Family Sponsored Regional Visa 491

Family Sponsored Skilled Work Regional Visa – Subclass 491

The Family Sponsored Skilled Work Regional Visa Subclass 491 is a provisional visa for intending applicants who are interested in living and working in a designated regional area in Australia and have an eligible family member who can sponsor them.

With this visa, you can:

• stay in Australia for 5 years
• live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want, while the visa is valid
• apply for permanent residence, if eligible, through the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191) – which commences on 16 November 2022.

IMPORTANT. You and all members of your family unit who are also holders of the visa, will need to live and work in a designated regional area of Australia. Your nomination must not be withdrawn, or you will not be granted the visa.

Key Eligibility requirements

• you must be under 45 years of age
• you must have a skilled occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list
• you must be able to demonstrate ‘Competent English’
• you must have a positive skills assessment from the relevant skills assessing authority in relation to your nominated occupation
• you must obtain the minimum score on the Points Test at the time of invitation to apply for the visa
• you must be nominated by an eligible relative living in a designated area
• you must meet health and character requirements.

Sponsorship by an eligible relative

Your sponsor must be:

• 18 years old or older
• usually resident in a designated area of Australia
• be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen
• be your or your partner’s eligible relative

An eligible relative can be:

• a parent
• a child or step-child
• a brother, sister, adoptive brother, adoptive sister, step-brother or step-sister
• an aunt, uncle, adoptive aunt, adoptive uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle
• a nephew, niece, adoptive nephew, adoptive niece, step-nephew or step-niece
• a grandparent, or
• a first cousin

The Department of Home Affairs must approve your sponsorship before you can be granted a visa.

Source of information: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au

Immigration advice and assistance

In case you meet the requirements to apply for this visa, the first step is to have a legal consultation with one of our immigration lawyers. The purpose of this consultation is to analyze your case in detail, confirm your eligibility and give the lawyer the opportunity to create a fully customized visa strategy.

For further information about visa applications, please call our office on 02 6247 7577 or send an email to: info@visaustralia.com

VisAustralia is committed to working hard to assist our clients, negotiate the application process and apply for permanent residence in Australia.