Eligibility Quiz
Requirements
Eligible Visa Holding
You must hold an eligible visa when you apply and must have held that visa for at least 3 years before you apply. An eligible visa is either:
- Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional – Provisional) visa, or
- Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional – Provisional) visa
The three-year holding period is calculated from the visa grant date, not your arrival date. For example, if a 491 visa was granted on 1 March 2022, the earliest date to apply for a 191 visa would be 1 March 2025.
Regional Residence and Work Requirement
You must have lived and worked in a designated regional area of Australia for at least 3 years. Designated regional areas currently include all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, covering 85% of Australia's landmass and home to 30% of the population.
Critical clarification on continuous residence: The Department of Home Affairs has clarified that continuous physical residence in Australia is not required to apply for the Subclass 191 visa. Instead, the key requirement is compliance with visa condition 8579, which mandates that holders of Subclass 491 and 494 visas live, work, and study exclusively in designated regional areas while in Australia. This means time spent overseas or in different locations does not disqualify you, as long as you met the visa conditions while physically present in Australia.
Income Requirement
There is no minimum income requirement. However, you must provide Notices of Assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for three income years out of the five years of your eligible visa. Acceptable income includes salary, self-employment, casual/part-time work, contract work, and any legitimate income reported to the ATO.
Visa Condition Compliance
You must have complied with the conditions of your eligible visa when in Australia for the whole period you hold the visa(s). Brief absences for holidays, work travel, or emergencies do not disqualify you if your primary residence and work remained regional.
Health and Character Requirements
Health: You must meet the health requirement. This also applies for any family members who apply for the visa with you. Family members not coming to Australia may also need to meet the health requirement.
Character: You must meet the character requirement. This also applies for family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you. Other family members not coming to Australia also need to meet the character requirement.
Police certificates: Provide an Australian police certificate if you have spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since you turned 16. Only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police are accepted. Australian police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue for immigration purposes.
Also provide an overseas police certificate from every country, including your home country, where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16. Provide military service records or discharge papers if you served in the armed forces of any country.
Australian Values Statement
If you are 16 years of age or older, you must have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet, and sign an Australian Values Statement.
Government Debt
If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, you or they must pay it back or make an arrangement to pay it back. If you or any of your family members owe money to the ATO, provide evidence you have paid it back or have an approved payment plan in place.
Immigration History
The Department will consider your immigration history when making a decision on your application. You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused.
Location at Application and Decision
You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when the Department decides on your application. However, you cannot be in immigration clearance.
Conditions & Warnings
You must wait exactly three years from your provisional visa grant date to apply. Applying early results in automatic refusal and forfeited fees.
Continuous physical residence in Australia is not required, but you must have complied with visa condition 8579 (live, work, and study exclusively in designated regional areas) while in Australia during the three-year period.
You must provide three Notices of Assessment from the ATO. Missing or late-lodged tax returns jeopardize your application—address any gaps before lodging.
No new skills assessment or state nomination is required, even if your occupation was removed from skilled migration lists or your previous assessment expired.
Once granted, regional restrictions (Condition 8579) are removed and you can relocate to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or anywhere in Australia.
Qualifications
Fees
Main applicant only. Additional applicants: AUD 250 (18+), AUD 130 (<18). Hong Kong Stream: AUD 4,910 main applicant. Health checks, police certificates, and professional services are additional costs.