Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 494)

As the visa applicant, you must,

• be nominated to work in an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list
• have at least 3 years relevant work experience in your nominated occupation
• have a relevant skills assessment, unless an exemption applies
• work only for your sponsor or associated entity, unless an exemption applies
• be under 45 years of age, unless an exemption applies
• meet minimum standards of English language proficiency

• You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when a decision is made on your application, but not in immigration clearance. If you are applying in Australia, you must hold either of the following visa otherwise your application will not be valid: a substantive visa, OR a Bridging visa A, Bridging visa B or Bridging visa C
• You must be under 45 years of age when you apply for the visa. You are exempt from this criteria if any of the following applies to you:
  • you are nominated as an academic (University Lecturer or Faculty Head at Academic Level A , B, C, D or E) by a university in Australia
  • you are nominated as a medical practitioner and have been employed in that occupation for 3 years immediately before you apply as the holder of a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) or Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482) visa, with at least 2 years of this time employed in regional Australia
  • you are nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical (scientific) specialist at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2 by an Australian scientific government agency or Australian university
  • you have held a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461) visa for the last 3 years immediately before you apply and have worked for the employer who nominated you, in the nominated occupation, for at least 2 years during that time
  • you
    • have held a subclass 457 visa or TSS visa for the last 3 years immediately before you apply
    • have worked in your nominated occupation for the employer who nominated you at all time during those 3 years
    • had annual earnings for each of those 3 years, that were equal to or greater than the Fair Work High Income Threshold that applied at the end of the relevant year
• You must be nominated by an approved sponsor i.e. your employer whose business is lawfully operating in Australia. You must be employed to work in the nominated occupation and in a position within the sponsoring business or an associated entity of that business, located in a designated regional area of Australia.
• Before you can apply for the visa, your employer will need to lodge a nomination application for you.
• You must have relevant skills, qualifications, and work experience.

If you are the primary visa applicant, you must demonstrate that you have the skills, qualifications and work experience necessary to perform the nominated occupation.

You must undertake a skills assessment and have a positive skills assessment.

If it is not mandatory for you to undertake a skills assessment, you are still required to provide other evidence to demonstrate that you meet this requirement. Consult with our expert registered migration agents to learn about the documents required to satisfy this requirement.

You must have been employed in the nominated occupation for at least 3 years on a full-time basis and at the skill level required for the nominated occupation.

Generally, you should have gained your experience within the last 5 years. The period does not need to be continuous.

• You must have a positive skills assessment.

You must have your skills assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority.

The skills assessment must be undertaken before your application is lodged. A skills assessment obtained for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) is not a valid assessment for this visa.

You do not need to complete a skills assessment if at the time of application you held a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) or Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) for the nominated occupation and in order to be granted that visa, you were required to demonstrate your skills by providing a suitable skills assessment.

You are exempt from this criteria if any of the following applies to you:

• you are nominated as an academic (University Lecturer or Faculty Head at academic Level A, B, C, D or E) by an Australian university
• you have held a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461) visa for the last 3 years immediately before you apply and have worked for the employer who nominated you, in the nominated occupation, for at least 2 years during that time
• You must have at least Competent English to be granted this visa.
• You and any family member included in this application must meet all the health and character requirements

• You or any family member must not have any debt to pay to the Australian government. If you or any family members (including those who do not apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
• If you are 18 years of age or older, you must: have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia AND confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign an Australian Values Statement

Note: If you have had a visa cancelled or previous application refused, you may not be granted a visa.

• live, work and study only in designated regional areas of Australia for 5 years. Designated regional areas include all of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid
• if eligible, apply for permanent residence after 3 years from the time your visa is granted

• There is no application fee to nominate an applicant for this stream of the visa. You are required to pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy.
• You can sponsor and nominate a skilled worker to work in a designated regional area in a skilled occupation listed on the relevant skilled occupation list. You can also sponsor family members who apply for the visa with them.

