494
Subclass 494 visa
The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) is a 5-year regional work visa for skilled workers who are nominated by an approved employer in a designated regional area of Australia. It allows you (and eligible family members) to live, work and study in regional Australia, travel in and out of Australia, and it can provide a pathway to permanent residence after 3 years (usually via the subclass 191 visa)
Eligibility:
- Be nominated by an approved employer for a position located in a designated regional area such as SA and WA.
- Be nominated in an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list for the 494 program/stream. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2019L01403/latest/text
- Have at least 3 years of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation.
- Have a positive skills assessment, unless an exemption applies.
- Meet English language requirements (typically Competent English, unless exempt).
- Be under 45 years of age at time of application, unless an exemption applies.
- Hold any required registration/licensing for the occupation (if applicable).
- Meet standard health and character requirements.
- The salary meet the required threshold https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/sponsoring-workers/nominating-a-position/salary-requirements?utm_source=chatgpt.com
494 → PR pathway (Subclass 191) eligibility
To move from a subclass 494 to permanent residence, the usual pathway is the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191).
You generally need to:
- Hold an eligible regional provisional visa (including subclass 494) at the time you apply.
- Have held that eligible visa for at least 3 years before applying for the 191.
- Have complied with all visa conditions during the time you held the 494 (for example, the requirement to live/work/study only in a designated regional area).
- Continue to comply with your Subclass 494 visa conditions by maintaining employment with the employer who nominated you or with the new approved nominated employer.
- Provide ATO Notices of Assessment for 3 income years (out of the 5-year eligible visa period).
- Provide evidence of work for 3 years full time work while you hold the 494
- Meet standard health and character requirements.
- No employer sponsorship is required for the 191 stage (it’s your PR application).
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FAQs
Having 3 years of relevant work experience and a positive skills assessment is important, but it doesn’t automatically mean you can apply for subclass 186 (Direct Entry). The main reason is that each visa has different occupation list
Occupation list differences (this is the big one)
- Subclass 186 (Direct Entry) requires your occupation to be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL).
- Subclass 482 (Core Skills stream) also requires the occupation to be on the CSOL.
- Subclass 494 uses a different set of occupation lists (primarily MLTSSL and the Regional Occupation List (ROL)), which can include occupations that are not on the CSOL.
So, in some cases:
- You can’t do 186 DE (because your occupation is not on CSOL), but
- You can do 494 (because your occupation is on ROL/MLTSSL, and the job is in regional Australia).
If you already have 3 years of relevant work experience and a positive skills assessment, the subclass 494 is often the better option to consider. This is because the PR pathway (usually subclass 191) generally does not require your employer nomination at the permanent stage, so you can apply for PR by yourself once you meet the requirements.
If you choose subclass 482 and later want PR through subclass 186 (TRT), your employer will usually need to nominate you again for the permanent visa. If your employer decides not to support you in the future, your PR pathway through TRT may be at risk.
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