This visa is for applicants nominated and sponsored by a State/Territory Government or Relative in Regional Australia.

What are the Requirements?

This is a 4-year provisional visa which requires visa holders to live and work in a Regional Area of Australia to obtain permanent residence.

To qualify, you need to be sponsored by either a relative living in a designated area or a State or Territory Government.
This visa is a provisional visa, allowing applicants to remain in Australia for 4 years which include full work rights and access to medicare.
This visa is a stepping stone to a Permanent Residence Visa under subclass 887 or Employer sponsorship under Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, subclass 187.

Do I Apply in Australia or Overseas?

You can either be in Australia or overseas when you apply for a Subclass 489 Skilled Regional Provisional Visa.
In order to lodge from within Australia, you would need to hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa. Once you apply from within Australia, you would receive a bridging visa allowing you to remain in Australia until your visa is assessed.

Are you eligible?

The following criteria must me met in order to qualify for the 489 Skilled Regional Provisional Visa.

  • You must meet the required points test for the visa you intend to lodge (60 points minimum)
  • Points are comprised of a number of factors such as age, qualifications, English fluency, work experience in Australia and overseas, qualifications obtained in Australia, state sponsorship.
  • Your age must be between 18 and 49 inclusive. Different points are awarded to different age groups
  • Must be able to pass a skills assessment (valid for three years) of your qualifications.
  • Undertake an IELTS (English Language Test) which is valid for three years, with a result of minimum of 6/9 in each of the four bands.

Sponsored/Nominated by:

A State or Territory Government:

  • Each State or Territory Government has their own short supply occupations list which is much broader than the Department of Immigration Occupation LIst. there may be specific requirements in terms of work experience, English language ability, financial capacity.
  • An applicant granted this subclass is required to live in the regional part of Australia if sponsored by a state or relative under which their nomination was approved
  • The States of South Australia, Tasmania and Territories of Northern Territory and ACT are all considered regional including their capital cities. Other states such as NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland have regional areas within their states which are defined by postcodes; their capital cities are not considered regional.
  • Once you have lived in that state or territory for two years and have worked for one of those years you can apply for Permanent Residence under Subclass 887.

Relatives in a Designated Area:

  • A relative can sponsor you and they can be Parents, Brothers and Sisters, Uncles and Aunts, Nephews and Nieces, First Cousins or Grandparents.
  • If you have a relative who is ordinarily resident in one of the areas below, they may be eligible to sponsor you for a Skilled Regional Sponsored visa.
  • Once your visa is granted, you must live in a designated area, though this need not be in the same postcode or state as your sponsor.
  • The applicable occupations list if sponsored by a relative is the same as the list for the Skilled Independent visa.

Designated Areas:

  • Anywhere in Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory.
  • Queensland – Postcode areas 4019-4028, 4037-4050, 4079-4100, 4114, 4118, 4124-4150, 4158-4168, 4180-4899 (anywhere except Brisbane metropolitan area)
  • Western Australia – The Entire State
  • New South Wales – Post areas 2311-2312, 2328-2333, 2336-2490, 2535-2551, 2575-2739, 2787-2898 (anywhere except Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong)

About Skill-Select

It is important to understand that an Expression Of Interest (EOI) is not a visa application and will not result in a bridging visa in Australia. Furthermore, any claims made in an EOI which cannot be substantiated in a visa application, for example, English fluency, qualifications, work experience, will lead to a refusal of the visa application.

Including Family Members

you can include the following types of family members in your application:

  • Spouses, defacto partners and same-sex partners
  • Dependent children
  • Other dependent family members – e.g. parents who live with you and are financially dependent.

CLICK THE HEADINGS FOR MORE VISA INFORMATION