You must be or have applied to be a standard business sponsor. Your sponsorship must be approved for your nomination to be approved.

A standard business sponsor can apply to become an accredited sponsor.

• You must nominate the skilled worker you wish to employ for the visa before they can submit their visa application.
• DOHA prioritises Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) nominations and visa applications, where the nominator is an accredited sponsor.
• Approved nominations last for 12 months from the approval date and cease on the earliest of:
  • the day on which DOHA receive written notification of the withdrawal of the nomination by the approved work sponsor
  • 12 months after the day on which the nomination is approved unless, at the time, there is a visa application made by the nominee on the basis of the nomination that has not been finally determined
  • if a visa application made by the nominee on the basis of the nomination is finally determined or withdrawn after 12 months after the day on which the nomination is approved – the day on which the visa application is finally determined or withdrawn
  • the day on which the nominee is granted the visa
  • the day 3 months after your approval as a standard business sponsor ceases unless you have reapplied
  • the day on which your approval as a standard business sponsor is cancelled
• You must meet your obligations as a standard business sponsor under this visa program.

• You must be a standard business sponsor.

You must be, or have applied to become a standard business sponsor.

See how to:

• become a standard business sponsor
• become an accredited sponsor

Our expert registered migration agents can help you through the process. Consult with them today.

• You must nominate the skilled worker. The occupation you nominate must be on the relevant skilled occupation list.
• You must be unable to find an Australian citizen or permanent resident with the skills and experience needed to fill the nominated position. You must do labour market testing to show DOHA you can't find an Australian to do the work, unless an exemption applies.
• If the nominee will be paid an annual salary of less than AUD250,000, you must determine and show us that you will pay the nominee at least the annual market salary rate (AMSR) for the nominated position. A Regional Certifying Body must also assess the annual market salary rate.
• The position associated with the nomination must be genuine. This means that the position must exist and be what it says it is. Things DOHA considers for genuineness include:
  • whether the skills and duties of the position are consistent with the skill level and the tasks of the nominated occupation as listed in ANZSCO
  • whether the position is consistent with the nature of your business (for example, whether it fits clearly within the scope of the activities of the business and the scale of your business)
  • whether the position was created just to help your nominee stay in, or migrate to Australia.

The position must also be full-time and likely to exist for at least 5 years.

• Your nominee must be engaged under a written contract of employment to work only for your business or an associated entity of your business, unless the occupation is exempt. A copy of the contract signed by the nominee and the employer must be provided with your nomination.

The terms and conditions of the nominee’s employment must not include an express exclusion of the possibility of extending the period of employment.

• You must not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices. DOHA will investigate any allegations which raise concerns about the composition of the sponsor's workforce and recruitment practices.
• The employment conditions that will apply to the nominee must not be less favourable than those that apply/ would apply to an Australian worker performing equivalent work at the same location.
• There must be no adverse information known about your business or any person associated with your business, unless it is reasonable for us to disregard known adverse information.

As the visa applicant, you must,

• be nominated to work in a specified occupation under the terms of a labour agreement
• have at least 3 years relevant work experience in your nominated occupation
• have a relevant skills assessment, if this is specified in the labour agreement
• work only for your sponsor
• be under 45 years of age, unless the labour agreement states otherwise
• meet minimum standards of English language proficiency

• You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when a decision is made on your application, but not in immigration clearance. If you are applying in Australia, you must hold either of the following visa otherwise your application will not be valid: a substantive visa, OR a Bridging visa A, Bridging visa B or Bridging visa C
• The nominated occupation must be the subject of a labour agreement between the Commonwealth and the nominator. See the labour agreement under which you will be working.
• Unless the labour agreement states otherwise, you must be under 45 years of age when you apply for the visa.
• You must have relevant skills, qualifications and work experience.

