The Australian Govt. plans to redefine what “regional area” means in Australia is. This definition will be applicable to all visa subclasses including studies in regional areas of Australia.

Regional areas in Australia will comprise of all areas outside the metropolitan areas of:

• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Brisbane
• Perth
• Gold Coast

  Below are the requirements of Australia Subclass 491 visa

1. The applicant should have nomination by a state or territory in Australia or, the applicant should have been sponsored by a family member who lives in a designated area in Australia
2. Applicant should have received an Invitation to Apply
3. Applicants should be less than 45 years old
4. Applicants should demonstrate competent English
5. Applicants should meet the minimum points required (65 Points)

How Subclass 491 will make changes to the points system for Skilled visas from 16th November 2019:

1. An applicant gets an extra 5 points if they have a spouse or common-law partner with competent English
2. Applicants who do not have a spouse or common-law partner also get an additional 10 points
3. Applicants whose spouse or common-law partner fulfils the “Skilled” requirements will get an extra 10 points. Currently, only 5 points are awarded for the same.
4. Specialist education in STEM courses from Australia will earn applicants an extra 10 points
5. The points for designated are nomination or sponsorship will increase from 5 to 10

The Subclass 491 visa will have a validity of 5 years, But the Applicant has to ensure that the primary applicant and his dependents live; work and study in designated regional areas only.

After completing 3 years of stay on the Subclass 491 Visa, one can apply for the Subclass 191 (PR (Skilled Regional) Visa). To be eligible for the Subclass 191 visa, you must have complied with all the conditions of the Subclass 491 visa. You should also be able to provide evidence of 3 years of tax assessment notices. Also, your taxable income should be above a certain level which is yet to be announced.

Victoria 491 visa Requirements

Every application for Victoria visa nomination is assessed individually with a focus on your ability to address a number of assessment criteria, including:

• Your ability to meet the minimum eligibility criteria;
• The demand for your skills and expertise in a designated regional area of Victoria;
• Whether the job offer you provide is for a position located in a designated regional area of Victoria;
• The suitability and transferability of your qualifications, skills and experience – including any specialist capabilities – to Victoria’s labour market; and
• Your ability and commitment to establishing yourself and any dependents in a designated regional area of Victoria, with a view to long term settlement in that area.

Offer of employment

All applicants who wish to apply for Victorian nomination for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa must provide evidence of a current offer of employment in a position located in a designated regional area of Victoria (as defined by the Department of Home Affairs). The employment offer must be in your nominated occupation and must be for a full-time work for a period of at least 12 months. The business must be actively operating for at least two years in the designated regional area of Victoria.

ACT 491 nomination Requirments:

The ACT is defined as regional for skilled migration purpose from 16 November 2019.  While potential applicants can complete the Home Affairs Skillselect EOI from this date, the 491 Canberra Matrix can only be submitted from 1 January 2020.

ACT 190 NOMINATION:

• The 2019 eligibility criteria will apply to all 190 Matrix submitted on or before 31 December 2019.
• The 2020 eligibility criteria will apply to all 190 Matrix submitted on or after 1 January 2020.

2020 Nomination criteria:

Canberra Resident

• You must be working for an ACT employer in Canberra for at least 3 months before the date of Matrix submission
• Work requirements:
• Minimum 20 hours per week
• Paid employment
• The employer must be operating in the ACT for at least one year.
• English – Proficient or Superior
• Your skills and at least 12 months continuous experience (within the last three years) in the nominated occupation must be relevant to the ACT economy (primarily knowledge-based)

Demonstrate employability in Canberra by providing evidence of research into sufficient ACT employment opportunity in your nominated occupation.

You may be self-employed. If you are self-employed you must have at least 12 months ACT business activity at date of Matrix submission. Your taxable income must be at least $500 pw for each week of the employment claimed.

WA State nomination under the new 491 visa

From 16 November 2019 the new 491 visa will be an available option in SkillSelect and new EOIs can be lodged.

During the November 2019 invitation round, WA Migration Services will commence issuing invitations to eligible EOIs under a 491 visa . Invitations are anticipated to be issued by 21 November 2019.

Please see occupations list here.

Nomination Criteria

1. General Stream
2. Graduate Stream

Overview of stream requirements

NT 491 nomination criteria

• Generally, must be living and working in NT in an eligible occupation for at least 6 months
• You must provide strong evidence of good employment prospects in the NT either in your skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.
• You can show you have good employment prospects by providing:
  • an offer of employment letter from an NT employer
  • a statement describing how your skills and experience meet NT employer needs
  • evidence that your occupation has been advertised in the NT multiple times and an explanation of how your qualifications and experience match the job vacancy
  • evidence of feedback from potential NT employers.

QLD 491 nomination criteria

Queensland skilled program is now open.

To be eligible for Queensland nomination, you must meet both the Australian Department of Home Affairs (HA)  criteria and Business and Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) criteria for your chosen visa category. The occcupation list can be seen here.

BSMQ criteria requires you to:

1. have an occupation on the QSOL ‘Working in Queensland’ list (onshore list)
2. have prior business experience or qualifications to successfully run the business
3. be on a visa that allows full-time work and operation of the business for a minimum of 35 hours per week
4. have purchased an existing business in regional Queensland (Note: not available for start-ups or home-based businesses)
5. paid at least $100,000 for the business
6. have full ownership of the business (partnerships or joint ventures not eligible)
7. be trading in the business for 6 months prior to application

The 491 Small Business Owners (SBO) Pathway is now OPEN:

This option can be used to reward small business owners in regional Queensland for investing in the local business community and provides employment opportunities for local residents.

NSW 491 nomination criteria

• I’m living and working in regional NSW
• I’m offshore
• I’ve recently completed study in regional NSW

TAS 491 nomination criteria

To be considered for this category, you must meet all of the following criteria.

1. Applicant must have completed and graduated from a CRICOS registered tertiary institution in Tasmania. The course undertaken:
2. Must be a degree (bachelor or any higher degree), a diploma (standard, advanced, associate or graduate) or a trade qualification.
3. must have a minimum duration of one academic year (40 weeks)
4. must be full time and on site in Tasmania
5. you have lived in the state for at least 1 year during your period of study
6. You and your dependents are currently living in Tasmania and can provide evidence of your ongoing genuine commitment.

SA 491 nomination criteria

Skilled workers and international graduates of South Australia seeking nomination must meet both state nomination and Department of Home Affairs requirements.

State nomination requirements include:

1. Commitment to South Australia – You need to commit to living and working in South Australia for two years from when you arrive, with a view to long-term settlement
2. Age – under 45 years at the time of nomination
3. Occupation – this must be listed on the State Nominated Occupation List as available.  Access to a supplementary occupation list and ‘special conditions apply’ occupations are available in some circumstances.
4. Skills Assessment – a positive General Skilled Migration skills assessment from the relevant authority
5. Work experience – at least one year of skilled work experience in the last three years. Some occupations have a higher work experience requirement. If you are an international graduate of South Australia, you may be able to access a work experience waiver
6. English – ability to meet Immigration SA’s minimum English language requirement for your occupation.  If you are a passport holder or citizen of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada or New Zealand, you don’t need to provide an English test result
7. Financial capacity – sufficient funds to settle in South Australia
8. SkillSelect Expression of Interest (EOI) – you need to have an EOI which meets the Department of Home Affairs criteria and Immigration SA nomination requirements.