Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa

Subclass 191 is also known as the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa and is meant for those who have been living and working in regional Australia. This visa is a regional permanent visa and has been specially framed for the holders of the Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional 494 visa and the Skilled Work Regional 491 visa. It allows the subclass 494 & 491 visa holders to transition to permanent residency. The subclass 191 skilled regional visa will be open to new applicants in November 2022.

If an applicant wishes to convert their temporary Subclass 491 or 494 visa to a permanent visa under this stream, they are required to have lived, worked, or studied in a designated regional area in Australia for at least three years. Additionally, the applicants are required to have a taxable income at or above a specific income threshold for at least three years.

A Subclass 191 applicant applying through subclass 491 or 494 is required to ensure that:

• They hold a regional provisional visa subclass 491 or 494 visas while applying;
• They have held that visa for at least three years;
• They have earned a minimum income (as specified) for at least three years as the holder of a regional provisional visa; and
• They have complied with all the conditions of the regional provisional visa. The applicant must fulfil the required eligibility conditions at all times; if there is a failure to do so, the visa may get cancelled.

Subclass 191 is a permanent visa and lets you stay indefinitely in Australia. It comes with a travel component that expires five years after the date of the visa grant. Applicants can also include members of their family unit in the application if they hold an eligible visa. An applicant must be in Australia when applying for this visa. The applicant should ensure that they remain in Australia for the grant of this visa.

Understanding Regional Areas; Most locations of Australia outside major cities such as Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne have been classed as designated regional areas for Migration purposes. The Department of Home Affairs has circulated the list of postcodes considered as designated regional areas for the purpose of the Australian visas. Some of the popular regional areas include Perth, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Sunshine Coast, Lake Macquarie, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong, and Canberra.

With the formulation of the new regional subclass 191 visa, the Department had planned to take down the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa subclass 187 and the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa subclass 489. The said visas have closed to new applicants since November 16, 2019. Transitional arrangements were put in place for applications which have been lodged and were undecided at that time, as well as for those applicants who were keen on applying for the Skilled Regional visa subclass 887.

For a detailed understanding of the 191 visa requirements, get in touch with our 191 visa immigration agent. Our team has professional 191 visa consultants to cater to all your visa related queries and concerns. To secure your visa subclass 191 to Australia, avail our services now.

The eligibility requirements for the processing of a Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa are:

• The applicant must be in Australia when making the application and should ensure that they remain in Australia for the grant of the visa.
• The applicant must hold an eligible visa; either subclass 491 or subclass 494 visa;
• The applicant must have lived and worked for at least three years in a designated regional area in Australia.
• The applicant must be able to demonstrate that they earned at or above the specified income threshold (Which has been set to $53,900 currently) while they held their subclass 491 or subclass 494 visa for those three years.
• The visa holder for subclass 191 must live, work, and study only in regional areas.
• If the application is through the employer-sponsored stream, the applicant should ensure that they work only in their nominated occupation and position.
• The primary, as well as the secondary applicants, must ensure having complied with the visa conditions of the eligible visa they hold or have held. The stipulated visa conditions may change, and it is crucial that one ensures compliance with the said conditions at all times.