You must demonstrate that you have the skills, qualifications and work experience necessary to perform the nominated occupation. You must undertake a skills assessment to demonstrate this if having a skills assessment is specified in the labour agreement.

If it is not mandatory for you to undertake a skills assessment, you are still required to provide other evidence to demonstrate that you meet this requirement. Consult with our expert registered migration agents to learn about the documents required to satisfy this requirement.

You must have been employed in the nominated occupation for at least 3 years on a full-time basis and at the skill level required for the nominated occupation.

Generally, you should have gained your experience within the last 5 years. The period does not need to be continuous.

• You must have a positive skills assessment.

If having skills assessment is specified in the labour agreement, you must have your skills assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority.

• You must have the level of English as specified in the labour agreement to be granted this visa.

• You and any family member included in this application must meet all the health and character requirements

• You or any family member must not have any debt to pay to the Australian government. If you or any family members (including those who do not apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
• If you are 18 years of age or older, you must: have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia AND confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign an Australian Values Statement

Note: If you have had a visa cancelled or previous application refused, you may not be granted a visa.

• live, work and study only in designated regional areas of Australia for 5 years. Designated regional areas include all of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid
• if eligible, apply for permanent residence after 3 years from the time your visa is granted

• You must be an eligible business. Your business must:
  • have no adverse information known about it or any person associated with it, or it is reasonable to disregard this information
  • pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy when you submit your nomination application
  • have complied with Australian immigration and workplace relations laws
• You must have a current labour agreement. You must:
  • currently have a labour agreement in place with the Australian Government
  • have met any nomination requirements specified in the agreement
  • The occupation you are nominating must be listed in the labour agreement as an occupation you can nominate.

As the visa applicant, you must,

• be a member of the family unit of a primary Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa holder.

• You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when a decision is made on your application, but not in immigration clearance. If you are applying in Australia, you must hold either of the following visa otherwise your application will not be valid: a substantive visa, OR a Bridging visa A, Bridging visa B or Bridging visa C
• You must be under 45 years of age when you apply for the visa.
• You must have a family member who is a primary SESR visa holder, or main applicant for a SESR visa, to be able to lodge a subsequent entrant visa application.
• The work sponsor (employer) with the most recent approved nomination in relation to the primary SESR visa holder, or main applicant for a SESR visa, must agree (or have agreed) in writing to include you as a family member in the nomination.
• You must show that you have Functional English. If you can’t show that you have Functional English, you will need to pay the second instalment.
• You and any family member included in this application must meet all the health and character requirements
• You or any family member must not have any debt to pay to the Australian government. If you or any family members (including those who do not apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
• If you are 18 years of age or older, you must: have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia AND confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign an Australian Values Statement

Note: If you have had a visa cancelled or previous application refused, you may not be granted a visa.

• stay in Australia while the visa is valid
• live, work and study only in designated regional areas of Australia for up to 5 years
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid

• This is a provisional visa. As a primary applicant, you can stay in Australia for a period of 5 years. For a subsequent entrant, your visa will expire at the same time as your family member who is the primary SESR visa holder.
• As the main applicant, you must begin your employment within 90 days of:
  • entering Australia, if you are outside Australia when the visa was granted
  • the visa grant date, if you are in Australia when the visa was granted

You must only work in your nominated occupation and only work for your nominating employer in regional Australia. If you do not, your visa might be cancelled.

• You can't stay in Australia longer by extending this visa. If eligible, you can apply for permanent residence after 3 years from the time your visa is granted.

Consult with our expert registered migration agents to explore your visa options.

• You can include members of the family unit in your application. You can include them when you submit your visa application OR add a dependent child after you submit but before we decide on your visa application.
• This visa costs AUD4,045 for the main applicant, AUD2,025 for each dependent 18 years and over, and AUD1,010 for each dependent under 18 years.

It costs an additional AUD4,890 if any dependent applicants who are 18 years and over do not have functional English. This extra charge is called a second instalment.