Skilled work regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 491)
This article contains all the information that you might need to know about subclass 491 Visa, the processing time involves the eligibility for application and the estimated fees.
Candidates can also include their family members (spouse or de facto partner/ dependent children) in their applications. The candidate should be nominated by the state and territory government which requires work experience, English language ability, and skills. After 3 years candidates can apply for permanent residence.
What is the Skilled Work Regional (provisional) 491 Visa?
The 491 Visa is a provisional visa for skilled workers who want to live and work in regional Australia.
With 491 visas comes a lot of benefits like:
- The benefit of staying in Australia for 5 years
- The visa also brings with itself multiple travel rights
- the visa enables the applicant to work in any occupation and for any employer in line with the work along with the residence conditions that are attached to your visa
- The applicant can live work and study in a designated regional area of a Australia that align with the visa conditions.
- The applicant can as well apply for permanent residence if he or she is eligible through the permanent residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191) which will commence from November 2023.
What is the basic eligibility criteria for applying for the Skilled Work Regional 491 Visa?
In order to apply for the 491 visa applicant is required to:
- Have an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list
- Score a minimum of 65 points
- Satisfy the health and character requirements
- Have a competent level of knowledge in the English language
- Not owe the Australian government any money
- be invited to apply and should be nominated by a state or territory government agency or should be sponsored by an eligible relative
- Should be aged between the range of 22 to 45 years
- Have no history of visa cancellation for have previous application refused
What is the process of application?
Below given are simple steps that need to be followed for applying for the 149 Visa:
- Firstly the applicant is required to submit an expression of interest Skill Select that will kickstart their application. Since and she is not a visa application there is no fee to create or submit it.
- Skill select build and calculate your point score there is an all the claim that you have made in your EOI and a minimum score of 65 points is necessary to be invited to apply for a visa.
- Thereafter,your EOI will be visible to the State and Territory Government agencies, if you have mentioned in it that you are interested in being nominated.
- and then if they nominativ then you will get an invitation to apply for the visa.
- After having completed your it will be stored in Skill Select and will be valid for 2 years and you will have access to your EOI from where you can updateyour information at any time, if required.
- If the applicant it is invited to apply for a visa they will receive an invitation from Skill selection.
- The applicant is then required to provide all the necessary documents that support their expression of interest and prove that their eligible for the Visa
- Documents required will be proof of Identity
- English results
- Their relationship our partner
- The character claims that they make in the EOI
- The applicant will only have 60 days in hand to apply for the visa after having received their invitation.
- After the application of the applicant is received they will be informed and they will receive a notification if they are being granted a Bridging Visa.
In Australia
As long as the application of the applicant is being processed, they can travel outside of Australia because a decision can as well be made when they are offshore. However, the applicant must ensure that their visa allows them to return to Australia.
Outside Australia
Applicant can travel to Australia only when the visa is granted, if their application was launched outside of Australia. Uttil and unless the candidate receives the confirmation of being granted a visa, they should not take decisions like leaving their job or selling their house.
Processing time of the 491 visa
There is no hard and fast rule as far as the time frame is concerned for the visa. The time of processing may vary under the following circumstances:
- The speed at which the candidate response to a request for additional information
- The time it takes to get required checks done that verify your supporting information
- If the application is completed all the necessary documents or not
- The time it takes to receive additional information from external parties especially e requirements related to your health, character, or national security.
The cost of 491 visa
As far as the submission of Expression of Interest which Skill Select is concerned there is no cost associated with it. The candidate can set a profile and have access to it for updating it as many times as they wish without any extra charges.
The cost to the applicant begins one they have been nominated and they make a decision of applying. The cost of the application is. AUD$4,045. If the applicant is being accompanied with the family members that are 18 years and older and are applying for the visa with the candidate, then an additional charge of AUD$2,025 is charged for them.
The second installment charge for family members is AUD$4890. However, this charge is only applicable for applicants that are 18 years old or above and have less than functional English. There are various other cost that include English language test police certificate biometrics and health checks.
What if I can’t show that I meet the invited point score or other eligibility criteria?
An applicant should not apply for the visa if they can’t prove that they meet the point score or other eligibility criteria. Even if an invitation is issued, their EOI will be suspended, however, they can update the applications one the 60 day invitation period is over.
the candidate will have to submit another EOI if this is their second invitation and they still want the visa.
What is the minimum score required on the points test?
A minimum of 65 points on the points test is necessarily required. This test uses a lot of information such as the age, English ability,, the levels of employment in the candidates field, and education level, that ascertain your suitability. An opportunity of gaining extra points can be gained from things like
- 5 points for a spouse that is competent in the English language.
- 10 points for skilled partner or single applicant
- 15 points for nomination from the State or Territory Government
- 10 points for STEM occupations
- 10 points if you have a partner who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
What are the documents required to apply?
The following list contains all the documents that are required to apply for a 491 visa:
- Passport size photo of the applicant, their personal details, issue and expiry dates, a national identity card and proof of name change
- Documents that prove the relationship status including the death marriage or divorce certificate
- Character certificate from the police of every country that the candidate has lived in since they were 16 years old
- All the documents of skill assessment
- Documents of competency in English
- Sponsorship documents like the proof of the citizenship, residence and a proof of relationship with them
- documents of the partner including the ID, skill assessment results and English test results
- The ID character, character documents of the family members under 18 years age and proof of parental rights
- Character documents and proof of relationship with the candidate of the family members staying in the country of origin.
Can the candidate stay in Australia for more than 5 years?
Tge applicant needs to apply for a new Visa if they wish to stay here for more than five years from the date the visa is granted because the visa cannot be extended.
the applicant and the members of their family who hold the visa must work instead designated regional areas of Australia only. The candidates visa will not be granted if the nomination is withdrawn.
Can the candidate include family members later if they are not included in the visa application?
Yes, the members of the candidate’s family who don’t apply for the visa with the candidate, can apply to join them in Australia later, as subsequent entrants.
Who can the candidates consult if they like to study in regional Australia?
Candidates can discuss their options with the counsellors for the best options in the dream course in regional Australia and also explain permanent residency pathways. Through this consultations, they can find out:
- Permanent residency pathways for Regional areas
- The requirements for course entry and the application process
- The candidates can game extra on post study work visa with regional study
- They can get to know about the speciality course of ring that are unique to the campuses.
