing in Australia.

Major benefits of Subclass 491 Visa or the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa:

1. You will be benefitted from priority processing of regional applications;
2. You will be provided with genuine incentives if you decide to stay in a regional area for a longer period of time through building workforce and community participation;
3. Overall, more points are available for Subclass 491 visa applicants.